Played by Michael J. Fox

Daniel Post was introduced in Season 2 the CEO of Christberg Phelem, Incorporated and a Crane, Poole & Schmidt client suffering from terminal lung cancer. He has twice been a defendant - once in a civil suit and once in a criminal suit - and also served as the second chair to Denise Bauer in another case, and was also Denise's suitor, eventually proposing to her.

The Cancer Study Case
Post was introduced as a prominent client needing representation after being sued by fellow cancer-sufferer Robert Hopper for influencing the medical trial of a new cancer drug. Supposedly, he had used his friendship with the CEO of Devlin-McGregor, the drug's maker, to ensure that he received the actual drug and not a placebo.

Post was originally represented by Paul Lewiston in the case, but on the day of the trial, Paul realized that he needed assistance and asked Denise Bauer to second-chair. During the trial, Daniel became more interested in wooing Denise than in winning the case and decided to offer a generous settlement amount to Mr. Hopper. However, Mr. Hopper declined the offer, stating that he wished to take up as much of Post's remaining time as possible as well as send a message to others who might consider corrupting medical trials.

Denise was originally unimpressed by Daniel because she considered him to be "a rich guy who throws his wieght around". But after dining together twice, Daniel had charmed her enough to give her a good-night kiss.

Daniel Gets to Play Lawyer
With his relationship with Denise progressing, Daniel convinced her to let him second-chair a case with her. First, he needed to get permission from a partner, so he established a quick rapport with Denny Crane, who gave his okay. The client in the case was high school teacher Traci Carpenter, who was seeking a temporary restraining order against the parents of one of her students. During the trial, Daniel continues to demonstrated his abilities as a charmer, winning Judge Peggy Zeder's favor and giving a passionate closing. In the end, Judge Zeder granted Ms. Carpenter's request for injunctive relief.

Daniel's performance in court finally won him Denise's heart. He invented a nickname for her, "Guido", a reference to a character in "Dante's Inferno". At the end of the episode, the two were in bed together, and Denise seemed happy until Daniel reminded her of his fate by saying his chemotherapy treatments begin the next day. While he slept, Denise desperately researched cancer treatment options on the internet.


Denise was desperate to get in touch with Daniel, who was in the hospital receiving chemo treatments. Daniel would not return her calls, so she eventually visited him in person and chided him for shutting her out, then climbed into bed with him to cuddle.

Breast in Show
His treatments now over, Daniel visited Denise at the office, where she let him know that Robert Hopper had died, meaning the lawsuit was over. Nevertheless, Daniel insisted that Hopper's widow receive the original settlement offer.

Daniel arranged a party which he described as his funeral, and he invited Denise. She felt a little uncomfortable about the idea but agreed to go with him. The 'funeral' was a festive occasion in a bar, and Denise was introduced to several of Daniel's friends and family members. Feeling completely out of place, and unable to forget the true reason for the party, Denise left early. Later, Daniel visited her at her office, where she declared she was too much of a coward and couldn't continue the relationship. Daniel announced he was going to Switzerland to try another experimental treatment and to wait for him to come back before deciding. His parting words were "I'll see you, Guido".

BL: Los Angeles
Months later, Denise assumed Daniel was surely dead. Then, when she least expected it, he appeared in her office with a greeting of "Hey, Guido". The two went out to dinner to catch up, and Daniel surprised her with a proposal: "Listen ... you wanna marry me?"

The Lung-Trafficking Case
Denise announced her engagement to Daniel to members of the firm, before announcing that he was also under arrest. He was accused of illegally purchasing a human lung, which had been promised to him by Tom Raulston, a friend dying of a brain tumor. According to the prosecution's case, Daniel had repaid Tom by paying his daughter Megan's tuition at the University of Pennsylvania. Helped by Shirley Schmidt's heartfelt trial closing, the jury found Daniel not guilty.

After the trial, Daniel told Denise that he and Tom were going on a five or six-week 'vacation' but wouldn't tell her to where. Later, alone in her office, confused and unsure of whether she would ever see him again, Denise broke down in tears.

His Death (?)
In episode 3x07 [Trick Or Treat], Denise learned of Daniel's death via a mariachi band singing the Sonny and Cher song Sing Ce'st La Vie. He died having a lung transplant procedure performed in Brazil. Having donated his body for research or transplant, his remains were then stolen and dispersed around the country via black market channels. Luke Kenneally, a coroner at Boston General Hospital, was able to locate his spleen, heart, liver, small intestine, and one kidney. With the spleen, a tissue match proved that it belonged to Daniel.

Upon the suggestion of imprisoned body-part black marketeer Harold Pines, Denise went to a haunted house in Salem, in search of Daniel's head. She was accompanied by Shirley Schmidt, and they indeed found a head, with the strong suggestion (loud screams) that it was Daniel's.

There is speculation that Daniel is not really dead. It could be that this was all a sophisticated prank, as he certainly had the money and wherewithal to pay off hospital staff, Mr. Pines, and others. However, it would seem out of character for him to play such a cruel joke on Denise.

Daniel's Charitable Works
Although Daniel said his mom told him "that it's impolite to brag about one's good works" (The Cancer Man Can), Daniel did reveal quite a few of the good things he had done with his riches. For instance, he told Denise that his company sent thousands of supplies to New Orleans after Hurrican Katrina and that he funds a charter school for learning disabled kids in South Boston (The Cancer Man Can). In his lung-buying trial (Can't We All Get a Lung?), Daniel testified that he gave $50,000 to a security guard at his office to enable his autistic son attend a special school. And according to his lawyer (Denise), he donated money to the Children's Hospital of Boston "and a dozen other charities".
Daniel admitted, however, that the motivation behind his good deeds was not entirely altruistic, as he pointed out to Denise (The Cancer Man Can) - "Money gives me connections, connections let me do what I want".

Michael J. Fox
A television actor since the '70s, Canadian-born Michael J. Fox was one of the biggest stars of the '80s, first as Alex P. Keaton on TV's Family Ties and then as the star of the Back To the Future movies. Fox returned to series TV in Spin City (1996-2001) before the increasing effects of Parkinson's disease (with which he had been diagnosed in 1991) forced him to curtail his acting career. His most recent television role before appearing on Boston Legal was in two episodes of Scrubs last season.

In recent years, Fox has been a strong advocate for the advancement of stem cell research, which could provide a cure for Parkinson's disease some day. In the 2006 national election, he endorsed Missouri Senate candidate Claire McCaskill because of her stance on the issue. Conservative talk-radio personality Rush Limbaugh created a firestorm of controversy by accusing Fox of 'faking' his symptoms in a campaign commercial. In a personal victory for Fox, McCaskill won the election, and a measure protecting stem cell research in Missouri was passed.

Michael J. Fox at the Internet Movie Database.
Michael J. Fox at Wikipedia.