Home | Grumpy Old Dan

My generation can finally lay claim to its very own humorist in Dan Remmes. Hilarious and philosophical.

ROB CORDDRY
The Daily Show, Hot Tub Time Machine, Ballers

Look out, David Sedaris! I loved these essays—heartfelt, real and laugh-out-loud funny.

RANDYE KAYE
Actor, Broadcaster, Author of Ben Behind his Voices and Happier Made Simple

If they gave Pulitzer Prizes for hilarious turns of phrases, Remmes would have a shelf full of them.

PAUL PROVENZA
Theatre-World Award-winning Comedian, Actor & Director
The Green Room with Paul Provenza,The Aristocrats

Remmes brings craft that most of them lack . . . that's not common.

His unique, but extremely relatable point of view offers insight into the mind of one of America's funniest actors and writers.

RITA HARVEY
Broadway Actor and Singer

The small, daily indignities of 21st Century life are made far more bearable and a lot funnier by reading GRUMPY OLD DAN.

STAN CHERCHIN
Academy-Award Nominated Screenwriter, MONEYBALL

His memoirs and stories are timely and relatable, funny and insightful, and they literally made me laugh out loud.

LAWRENCE THELEN
Author of The Show Makers: Great Directors of the American Musical Theatre

Satisfyingly fun, intriguing, thought-provoking slices of life that are often unexpectedly hilarious.

His mastery of imagery and constant barrage of hilarious and poignant anecdotes had me doubled over laughing in coffee shops and wiping away sentimental tears on the subway.

TRAVIS MITCHELL
Broadway Actor

Hilariously captures and personalizes the journey of life so many of us have gone through with razor-sharp insight and truthfulness.

NEIL BERG
Award-Winning Lyricist and Composer of GRUMPY OLD MEN: THE MUSICAL

It's worthy of at least two O. Henry Awards.

ROB CORDDRY
The Daily Show, Hot Tub Time Machine, Ballers

Like approaching a friendly guy at a dinner party who immediately overshares—but in a way that you just want to hear more.

SCOTT SICKLES
Playwright and Emmy Award-Winning Writer on GENERAL HOSPITAL

A funny . . . self-deprecating memoir …

Dan Remmes is an acknowledged grump. He's also warmhearted and keenly observant. In this eclectic collection of sidesplitting stores, humiliating mishaps, social commentaries and introspective musings, Dan also offers a healthy dose of Hollywood and New York City nostalgia.

Perfect for fans of David Sedaris and Nate Bergatze, GRUMPY OLD DAN is a laugh-out-loud ride through the frustrations and joys of life—told by a man who is simultaneously exasperated by the world and deeply in love with it.

Author DAN REMMES is an award-winning playwright, screenwriter, and actor whose work has featured Emmy-, Tony-, and Oscar-winning performers. His scripts have been produced and workshopped across Europe and North America, including at the White House. He is the writer of the critically-acclaimed Grumpy Old Men: The Musical. For more information, visit DanRemmes.com

GRUMPY OLD DAN went on sale July 14, 2026 as the #1 new release on Amazon. It is available in hardcover, paperback, and eBook/Kindle. Purchase at your favorite book store or click below to order at your online venue of choice.

Audiobook coming soon!

August 6, 2026. Private book-launch party in Manhattan.

August 18, 2026. The beautiful Fairfield University Bookstore in downtown Fairfield, CT will host a meet and greet with Dan from 6-7pm. Admission is free. Watch this space for more information.

Watch this space for upcoming social media links and mail list information.

"Look out, David Sedaris! I loved these essays—heartfelt, real, and laugh-out-loud funny. Dan Remmes lifts moments of life from the everyday to the unusual, and makes them both memorable and always relatable."

—RANDYE KAYE
Actor, Broadcaster, Author of
Ben Behind His Voices and Happier Made Simple

"Dan Remmes has a mind that swings effortless from profound philosophical questions all the way to oddball musings about pinky toes. If they gave Pulitzer Prizes for hilarious turns of phrases, he would have a shelf full of them."

—PAUL PROVENZA
Theatre World Award-winning Comedian,
Actor & Director
The Green Room with Paul Provenza, The Aristocrats

"With self-effacing honesty and an all-seeing comic eye, Dan shares the battle scars, missteps, judgments, frustrations, humiliations and accidental miracles from his coming of age. We've all been there—but thank God, Dan Remmes wrote it down."

—DAVID SIMPATICO
Award-winning Dramatist, Librettist
Writer of Disney's High School Musical on Stage

"Grumpy Old Dan is a beautiful collection of essays that jump from humorous to heart-wrenching to tender to . . . well . . . just real. His mastery of imagery and constant barrage of hilarious and poignant anecdotes had me doubled over laughing in coffee shops and wiping away sentimental tears on the subway."

—TRAVIS MITCHELL
Broadway Actor

"FIVE STARS [Highest Rating] Remmes has an essayist's gift: he's honest about himself in ways that are useful rather than therapeutic . . Remmes brings a craft that most of them lack. He also carries a story with real stakes, a real body, and a reckoning . . . That's not common."

—Scott Olsen
MANHATTAN BOOK REVIEW

"In his genuinely warm and self-effacing introduction, Remmes claims this compendium of observations won't change our lives or the world. He lies to us right off the bat! Grumpy Old Dan is like approaching a friendly guy at a dinner party who immediately overshares—but in a way where you just want to hear more about their tribulations and give them a great big hug when they're done . . . only for them to launch into another uniquely Remmesian situation that still connects with your own life and heart."

—SCOTT SICKLES
Playwright and Emmy-Award-Winning writer,
General Hospital

"Dan Remmes hilariously captures and personalizes the journey of life so many of us have gone through with razor sharp insight and truthfulness. To no one's surprise, it's also hilarious and reminds us all that we are not alone."

—NEIL BERG
Award-winning Composer and Lyricist.
Composer, Grumpy Old Men: The Musical

"This hilarious, thoughtful and often philosophical book is as much about Dan Remmes' memories as it is about memory itself. Not since Paul Fien's book have I groaned with as much cringing recognition at life's never ending humiliations. It's worthy of at least two O. Henry Awards."

—ROB CORDDRY
The Daily Show, Hot Tub Time Machine

"Dan Remmes' collection of essays and stories is hilarious, yet poignant and deeply personal. His unique, but extremely relatable point of view offers insight into the mind of one of America's funniest actors and writers."

—RITA HARVEY
Broadway Actor & Singer

"The small, daily indignities of 21st Century life: waiting in line, carbon monoxide alarms . . . and the larger ongoing challenges: raising children, aging parents . . . are made far more bearable and a lot funnier by reading Grumpy Old Dan."

—STAN CHERCHIN
Academy Award-nominated screenwriter,
Moneyball

"Taken together, Remmes' hilarious essays paint a picture of a wry and witty man reexamining his life—perhaps in hopes of finding different answers to questions that had been settled long ago. His memoirs and stories are timely and relatable, funny and insightful, and they literally made me laugh out loud."

—LAWRENCE THELEN
Author, The Show Makers: Great Directors of the American Musical Theatre

"Self-describing as an aging curmudgeon, Remmes instead comes across as self-aware and wise. The book's conversations are evocative. Grumpy Old Dan engages in deep self-reflection, overlaid with a lighthearted tone."

—Andrea Kreidler
FOREWARD REVIEWS

"This collection moves at a breakneck pace, veering from laugh-out-loud Hollywood absurdity to the quiet, dusty corners of New York City nostalgia. For readers who appreciate the dry, observant wit of David Sedaris, Grumpy Old Dan offers a front-row seat to a life lived at full volume. It is a cynical, tender, and deeply funny account."

—RADICAL GRAMMAR.COM
"Books for your TBR Stack"

"The diverse subjects and transition points of these stories are satisfyingly fun, intriguing, thought-provoking slices of life that are often unexpectedly hilarious. Grumpy Old Dan illustrates how the personal essay an inject the memoir format with a literary immediacy that will appeal to a wide audience, and is highly recommended for library lending and book club pursuit alike."

—MIDWEST BOOK REVIEW