Brett Butler (actress)
{{Short description|American actress (born 1958)}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=October 2019}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Brett Butler
| image = Brett2016.jpg
| caption = Butler in 2015
| birth_name = Brett Anderson
| birth_date = {{Birth date and age|1958|1|30}}
| birth_place = Montgomery, Alabama, U.S.
| alma_mater = University of Georgia
| occupation = {{hlist|Actress|writer|comedian}}
| years_active = 1987–present
| spouse = {{plainlist|
- {{marriage|Charles Michael Wilson|1978|1981|reason=divorced}}
- {{marriage|Ken Zieger|1987|1999|reason=divorced}}
}}
}}
Brett Butler (born January 30, 1958) is an American actress, writer, and stand-up comedian. Butler gained recognition as a stand-up comedian, performing in clubs across the United States and making appearances on The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson and The Tonight Show with Jay Leno. She is, however, best known for playing the title role in the ABC comedy series Grace Under Fire (1993–1998), for which she received two Golden Globe Awards nominations.{{cite magazine| url=https://ew.com/article/1996/11/22/brett-butler-censored/| magazine=Entertainment Weekly| first=Kristen| last=Baldwin| title=Brett Butler, Censored| date=November 22, 1996| access-date=October 21, 2019}}{{cite magazine| url=https://ew.com/article/1994/10/07/brett-butler-more-power-her/| magazine=Entertainment Weekly| first=Lisa| last=Schwarzbaum| title=Brett Butler: More Power To Her| date=October 7, 1994| access-date=October 21, 2019}} She has also had guest appearances on various series, including My Name Is Earl and Anger Management.
Life and career
=Early life =
Butler was born Brett Anderson in Montgomery, Alabama, the eldest of five sisters."Stork— St. Margaret's Hospital", The Montgomery (AL) Advertiser, February 6, 1958, p.10 ("Mr. and Mrs. R. D. Anderson Jr., of Tuskegee, a daughter, Brett, Jan. 30") She was four years old when her father, Roland Decatur Anderson Jr., an oil company executive, moved the family to Houston, Texas. Her mother Carol left Roland, an abusive alcoholic, and moved with their children to Miami, Florida. Her mother battled depression, and the family was sometimes so poor that they ate Tootsie Rolls for dinner. Butler briefly attended the University of Georgia. Before experiencing success as a stand-up comic, she worked as a cocktail waitress.{{cite magazine| url=https://ew.com/article/1994/12/30/entertainer-11-brett-butler/|magazine=Entertainment Weekly| first=Lisa| last=Schwarzbaum| title=Entertainer 11: Brett Butler| date=December 30, 1994| access-date=October 21, 2019}}
In 1978, at the age of 20, Butler married her first husband, Charles Michael Wilson, three months after their meeting. Wilson was abusive and in 1981 she left him. Since then, he has both admitted and adamantly denied battering Butler, while claiming that she too was violent. Butler returned to her mother in Miami and began performing in comedy clubs, settling on the stage name "Brett Butler" as a play on the southern U.S. Gone With the Wind character of Rhett Butler. She moved to New York City in 1984, and was arrested for possession of marijuana.{{Cite web|url=https://people.com/archive/cover-story-out-of-the-fire-vol-45-no-16/|title=Out of the Fire|website=PEOPLE.com}} In New York, she met her second husband, Ken Zieger, and they were married in 1987.
In 1987, Butler made her television debut on The Tonight Show. Also that year, she performed on Dolly Parton's short-lived variety series, Dolly. Parton hired Butler as a writer for the remainder of the show's season, but the series was cancelled after one season of lackluster ratings.{{cite magazine| url=https://ew.com/gallery/turkeys-50-remarkable-pop-culture-flops/| title=Turkeys! 50 Remarkable Pop-Culture Flops| date=August 1, 2016| magazine=Entertainment Weekly}}
=''Grace Under Fire'' and beyond=
In 1993, Butler starred in the ABC comedy series Grace Under Fire, created by Chuck Lorre.{{Cite web|url=https://www.newsweek.com/three-stars-are-born-194228|title=Three Stars Are Born|date=October 24, 1993|website=Newsweek}} Butler starred as Grace Kelly, a divorced single mother and recovering alcoholic. The show begins after the main character divorces her abusive alcoholic husband of eight years in an attempt to start life anew and prevent her children from making the same mistakes she did. For her performance, Butler received two Golden Globe nominations for Best Actress – Television Series Musical or Comedy in 1995 and 1997, and won a People's Choice Award for Favorite Female Performer in 1994.{{Cite web|url=http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0124843/awards|title=Brett Butler|website=IMDb}}{{Cite web|url=https://www.goldenglobes.com/person/brett-butler|title=Brett Butler|website=www.goldenglobes.com}} She reprised her role of Grace Kelly in The Drew Carey Show and Ellen in 1997.
Butler published her memoir, Knee Deep in Paradise, in 1996. The book was started before attaining her celebrity status, and candidly addresses much of this time, ending the autobiography before Grace Under Fire{{'}}s debut.{{cite web |url=http://www.publishersweekly.com/978-0-7868-6136-1 |title=Knee Deep in Paradise |work=Publishers Weekly |date=April 29, 1996 |access-date=November 21, 2019}}{{cite magazine |first=Lisa |last=Schwarzbaum |url=http://www.ew.com/article/1996/04/19/knee-deep-paradise |title=Knee Deep in Paradise |magazine=Entertainment Weekly |date=April 19, 1996 |access-date=November 6, 2015}}
Behind the scenes, Butler battled a recurring drug addiction and spent time in rehab.{{cite magazine |last=Flint |first=Joe |url=https://ew.com/article/1997/09/12/sad-fall-grace-under-fire/ |title=Sad fall for Grace Under Fire |magazine=Entertainment Weekly |date=September 12, 1997 |access-date=October 21, 2019}} In February 1998, due to her erratic behavior stemming from substance abuse, she was dismissed from the show and ABC cancelled the series.{{cite web|author=Miller, D. Patrick|url=http://www.fearlessbooks.com/fsBButler.htm|title=Fame, Fire and Surrender|work=fearlessbooks.com|year=2003|access-date=April 13, 2010}}{{cite news| last=Lanzendorfer| first=Joy| url=http://www.metroactive.com/papers/sonoma/08.18.04/butler-0434.html| title=Funny Lady| work=North Bay Bohemian| date=August 18, 2004| access-date=April 13, 2010}}{{cite news| title=Brett Butler's Problems Halt 'Grace Under Fire'| work=Orlando Sentinel| url=https://www.orlandosentinel.com/1998/01/18/brett-butlers-problems-halt-grace-under-fire/| access-date=November 9, 2011}} After Grace was cancelled in 1998, Butler moved from Los Angeles to a farm in Rome, Georgia. In the following years she made selected screen appearances in the films Bruno (2000) and Mrs. Harris (2005), and guest-starred on an episode of the NBC sitcom My Name Is Earl in 2005. In 2008, Butler headlined at an arts fundraiser and spoke freely with a reporter about her depression, past drug addiction, television work, and current life on the farm. She also expressed interest in writing another book.[http://www.santafe.com/article/spitfire/ "Spitfire: Comic Brett Butler set to take the stage in Santa Fe"] Santafe.com October 23, 2008 {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150114095402/http://www.santafe.com/article/spitfire |date=January 14, 2015 }}
=Return to acting=
In October 2011, Butler appeared on The Rosie Show and reported being sober since 1998.{{cite episode |title=Brett Butler and Frank DeCaro |series=The Rosie Show |date=October 26, 2011 |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wXgC-pwGLzc#t=33 |network=OWN: The Oprah Winfrey Network |season=1 |number=13 |last=O'Donnell |first=Rosie (host)}} According to an Entertainment Tonight interview at around the same time, Butler, unable to maintain the costs of her farm, had lived in a homeless shelter, though in a 2021 Hollywood Reporter profile, Butler denied that she was ever homeless, and said she was paid to fabricate this claim for the show.{{cite news| url=http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/live-feed/grace-under-fire-star-brett-263299|title=Former 'Grace Under Fire' Star Brett Butler Reveals: I'm Homeless (Video)| newspaper=The Hollywood Reporter| date=November 17, 2011| access-date=November 6, 2015}}{{cite news|url = https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/tv/tv-features/brett-butler-speaks-out-on-financial-struggles-1234998647/|title = Why Brett Butler Is Broke: 'Grace Under Fire' Star on Struggles and Survival|work = The Hollywood Reporter|last = Abramovitch|first = Seth|date = August 19, 2021|accessdate = August 28, 2021}} By this time Butler was attempting to make a career comeback and was working on developing a reality TV show about her self-professed psychic abilities and performing at the Downtown Comedy Club in Los Angeles.{{cite news| url=http://www.businessinsider.com/famous-people-who-became-homeless-2012-7?op=1| title=9 Famous People Who Became Homeless| first1=Vivian| last1=Giang| first2=Danielle| last2=Schlanger| date=July 17, 2012| access-date=November 21, 2019}}
In June 2012, Butler appeared in a recurring role on the CBS daytime soap opera The Young and the Restless playing ex-psychiatrist Tim Reid's girlfriend.{{cite journal| url=http://soapcentral.com/yr/news/2012/0508-butler.php| title=Y&R hires Brett Butler for latest stunt casting| last=Kroll| first=Dan| date=May 8, 2012| journal=SoapCentral| access-date=January 4, 2018}} She returned for two episodes in March 2015.{{cite news| title=It Never Ends...Brett Butler to Appear on The Young and the Restless| url=https://daytimeconfidential.com/2012/05/08/it-never-endsbrett-butler-to-appear-on-the-young-and-the-restless| date=March 17, 2015| last=Giddens| first=Jamey| journal=Daytime Confidential}} Later in 2012, she began appearing in a recurring role as the bartender at the restaurant that Charlie Goodson (Charlie Sheen) frequents in the FX comedy series Anger Management.{{cite news| url=https://www.nytimes.com/2013/01/27/arts/television/brett-butler-on-charlie-sheens-anger-management.html| title=Brett Butler on Charlie Sheen's 'Anger Management'| last=Rhodes| first=Joe| date=January 27, 2013| work=The New York Times| access-date=January 4, 2018}} Butler appeared in a total of 38 episodes from 2012 to 2014. In 2016, she played herself in the comedy-drama film The Comedian starring Robert De Niro.{{Cite web|url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/entertainment/movies/sc-the-comedian-mov-rev-0130-20170202-column.html|title = 'The Comedian' review: Laughs the only thing missing for de Niro's insult comic|website = Chicago Tribune| date=February 2, 2017 }}
Later, Butler began appearing in dramatic roles. She guest-starred in two episodes of HBO drama series The Leftovers, and had a recurring role as Michaela's (Aja Naomi King) adoptive mother Trishelle in the ABC legal thriller How to Get Away with Murder in 2016.{{cite news| url=http://www.tvguide.com/news/how-to-get-away-with-murder-aja-naomi-king-michaela-asher-mom/|work=TV Guide| title=How to Get Away with Murder's Aja Naomi King on That "Fishy" House Fire Reveal}} From 2018 to 2019, she played Tammy Rose Sutton in the AMC horror series, The Walking Dead.{{Cite web|url=https://www.express.co.uk/showbiz/tv-radio/1028511/The-Walking-Dead-season-9-cast-who-is-actress-Brett-Butler-who-plays-Tammy-Rose-TWD|title=The Walking Dead season 9: Who is Brett Butler? Who plays Tammy Rose?|first=Molli|last=Mitchell|date=February 11, 2019|website=Express.co.uk}} Also in 2019, she took a recurring role as Sandy Jackson, the mother of Reese Witherspoon's character in the Apple TV+ drama series, The Morning Show.{{Cite web|url=https://screenrant.com/morning-show-apple-cast-character-guide/|title=The Morning Show Cast & Character Guide|date=November 3, 2019|website=ScreenRant}}{{cite news|url = https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/tv/story/2019-11-01/review-the-morning-show-apple-tv-plus|title = Review: Watch 'The Morning Show' to the end. It's better than you've heard|last = Lloyd|first = Robert|date = November 1, 2019|accessdate = August 28, 2021|work = Los Angeles Times}}
Filmography
=Film=
| class="wikitable sortable" | |||
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1993
| The Child Ain't Right | Herself | Showtime Stand-Up Comedy special | |||
| 1994
|Herself | |||
| 2000
| Bruno | Sister Della Rosa | | |||
| 2000
| Militia | Bobbi | | |||
| 2005
| Tarnowner Ex No. 1 | Television film | |||
| 2005
| Shelly Beaudraux | | |||
| 2009
|Brett Butler Presents the Southern Belles of Comedy |Herself | | |||
| 2016
| Herself | | |||
| 2018
| Ms. LeField | |
=Television=
| class="wikitable sortable" | |||
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1988
| Dolly | Rhonda | Episode: "1.15" | |||
| 1993–1998
| Grace Kelly | 112 episodes, also executive producer | |||
| 1995
| Bre | Episode: "Women in Film" | |||
| 1995
| Brett Butler | Episode: "I Was a Teenage Lesbian" | |||
| 1997
| Grace Kelly | Episode: "Drew Gets Married" | |||
| 1997
| Ellen | Grace Kelly | Episode: "Secrets & Ellen" | |||
| 1997
| Coach | Barbara | Episode: "Viva Las Ratings" | |||
| 2005
| Connie Darville | Episode: "White Lie Christmas" | |||
| 2006
| Moochers | Host | | |||
| 2012
| Archer | Trish | Episode: "Space Race – Part 2" | |||
| 2012
| Beth Hortense | 9 episodes | |||
| 2012–2014
| Brett | 38 episodes | |||
| 2015–2017
| Sandy | Episodes: "No Room at the Inn" + "Don't Be Ridiculous" | |||
| 2016
| How to Get Away with Murder{{cite news|url=http://www.tvguide.com/tvshows/how-to-get-away-with-murder/cast/641176/|work=TV Guide|title=How To Get Away With Murder: Guest Stars}} | Trishelle Pratt | Episode 35: "It's About Frank" | |||
| 2018–2019
| 6 episodes | |||
| 2019
| Sandy Jackson | 3 episodes | |||
| 2023
| Marcia | 1 episode (Season 2, Episode 4: “Mystery in Miami”) |
References
{{reflist}}
External links
- {{IMDb name|id=0124843|name=Brett Butler}}
- {{iobdb name|9283}}
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Butler, Brett}}
Category:20th-century American actresses
Category:20th-century American comedians
Category:21st-century American actresses
Category:21st-century American comedians
Category:Actresses from Georgia (U.S. state)
Category:Actresses from Montgomery, Alabama
Category:American film actresses
Category:American television actresses
Category:American women comedians
Category:American women memoirists
Category:Comedians from Montgomery, Alabama
Category:Actresses from Houston
Category:People from Rome, Georgia