Dan Dion
Daniel James Dion is an American photographer and comedy producer. He is best known for his location portraiture of comedians, and was the house photographer of the legendary San Francisco venue The Fillmore for twenty years.Early life
Dion grew up in Kenwood, California. He attended Santa Clara University, where he was the campus comedy director, producing shows such as The Second City, P. J. O'Rourke, and Greg Proops. Upon graduation, he moved to San Francisco to work for political satirist Will Durst at his comedy club, the Holy City Zoo.Career
In 1993 he was an assistant photographer for the San Francisco Giants, and became the house photographer for The Fillmore and The Warfield venues as a staff shooter for Bill Graham Presents. His location portraits of comedians have spawned ongoing exhibitions at Gotham Comedy Club, The Punch Line San Francisco, the Upright Citizens Brigade Theater in Hollywood, as well as an annual show at the Montreal Just For Laughs Festival. In 2004, as a producer, he brought comedy back to The Purple Onion and later produced a stand-up comedy web series there for Crackle, a division of Sony Entertainment. In 2012 he produced the final show at the Purple Onion, when the entire building was sold to a restaurant concern.Author
In May 2010, Dion’s book ¡SATIRISTAS!, co-authored with Paul Provenza, was published by Harper-Collins. It features interviews and portraits with Stephen Colbert, Bill Maher, George Carlin, and other satirists.
He was the photographer for the book Tuesday Tucks Me In, written by Luis Carlos Montalván and Bret Witter and published by Roaring Brook Press.
