Brett Butler (comedian)

infobox actor
name=Brett Butler
birthdate=birth date and age|mf=yes|1958|1|30
birthplace=city-state|Montgomery|Alabama
occupation=Film, television actress

Brett Butler (born Brett Anderson on January 30, 1958, in Montgomery, Alabama) is an American actress and stand-up comedienne, best known for playing the title role in comedy series "Grace Under Fire".

Career

Butler was the oldest of five sisters. She worked as a cocktail waitress before she experienced success as a stand-up comic.

One of the first notable appearances for Butler was on Dolly Parton's ill-fated 1987 variety series, "Dolly". Parton subsequently hired Butler as a writer for the remainder of the show's season, before it was canceled.

* Butler was arrested for and convicted of drunk driving in 1981 in Marietta, Georgia.Fact|date=May 2008
* During the run of "Grace Under Fire" Butler developed a reputation for allegedly difficult, unprofessional behavior on the set, and constantly clashed with producers and writers. The situation deteriorated so substantially that co-star Julie White did not appear in the last season of the show. [ [http://www.televisionheaven.co.uk/grace.htm Television Heaven on Grace Under Fire] ]
* Towards the end of the sitcom's run, she went into rehab for painkiller addiction.Fact|date=May 2008

Book

Butler published her memoirs, entitled "Knee Deep in Paradise", in 1996. The book was started before attaining her celebrity status, and candidly addresses much of this time frame, ending the autobiography before "Grace Under Fire"'s television debut.

Trivia

* She placed 87th in Comedy Central's list of the 100 Greatest Stand-ups of All Time.
* Butler guest-starred on a December 2005 episode of the sitcom "My Name Is Earl", playing Joy's deceitful mother.
* Butler's most distinguishing characteristic is her trademark baritone speaking-voice.
* In the mid '90s, she filmed commercials for the now defunct Hills Department Stores.
* Brett Butler lives on a ranch in Rome, Georgia, a suburb of Atlanta about 70 miles northwest of the city.

References

External links

*imdb name|id=0124843|name=Brett Butler
*amg name|2:301236|Brett Butler
*tvtome person|id=2830|name=Brett Butler
* [http://www.brettbutler.com/ Official site]