Danny Leiner
American film and television director (1961-2018)
Daniel Leiner (May 13, 1961 – October 18, 2018) was an American film and television director. He is best known for directing the stoner comedy films Dude, Where's My Car? and Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle.
Early life
Leiner was born in Manhattan, New York, in 1961. His parents were Dr. Marvin Leiner, a professor at Queens College, and Anne (Seagall) Leiner, a psychotherapist. He grew up in Brooklyn and Long Island, and attended Purchase College, where he met Edie Falco, who starred in three of his films.
Leiner died from lung cancer on October 18, 2018, at the age of 57.
Career
Leiner's first box office hit was the stoner film Dude, Where's My Car?, which was panned by critics but achieved cult film status and was widely referenced in pop-culture during the 2000s. His next film, Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle, is another stoner comedy which was positively received by both critics and moviegoers.
The public source identifies “Danny Leiner” as american film and television director (1961-2018). This brief keeps that definition visible, then builds a research path around Danny, Leiner and American.
Why this record matters
A short description can identify a subject without explaining its stakes. For “Danny Leiner”, the useful work is to connect “american film and television director (1961-2018)” to the records capable of establishing context and consequence.
Chronology provides the most reliable spine for this subject; interpretation should follow only after identities and dates are secure. The source revision retrieved here is dated Jun 10, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q690750. VIAF identifies the subject as 54103572. The Library of Congress control number is nr2005003948. 2 of 3 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1961 and 2018.
Public reputation and documentary evidence do not always develop together; absence from a summary is not evidence of historical absence. The source lead contains qualifying language; that uncertainty should survive quotation, summary and reuse. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
Read biographical claims against dates, named institutions and the cited references. Distinguish a subject’s later reputation from evidence produced during their lifetime.
- Establishing names and roles
- Building a first chronology
- Locating cited institutions
Personal papers, civil or court records, institutional files and the scholarship cited by the source.
Three-step research path
- Establish the record: confirm the title “Danny Leiner”, its source revision and the description used here.
- Expand the search: follow Danny Leiner primary sources, Danny Leiner archive and Danny research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
- Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.
Questions for further research
- Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Danny Leiner”?
- How has the subject’s reputation changed across later accounts?
- Which claims depend on a single source or contested interpretation?
Search terms from this dossier
This entry incorporates text from “Danny Leiner” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.