Dan Lalande is an award-winning writer based in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada.

His non-fiction titles include The Drop Dead Funny ’70s: American Film Comedies Year by Year, Heroes of the New Hollywood: Hoffman, Hackman, Nicholson, Pacino, Duvall and De Niro in the ’70s, Girls Just Want to Have Funny: Female Film Comedies of the 1980’s, and more.

Dan began his career in television, writing for the iconic pre-teen hit You Can’t Do That on Television (cited on Rolling Stone’s list of the 50th greatest sketch comedy shows of all time) and the animated classic The Racoons, subject of his history Evergreen: The Story of The Raccoons. You’ll find his name on another cartoon hit, The Adventures of Teddy Ruxpin.

Dan has written and hosted his own TV comedy series twice and penned and appeared in feature films that were special selections at festivals in Palm Springs, Toronto, and Montreal.

He has also contributed reviews, profiles, and other pieces to magazines, websites, and blogs.

His books focus on the film and TV fare on which he grew up, from the work of the Marx Brothers to the industry movements of the ’70s and ’80s.

He has written a memoir chronicling his life and career, lauded for its signature mix of insight and wit.

Reel Ottawa…With the Movie Theatres We Loved – A memoir of Dan’s years as a movie-loving truant which includes a history of Ottawa’s theatres.

The Drop Dead Funny ’70s: American Film Comedies Year by Year –  The first inventory of 130 film comedies released between 1970-’79.

Girls Just Want to Have Funny: Female Film Comedies of the 1980’s – An examination of the female film comedy movement of the 1980’s, profiling the lives and work of the actors and auteurs behind this historically unheralded period.

NEW – 2026!

Panthers and Monkeys and Sharks, Oh My!:
Film Series of the 1970s  – An essayistic look at the film series of the 1970s that spawned today’s franchise phenomenon, including the Pink Panther pictures, Planet of the Apes, Jaws, and others.