Who is Christopher LaVoie? Man behind ‘4 Days’ reality shows has history of run-ins with police, dubious business ventures
Christopher LaVoie is the creator of “4 Days Out,” a reality television show about life at a New Orleans fishing resort. Christopher LaVoie has been described as rich and glamorous, but as of early 2013, there was a lot more to the 33-year-old businessman than that.
Chris LaVoie’s family tree stretches back to the early 1900s when his ancestor James LaVoie arrived in the United States. James LaVoie started his own farm in Pennsylvania and then moved to North Carolina and later settled in rural Louisa County, where he was described as a devout Christian who owned a large farm.
On his family tree, however, LaVoie’s grandfather is not listed. James LaVoie did not appear on his family pedigree. Later generations of his family, which now own a large fishing resort in the Mississippi Gulf Coast, were listed as “other,” but they didn’t seem to be James LaVoie’s blood relatives.
LaVoie, who is listed as a “high school dropout” on his website, said he got his start in show business starting out in the 1970s with a comedy club in Philadelphia.
The following year, LaVoie moved to New York City, where he formed his own stand-up comedy troupe. In 1987, he moved to Chicago, where he met and married Valerie Gagne, the daughter of a New York radio personality.
The two have been a couple for more than four decades, the two of them together for almost 40 years.
In an interview with WGN-TV reporter Tom Stienstra, LaVoie said he never believed his show would go anywhere. He said it was only when he and Gagne moved to Louisiana that they saw the possibilities of a reality TV program.
LaVoie said he was inspired by the success of “Wheel of Fortune,” “Deal or No Deal,” and “Jeopardy;” these shows are all about asking the biggest question of the day: