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Dan Butler
Butler in 1995
Born	Daniel Eugene Butler (1954-12-02) December 2, 1954 (age 70) Huntington, Indiana, U.S.
Occupation(s)	Actor, voice actor
Years active	1982–present
Spouse	Richard Waterhouse

Daniel Eugene Butler (born December 2, 1954) is an American actor known for his role as Bob "Bulldog" Briscoe on the TV series Frasier (1993–2004), later reprising the role in 2024; Art in Roseanne (1991–1992); for the voice of Mr. Simmons on the Nickelodeon TV show Hey Arnold! (1997–2002), later reprising the role in Hey Arnold!: The Jungle Movie (2017); and for film roles in Enemy of the State (1998) and Sniper 2 (2001).

Education

Butler was born in Huntington, Indiana, and raised in Fort Wayne, the son of Shirley, a homemaker, and Andrew Butler, a pharmacist. While a drama student at Purdue University Fort Wayne in 1975, he received the Irene Ryan Acting Scholarship, sponsored by the Kennedy Center. From 1976 to 1978, he trained at the American Conservatory Theater in San Francisco.

Career

Butler is best known for his role as Bob "Bulldog" Briscoe in the NBC sitcom Frasier, appearing in every season but one between 1993 and 2004. The character was a volatile, boorish, intensely macho sports presenter who hosted the show which followed Frasier's daily broadcast at the radio station KACL. Butler directed one episode during season five of Frasier. He is also one of two actors to play two characters in the Hannibal Lecter franchise. In 1986, he played the role of Jimmy Price, a technician in the film Manhunter; then, 5 years later, he played the role of Roden in 1991's The Silence of The Lambs. The other actor is Frankie Faison. In 1998, Butler played the role of NSA Director Admiral Shaffer in Enemy of the State and in 2006, Butler produced and starred in the faux documentary Karl Rove, I Love You (which he also co-wrote and co-directed). Other film work includes roles in Prayers for Bobby and Longtime Companion. Butler is an established stage actor. In 2018, he played Lenin in the Broadway revival of Tom Stoppard's Travesties. Other recent appearances include as Truman Capote in American Repertory Theater's 2017 production of Rob Roth's Warhol/Capote and Jack in the 2013 Off-Broadway production of Conor McPherson's The Weir.

Personal life

Butler lives in Vermont and is married to producer Richard Waterhouse. He came out to his family when he was in his early 20s. He wrote a one-man show, The Only Thing Worse You Could Have Told Me, which opened in Los Angeles in 1994 and also played in San Francisco and off-Broadway in New York. It was Butler's public coming out. The play had ten characters "just processing what gay means". He was nominated for the 1995 Drama Desk Award for Outstanding One-Person Show.

Filmography

Film

Television

References

1. "Dan Butler profile". Filmreference.com. Retrieved December 4, 2013.
2. "ACTF - Irene Ryan Acting Scholarship National Winners". Kennedy Center. Retrieved December 4, 2013.
3. "Things Only Getting Better for Dan Butler". SFGATE. September 15, 1996. Retrieved August 17, 2018.
4. "Frasier Gotta Have It". Frasier Online. Retrieved June 8, 2023.
5. ^ Robinson, Charlotte (July 18, 2012). "Dan Butler on LGBT Issues and His New Film 'Pearl'". The Huffington Post. Retrieved July 21, 2012.
6. ^ Walsh, Jeff (November 1, 1998). "On NBC's 'Frasier,' openly gay Butler plays it straight". Oasis Magazine. Archived from the original on July 19, 2012. Retrieved July 21, 2012.
7. Brantley, Ben (April 24, 2018). "Review: Screwball Eggheads Tear Up the Library in 'Travesties'". The New York Times. Retrieved August 11, 2018.
8. Verini, Rob (September 25, 2017). "Massachusetts Theater Review: 'WarholCapote'". Variety. Retrieved August 11, 2018.
9. Jaworowski, Ken (May 27, 2013). "Tales Told From a Bar Stool, Each One More Shivery Than the Other". The New York Times. Retrieved August 11, 2018.
10. "Dan Butler | Actor, Writer, Director". IMDb.

External links

• Dan Butler at IMDb
• Dan Butler at AllMovie

• 1954 births
• 20th-century American LGBTQ people
• 20th-century American male actors
• 21st-century American LGBTQ people
• 21st-century American male actors
• American gay actors
• American male film actors
• American male television actors
• Indiana University–Purdue University Fort Wayne alumni
• LGBTQ people from Indiana
• Living people
• Male actors from Fort Wayne, Indiana
• People from Huntington, Indiana