Dan Aykroyd
Actor, Comedian, Producer, Voice Artist, Screenwriter, Musician and Businessman. He was an original member of the "Not Ready for Prime Time Players" on Saturday Night Live (1975–1979)
Daniel Aykroyd is an Academy Award nominated and Emmy Award winning actor, comedian, screenwriter, and most recently business entrepreneur. He attended Carleton University in Canada, but dropped out before receiving his degree. He veered away from his study of criminology in college in order to pursue his interest in acting. He began as a comedian…
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Full Bio
Daniel Aykroyd is an Academy Award nominated and Emmy Award winning actor, comedian, screenwriter, and most recently business entrepreneur. He attended Carleton University in Canada, but dropped out before receiving his degree. He veered away from his study of criminology in college in order to pursue his interest in acting.
He began as a comedian in various Canadian nightclubs and went on to gain experience in the SecondCity comedy troupe and the National Lampoon stage shows. He became a regular on Saturday Night Live in 1975 due to his political satire powered by flawless impersonations of Presidents Nixon and Carter. Collaborating with fellow cast members from SNL led to the creation of such memorable duos as Two Wild and Crazy Guys (with Steve Martin) and The Blues Brothers (with John Belushi), which gained big-screen life in The Blues Brothers (1980) and Blues Brothers 2000 (1998).
His interest in crime led him to film roles on both sides of the law, including good-guy ‘Sgt. Joe Friday’ in Dragnet, hit man ‘Grocer’ in Grosse Pointe Blank, and break-in expert Mother in Sneakers. He also appeared in the films Stardom, Pearl Harbor, Bright Young Things, 50 First Dates, I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry, The Campaign and Behind the Candelabra.
Aykroyd has been honored numerous times for both his acting and screenwriting capabilities. In 1977 he received an Emmy Award for writing on SNL and he later received two more nominations for writing, and one each for acting and Outstanding Comedy-Variety series. He received an Academy Award nomination as Best Supporting Actor for Driving Miss Daisy.
He has been inducted into Canada’s Walk of Fame and maintains his Canadian roots as a longtime resident of Kingston, Ontario. In 1994 Aykroyd received an honorary Doctor of Literature degree from Carleton University.
Aykroyd has pursued varied business interests. In 1992 he, along with many other notable music and Hollywood personalities, founded the House of Blues. The House of Blues currently has 13 live music concert halls across the country. In 2007 Aykroyd announced his newest venture–The Dan Aykroyd Winery. The $11 million dollar winery will be all green, featuring solar panels and environmental water management systems. Located near the town of Lincoln, Ontario in Canada the vineyard’s lodge showcases souvenirs from his movies.
He is married to actress Donna Dixon and has three children. He currently resides in Ontario.
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Ernie was perfect for our Elders Conference at Little River Casino Resort in Manistee, Michigan. We will definitely be using PDA again!
LITTLE RIVER BAND OF OTTAWA INDIANS
Our speaker was great and the crowd enjoyed her! She was very engaging. Thank you again PDA for the great list of suggestions!
MEDTRONIC
Everything went great! and our speaker was wonderful! Thank you so much for all your help PDA! Looking forward to the next one.
UNIVERSITY OF MISSOURI – KANSAS CITY
I hope that this message finds you well. We had a phenomenal time with Atsuko this past Thursday. We wanted to just let you know how amazing she was. All those that were in attendance thoroughly enjoyed her and had nothing but amazing things to say about her. Thank you for working with us to make sure this happened!
BAYLOR UNIVERSITY CAMPUS
We had a fantastic day with Inge! She was very engaging with all those that attended. Her personal stories about the holocaust were very special and we were moved that she was willing to share them with everyone. Thank you again, PDA for all your hard work and dedication to make this program such a success!
SALT LAKE COMMUNITY COLLEGE
Dear PDA Group, Thank you so much for your hard work in scheduling our speaker! From the moment we reached out to you the first time, you worked with us on all details and logistics and kept us up-to-date on the progress. Thank you for all your hard work on making our event such a success! We couldn't have done it without you and your team!
SAP COMPANY
Thank you again, Dr. Kimbrough, for a great presentation, our attendees are still talking about it!
CAMPUS LABS
Dr. Henry Lee's presentation was entertaining, insightful and wise. I, and everyone at Pfizer, especially appreciate the remarks you directed about following your passion and preparing yourself to excel. Thank you, everyone, at PDA for helping to make this happen!
PFIZER
The event was successful! I received many messages expressing how awesome, outstanding and inspiring Ms. Webb-Christburg's speech was."
DR. MARTIN LUTHER KING, JR. MEMORIAL BREAKFAST, BOSTON, MLK SPEAKER
Everything went well. Atsuko was very easy to work with and the students enjoyed her performance! Thank you again for your recommendation and I hope to work with you again in the future!
CENTRAL MICHIGAN UNIVERSITY
Dr. Novello left this morning after a very successful event on our campus! Thank you PDA Group for your help from the first phone to the last you were with us every step of the way.
GRAND VALLEY STATE UNIVERSITY
Jordan Carlos was very very entertaining! A majority of students who answered the event survey indicated they really enjoyed Jordan and definitely will bring him back!
WESTERN CAROLINA UNIVERSITY
On behalf of myself and my organization Entertainment Unlimited the Campus Programming Board of Ferris State University, we thank you PDA and Dan for a successful event!! Dan was magnificent! Students really enjoyed the presentation. I know I did. Can't wait to bring in more programs with PDA Group.
FERRIS STATE UNIVERSITY
It was a great pleasure to work with PDA Group! The communication was always prompt, friendly and helpful. We loved the speakers and events we booked through Mr. Peter Walker (PDA Group).
WESTERN MICHIGAN UNIVERSITY
Thank you, Peter, for all your help, you'll be happy to know that the event went incredibly well! Aneesa Ferreira was by far one of the best speakers we've ever had!
FURMAN UNIVERSITY
Topics
A Conversation With Dan Aykroyd
Videos
Dan Aykroyd On George Stroumboulopoulos Tonight: INTERVIEW
Dan Aykroyd Got James Brown a Discount on a Rental Car
Books
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Testimonials
“Dan was great – really great. Not only in his speech – which he delivered with more energy than any other speaker we’ve had at our event – but also backstage with both the executives and the crew. I would book him in a second for another event. Please let Dan know we thought he was a delight to work with, and that his appearance was a huge success for us. We got nothing but compliments from the client and the attendees.”
IBM
“It was a great event, and people loved hearing from Dan. And he was so gracious with his time! We’ve been working with an increased number of high-profile speakers over the years, and he has now taken the number one spot in my mind for the “event planner’s ease of doing business with” category! Dan knocked it out of the park.”
Express Employment Professionals
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