River Butcher

{{short description|American comic, actor, writer, producer, and podcast host}}

{{Infobox comedian

| name = River Butcher

| image = Rhea Butcher.jpg

| caption = River Butcher

| birth_date = {{birth date and age|1982|8|12}}

| birth_place = Akron, Ohio, U.S.

| spouse = {{marriage|Cameron Esposito
|2015|2018|reason={{abbr|sep.|separated}}}}

| medium = Stand-up, television, radio, internet

| active = 2012–present

| notable_work = Take My Wife

| alma_mater = University of Akron

| website =

| module =

}}

River Buddy Butcher{{ubl|{{Cite tweet|number=1463175060173295621|user=rivbutcher|title=good morning everybody! I'm grateful to let everyone know that my name is River Butcher. [...]|first=River|last=Butcher}}|[https://www.instagram.com/p/Ce2B5Z3PFmM/ Instagram post]}} (formerly Rhea Harriett Butcher, born August 12, 1982) is an American stand-up comedian, actor, writer, producer, and podcast host. He is best known for personal, observational comedy focused on his vegetarianism, feminism, love of baseball, and experiences as a queer person.Flaherty, Bridget (August 17, 2006). "[http://thelaughbutton.com/albums/rhea-butcher-lays-butcher/ Rhea Butcher lays down all that she is and more on "Butcher"]". The Laugh Button. Retrieved November 3, 2016.

Early life

Butcher was raised in the Kenmore neighborhood of Akron, Ohio,{{cite news|last=Rabinowitz|first=Amanda|title=Comedian Rhea Butcher Keeps Akron at the Heart of Her Success|url=https://www.wksu.org/post/comedian-rhea-butcher-keeps-akron-heart-her-success#stream/0|date=August 26, 2016|website=WKSU|accessdate=December 11, 2019}}Rabinowitz, Amanda (August 26, 2016). "[http://wksu.org/post/comedian-rhea-butcher-keeps-akron-heart-her-success#stream/0 Comedian Rhea Butcher Keeps Akron at the Heart of Her Success]" WKSU. Retrieved May 31, 2017. an only child whose parents divorced when Butcher was one month old.Bigley II, James (November 16, 2016). "[https://clevelandmagazine.com/entertainment/film-tv/articles/comedian-rhea-butcher-is-the-real-deal Comedian Rhea Butcher is the Real Deal]". Cleveland Magazine. Retrieved May 31, 2017. He attended Our Lady of the Elms High SchoolO'Connor, Bill (May 3, 1995). "Youths Horrified by Nazi Camps: Study of Holocaust Fills Students with Wonder at Evil of WWII Slaughter". Akron Beacon Journal (Akron, Ohio). p. D1. and graduated from Archbishop Hoban High School in 2001.Heldenfels, Rich (October 12, 2014). "Akron Native to Perform at Musica: Rhea Butcher Returning Home with Stand-up Act". Akron Beacon Journal (Akron, Ohio). p. B1.

While attending the University of Akron, Butcher worked at a skateboard shop named Summer SquallWallace, Julie (September 11, 2000). "Falls to Be Popular with Skateboarders". Akron Beacon Journal (Akron, Ohio). p. B1. and an indoor skating facility called Joe's Skate Park,Wallace, Julie (September 14, 2001). "Park for Skaters Ready to Roll Out Mayor, Councilman to Unveil Akron Site Tomorrow". Akron Beacon Journal (Akron, Ohio). p. D1. and helped design a skatepark that opened in Akron in 2001. He graduated from the University of Akron with a degree in printmaking in 2005. Butcher attended graduate school at University of Notre Dame.

In 2006, Butcher had an exhibit at a printmaker’s show called "Prints at an Exposition".Shinn, Dorothy (February 5, 2006). "Stellar Printmakers Put Stamp on Exhibit: Summit Artspace Has Local Artists Showcasing Fresh Approaches to Art". ''Akron Beacon Journal":(Akron, Ohio). p. E4. This exhibit, which was a series of prints on muslin showing the body's organs, was inspired by his own appendectomy.

Comedy career

= Early years =

Butcher began his comedy career performing improv in Chicago at The Second City and has since performed stand-up at clubs including Zanies, the Jukebox, and Flappers, as well as Chicago Underground Comedy, The Hideout, The Lincoln Lodge, UCB, Cole's, and Meltdown."[http://www.kcrw.com/people/rhea-butcher Profile: Rhea Butcher]". KCRW. Retrieved November 3, 2016.Jung, E. Alex (August 16, 2016). "[https://www.vulture.com/2016/08/cameron-esposito-rhea-butcher-on-take-my-wife.html Cameron Esposito and Rhea Butcher on Take My Wife, 'The Show Where Lesbians Don’t Die']". Vulture. Retrieved May 31, 2017. He made his late-night debut on Conan in June 2016."[http://teamcoco.com/video/rhea-butcher-06-30-16 Rhea Butcher Stand-Up]". Conan. June 30, 2016. Retrieved November 3, 2016."Late Night". The Times Herald-Record (Middletown, New York). June 30, 2016. p. 22.

= 2014–present =

In the fall of 2014, Butcher appeared alongside Cameron Esposito in a series of videos for BuzzFeed Motion Pictures titled "Ask a Lesbian".Habersburger, Keith (October 31, 2014). "[https://www.buzzfeed.com/keithhabersberger/ask-a-lesbian-with-cameron-esposito#.va9VV4bKdZ Questions You Wish You Could Ask a Lesbian]". BuzzFeed.Star, Erika (February 20, 2013). "[http://www.afterellen.com/general-news/105780-lez-stand-out-rhea-butcher-and-cameron-esposito Lez Stand Out: Rhea Butcher and Cameron Esposito]". AfterEllen. Butcher and Esposito also co-hosted the web series "She Said" for Amy Poehler's Smart Girls Network."[https://www.buzzfeed.com/keelyflaherty/a-new-web-series-for-ladies Amy Poehler's Made A New Web Series For Women]". BuzzFeed. Retrieved November 3, 2016. The two wrote and starred together again in Take My Wife, on the comedy streaming service Seeso.Poniewozik, James (May 24, 2017). "[https://www.nytimes.com/2017/05/24/arts/television/comedy-television-im-dying-up-here-louie-maron.html Have You Heard the One About the Angsty Comic? Yes, Too Often]". The New York Times. Retrieved May 31, 2017.Yohannes, Alamin (August 29, 2016). "[https://www.nbcnews.com/feature/nbc-out/take-my-wife-honest-comedy-where-lesbians-live-n638056 Cameron Esposito, Rhea Butcher Talk Comedy, Diversity and 'Take My Wife']". NBC News. Retrieved May 31, 2017. Butcher also co-hosted the stand-up comedy podcast Put Your Hands Together with Cameron Esposito, which was recorded weekly in front of a live audience at the Upright Citizens Brigade Theater in Los Angeles until it ended in July 2019."[https://losangeles.ucbtheatre.com/show/3347 Put Your Hands Together with Cameron Esposito and Rhea Butcher] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180627202733/https://losangeles.ucbtheatre.com/show/3347 |date=June 27, 2018 }}". UCB Theatre.Rapa, Patrick (December 6, 2016). "L.A. standup comic Cameron Esposito diversifies her portfolio". The Philadelphia Inquirer.{{Cite web|url=https://twitter.com/cameronesposito/status/1143884470014992384?lang=en|title=After 6.5 great yrs, @pyhtshow will end July 30. It's been my baseline in LA — thank u to everyone who ran it, performed on it & came to laugh.pic.twitter.com/15encdzcWe|last=Esposito|first=Cameron|date=2019-06-26|website=@cameronesposito|language=en|access-date=2019-10-07}}

His first comedy album Butcher was released in August 2016 by the independent record label Kill Rock Stars."[http://www.killrockstars.com/news/Rhea-Butcher Rhea Butcher 'Butcher' Out Now on CD & MP3] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161014003331/http://www.killrockstars.com/news/Rhea-Butcher |date=October 14, 2016 }}". Kill Rock Stars. Retrieved November 3, 2016.Heldenfels, Rich (August 21, 2016). "New Album, Show for Comedian Rhea Butcher: Akron Native Returns to Area for Local Appearance, CD Signing". Akron Beacon Journal (Akron, Ohio). p. E1. The set was performed at Mississippi Studios in Portland, Oregon.Watts, Rebecca (January 13, 2016). "[http://www.portlandmercury.com/portland/rhea-butcher-is-killing-it/Content?oid=17366298 Rhea Butcher Is Killing It]". The Portland Mercury. Retrieved November 3, 2016. It debuted at number one on iTunes.

In 2016, he appeared in 8 episodes of the first season of Adam Ruins Everything. He returned in 2017 for one additional appearance.

In 2018, he started hosting a baseball-focused podcast called Three Swings.Lee, Rachel (April 25, 2018). "[http://www.gotagirlcrush.com/archive/2018/4/24/wr0bvyoe0g0tmbtgn77n5wd1run1pk Interview with comedian Rhea Butcher]". Got a Girl Crush.

In 2021, he appeared on Comedy Central Stand Up Presenting called A Different Kind of Dude.{{Citation|title=River Butcher: A Different Kind of Dude - Full Special| date=January 27, 2022 |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vgWBjutaBfw|language=en|access-date=2022-02-02}}

As stated in an interview, Butcher said his strongest comedy influences are Rosie O'Donnell, Ellen DeGeneres, Brett Butler, Elayne Boosler, Maria Bamford, and Paul F. Tompkins.Shapiro, Gregg (2016). "[http://chicago.gopride.com/news/interview.cfm/articleid/967969 Rhea Butcher: Butcher than all of you: An interview with lesbian comedian Rhea Butcher] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180830074227/http://chicago.gopride.com/news/interview.cfm/articleid/967969 |date=August 30, 2018 }}". Chicago Pride.

== Voice acting ==

Butcher provided the voice for Asher, a fictional nonbinary character, for the animated series Kipo and the Age of Wonderbeasts, released in 2020.

Personal life

Butcher met fellow comedian Cameron Esposito at an open mic hosted by Esposito.Mason, Amelia (November 2, 2017). "[http://www.wbur.org/artery/2017/11/02/comedy-wives-cameron-esposito-rhea-butcher Comedy Wives Cameron Esposito And Rhea Butcher Are Scripting Their Own Story]". WBUR. The two soon started collaborating and then began to date. On December 12, 2015, Butcher and Esposito married onstage at The Hideout in Esposito's hometown of Chicago, Illinois.Wellen, Brianna (August 17, 2016). "[https://www.chicagoreader.com/Bleader/archives/2016/08/17/two-wives-are-better-than-one-on-take-my-wife Two wives are better than one on Take My Wife]". The Chicago Reader. Retrieved January 31, 2018.{{Cite magazine|url=https://www.vanityfair.com/style/2018/08/comedians-cameron-esposito-and-rhea-butcher-announce-their-split|title=Comedians Cameron Esposito and Rhea Butcher Announce Their Split|first=Erika|last=Harwood|magazine=Vanity Fair|date=August 8, 2018}} In August 2018, Butcher and Esposito announced their separation to "live individual lives."{{Cite web |last=Butcher |first=Rhea |date=2018-08-08 |title=@rheabutcher |url=https://twitter.com/rivbutcher/status/1027242599810125824 |access-date=2018-08-08 |website=Twitter |language=en}} Their split was covered in a Vanity Fair article. In September 2019, Esposito wrote an article for the New York Times discussing the couple's pending divorce.{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2019/09/13/style/modern-love-cameron-esposito-divorce.html|title=New Hope, New Pain, Same Old Divorce|first=Cameron|last=Esposito|newspaper=The New York Times|date=September 13, 2019}}

Butcher is a trans man and uses he and they pronouns.{{Cite web |title=Gender Reveal: River Butcher on Apple Podcasts |url=https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/river-butcher/id1330522019?i=1000557889074 |access-date=2022-04-20 |website=Apple Podcasts |language=en-US}} In November 2021, Butcher announced that he had changed his name to River.

Butcher endorsed Kenneth Mejia and Eunisses Hernandez during the 2022 Los Angeles elections and Jill Stein in the 2024 presidential election.{{cite tweet|number=1520108594410102784|user=rivbutcher|title=Hey Los Angeles I am so so so stoked to vote for @EunissesH for cd1.|date=April 29, 2022}}{{Cite web |website=Mejia for Controller |title=Endorsements |url=https://mejiaforcontroller.com/endorse/ |access-date=April 21, 2022 |archive-date=April 15, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220415092124/https://mejiaforcontroller.com/endorse/ |url-status=dead }}

Notable appearances

Title	Medium	Role	Year
class="wikitable"
Put Your Hands Together	Podcast	Host	2013–2019
Wham Bam Pow	Podcast	Host	2013–2015
She Said	Web Video Series	Host	2015
Bajillion Dollar Propertie$	Television	Jamie	2016
Conan	Television	Guest	2016
Take My WifeBacle, Ariana (July 19, 2016). "[https://www.ew.com/article/2016/07/19/take-my-wife-trailer-cameron-esposito-rhea-butcher Cameron Esposito promises 'no lesbians die' in new show 'Take My Wife']". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved November 3, 2016.	Television	Self	2016–2018
Adam Ruins Everything	Television	Self	2016
The Meltdown with Jonah and Kumail	Television	Guest	2016
HarmonQuest \|Television \|Guest \|2016
Queery \|Podcast \|Guest \|2018
Good Mythical Morning \|YouTube \|Guest \|2018
Three Swings \|Podcast \|Host \|2018–present
Good Trouble \|Television \|Lindsay Brady \|2019–2021
Kipo and the Age of Wonderbeasts \|Television \|Voice of Asher \|2020
Friendsgiving \|Film \|Denim \|2020