Hey Harry ol’ buddy, ol’ pal…
Probably still best known for his breakthrough role as Harry Dunne in 1994 comedy classic ‘Dumb and Dumber’, Jeff Daniels has shown over the course of his career that he goes beyond comedy. Heck! He goes beyond acting as a musician and a playwright as well. We talked about Jeff a handful of years ago and disclosed his attendance at Bruin Lake Boy Scout Camp when he was young as well as his path to stardom.
That last post, however, only scratched the surface about this guy so let’s dig a bit deeper on Mr. Jeff Daniels today!
Mayor Daniels
Jeff grew up in the small town of Chelsea, Michigan. His father was an owner of the Chelsea Lumber Company and an active member of the community. He even went for mayor and was elected! When Jeff was just six years old, Robert Daniels became the mayor of the town in 1961!
Jeff heard a lot from his agents that he should not take the role of Harry in ‘Dumb and Dumber’ because doing a “dumb comedy” would ruin his career as a dramatic actor. He got paid $50,000 for his part in the film and it also launched him into stardom, so Jeff likely doesn’t have any regrets about doing the film (although his co-star Jim Carrey made $7 million just for being the bigger star at the time).
Marry Me!
Jeff and his wife have been sweeties since their high school days back in the 70’s and, by 1979, they got married. It’s been about 35 years now since Jeff left Hollywood with his wife Kathleen and the two moved back to their small town life in Chelsea, Michigan. They have a family with two boys and a daughter. Jeff was happy for his time in the spotlight but doesn’t look back much as he is very happy with his family life.
Family is what life is all about! It’s great to see an old Hollywood star embrace his family life as much as Jeff has. A true master of his craft, Jeff still takes acting roles from time to time on TV or on the stage and keeps busy with his own writing and musical projects. Thanks for sharing your gift, Jeff! Who knows—maybe he’ll become mayor one day! As, always, thanks for reading, Camp Fans!
- John