Daniel Eugene Butler (born December 2, 1954) is an
AmericanThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
actorAn actor or actress is a person who acts in a dramatic production and who works in film, television, theatre, or radio in that capacity...
known for his role as Bob "Bulldog" Briscoe on the TV series
FrasierFrasier is an American sitcom broadcast on NBC for eleven seasons, from September 16, 1993 to May 13, 2004. The program was created and produced by David Angell, Peter Casey, and David Lee in association with Paramount Television.A spin-off from Cheers, Frasier stars Kelsey Grammer as psychiatrist...
.
Butler was born in
Huntington, IndianaHuntington, known as the "Lime City", is the largest city in and the county seat of Huntington County, Indiana, United States. It is in Huntington Township...
and raised in Fort Wayne, the son of Shirley, a homemaker, and Andrew Butler, a
pharmacistPharmacists are health professionals who practice the science of pharmacy. In their traditional role, pharmacists typically take a request for medicines from a prescribing health care provider in the form of a medical prescription, evaluate the appropriateness of the prescription, dispense the...
. Openly
gayThe term gay was originally used, until well into the mid-20th century, primarily to refer to feelings of being "carefree", "happy", or "bright and showy"; it had also come to acquire some connotations of "immorality" as early as 1637....
, he starred in
Terrence McNallyTerrence McNally is an American playwright who has received four Tony Awards, two Guggenheim Fellowships, a Rockefeller Grant, the Lucille Lortel Award, the Hull-Warriner Award, and a citation from the American Academy of Arts and Letters. He has been a member of the Council of the Dramatists...
's 1989 play
The Lisbon TraviataThe Lisbon Traviata is a 1989 play by Terrence McNally.It focuses on two of the playwright's favorite subjects, gay relationships and Maria Callas, and includes one of his most memorable characters, flamboyantly bitchy and viciously wicked opera queen Mendy...
and wrote an
off-BroadwayOff Broadway theater is an umbrella term for a defined set of plays, musicals or revues performed in New York City. Originally referring to the location of a venue and its productions on a street intersecting Broadway in Manhattan's Theatre District, the hub of the theater industry in the United...
play about his life,
The Only Thing Worse You Could Have Told Me..., which derives its title from a comment Butler's father allegedly made when Dan came out to him.
Though Butler never hid his homosexuality, he disclosed it publicly on
Entertainment TonightEntertainment Tonight is a daily tabloid-like television entertainment news show that is syndicated by CBS Television Distribution throughout the United States, Canada and in many countries around the world. Kaylee Stacey is the producer...
in 1994 during his run as a swaggering heterosexual on
Frasier.
His partner is acting teacher and director Richard Waterhouse.
- Roseanne
Roseanne is an American sitcom broadcast on ABC from 1988 to 1997 starring Roseanne Barr.The series reached #1 in the Nielsen Ratings becoming the most watched television show in the United States from 1989 to 1990, and remained in the top four for six of its nine seasons, and in the top twenty for...
as Art (1991–1992)
- Frannie's Turn as Father Anthony (1992)
- Frasier
Frasier is an American sitcom broadcast on NBC for eleven seasons, from September 16, 1993 to May 13, 2004. The program was created and produced by David Angell, Peter Casey, and David Lee in association with Paramount Television.A spin-off from Cheers, Frasier stars Kelsey Grammer as psychiatrist...
as Robert "Bulldog" Briscoe (1993–2004)
- Caroline in the City
Caroline in the City is an American situation comedy that ran from September 21, 1995 to April 26, 1999 on the NBC television network. It starred Lea Thompson as cartoonist Caroline Duffy. The series premiered in the two-hour Thursday night block led by Friends.-Premise:Caroline Duffy is a...
as Kenneth Arabian (1995, 1997)
- Hey Arnold!
Hey Arnold! is an American animated television series that aired from October 7, 1996 until June 8, 2004 on Nickelodeon.-Premise:The show stars 4th-grader Arnold, who lives with his grandparents Phil and Gertrude, proprietors of the Sunset Arms boarding house...
- Voice of Mr.
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Daniel Eugene Butler (born December 2, 1954) is an
AmericanThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
actorAn actor or actress is a person who acts in a dramatic production and who works in film, television, theatre, or radio in that capacity...
known for his role as Bob "Bulldog" Briscoe on the TV series
FrasierFrasier is an American sitcom broadcast on NBC for eleven seasons, from September 16, 1993 to May 13, 2004. The program was created and produced by David Angell, Peter Casey, and David Lee in association with Paramount Television.A spin-off from Cheers, Frasier stars Kelsey Grammer as psychiatrist...
.
Butler was born in
Huntington, IndianaHuntington, known as the "Lime City", is the largest city in and the county seat of Huntington County, Indiana, United States. It is in Huntington Township...
and raised in Fort Wayne, the son of Shirley, a homemaker, and Andrew Butler, a
pharmacistPharmacists are health professionals who practice the science of pharmacy. In their traditional role, pharmacists typically take a request for medicines from a prescribing health care provider in the form of a medical prescription, evaluate the appropriateness of the prescription, dispense the...
. Openly
gayThe term gay was originally used, until well into the mid-20th century, primarily to refer to feelings of being "carefree", "happy", or "bright and showy"; it had also come to acquire some connotations of "immorality" as early as 1637....
, he starred in
Terrence McNallyTerrence McNally is an American playwright who has received four Tony Awards, two Guggenheim Fellowships, a Rockefeller Grant, the Lucille Lortel Award, the Hull-Warriner Award, and a citation from the American Academy of Arts and Letters. He has been a member of the Council of the Dramatists...
's 1989 play
The Lisbon TraviataThe Lisbon Traviata is a 1989 play by Terrence McNally.It focuses on two of the playwright's favorite subjects, gay relationships and Maria Callas, and includes one of his most memorable characters, flamboyantly bitchy and viciously wicked opera queen Mendy...
and wrote an
off-BroadwayOff Broadway theater is an umbrella term for a defined set of plays, musicals or revues performed in New York City. Originally referring to the location of a venue and its productions on a street intersecting Broadway in Manhattan's Theatre District, the hub of the theater industry in the United...
play about his life,
The Only Thing Worse You Could Have Told Me..., which derives its title from a comment Butler's father allegedly made when Dan came out to him.
Though Butler never hid his homosexuality, he disclosed it publicly on
Entertainment TonightEntertainment Tonight is a daily tabloid-like television entertainment news show that is syndicated by CBS Television Distribution throughout the United States, Canada and in many countries around the world. Kaylee Stacey is the producer...
in 1994 during his run as a swaggering heterosexual on
Frasier.
His partner is acting teacher and director Richard Waterhouse.
Featured television roles
- Roseanne
Roseanne is an American sitcom broadcast on ABC from 1988 to 1997 starring Roseanne Barr.The series reached #1 in the Nielsen Ratings becoming the most watched television show in the United States from 1989 to 1990, and remained in the top four for six of its nine seasons, and in the top twenty for...
as Art (1991–1992)
- Frannie's Turn as Father Anthony (1992)
- Frasier
Frasier is an American sitcom broadcast on NBC for eleven seasons, from September 16, 1993 to May 13, 2004. The program was created and produced by David Angell, Peter Casey, and David Lee in association with Paramount Television.A spin-off from Cheers, Frasier stars Kelsey Grammer as psychiatrist...
as Robert "Bulldog" Briscoe (1993–2004)
- Caroline in the City
Caroline in the City is an American situation comedy that ran from September 21, 1995 to April 26, 1999 on the NBC television network. It starred Lea Thompson as cartoonist Caroline Duffy. The series premiered in the two-hour Thursday night block led by Friends.-Premise:Caroline Duffy is a...
as Kenneth Arabian (1995, 1997)
- Hey Arnold!
Hey Arnold! is an American animated television series that aired from October 7, 1996 until June 8, 2004 on Nickelodeon.-Premise:The show stars 4th-grader Arnold, who lives with his grandparents Phil and Gertrude, proprietors of the Sunset Arms boarding house...
- Voice of Mr. Simmons/Lila's Dad (1997–2002)
- From the Earth to the Moon as NASA Flight Director Eugene Kranz
Eugene Francis "Gene" Kranz is a retired NASA Flight Director and manager. Kranz served as a Flight Director, the successor to NASA founding Flight Director Chris Kraft, during the Gemini and Apollo programs, and is best known for his role in directing the successful Mission Control team efforts...
(1998)
- More Tales of the City as Edward Bass Matheson (1998)
Guest appearances
- Leg Work
Leg Work was a short-lived American detective drama series created by Frank Abatemarco that premiered on CBS on October 3, 1987. The show produced 10 episodes, of which only six were aired prior to the show's cancellation. The final episode aired on November 7, 1987...
as Solinski in episode Blind Trust (1987)
- Monsters as David in episode A New Woman (1990)
- Quantum Leap as Jake Dorleac in episode Southern Comforts - August 4, 1961 (1991)
- Columbo as Sgt. Goodman in episode No Time to Die (1992)
- Life Goes On
Life Goes On is a television series that aired on ABC from September 12, 1989 to May 23, 1993. The show centers on the Thatchers; Drew and his wife Elizabeth and their children Rebecca and Charles, who is known as Corky; a family living in suburban Chicago...
as Ed in episode Incident on Main (1993)
- The Powers That Be
The Powers That Be is a United States television sitcom created by David Crane and Marta Kauffman that aired briefly on NBC from 1992 to 1993. Norman Lear served as executive producer for the show.-Plot:...
as Walt Stevens (1993)
- Quantum Leap as Mutta in episode Mirror Image- August 8, 1953 (1993)
- Picket Fences
Picket Fences is a 60-minute American television drama centering around the residents of the fictional community of Rome, Wisconsin. The show initially ran from September 1, 1992, to June 26, 1996, on the CBS television network in the United States. Picket Fences was created by producer David E....
as Joe Henley in episode Duty Free Rome (1993)
- The X-Files
The X-Files is an American cult science fiction television series and a part of The X-Files franchise, created by screenwriter Chris Carter. It first aired in September 1993 and ended in May 2002...
as Jim Ausbury in episode Die Hand Die Verletzt"Die Hand Die Verletzt" was the fourteenth episode of the second season of The X-Files science-fiction television series created by Chris Carter, and deals with the occult.- Plot :...
(1995)
- King of the Hill
King of the Hill is an American animated series created by Mike Judge and Greg Daniels, that ran from January 12, 1997 to September 13, 2009 on Fox. It centers on the Hills, a small-town Methodist family in Arlen, Texas...
as voice of Attorney in episode Jumpin' Crack Bass (1997)
- Tracey Takes On...
Tracey Takes On... is an HBO sketch comedy series created by British-American comedian Tracey Ullman.In 1993, Ullman returned to television after her hit Fox comedy series, The Tracey Ullman Show, was canceled, with two comedy specials for HBO. Tracey Ullman Takes On New York, and Tracey Ullman: A...
as Priest in episode Religion (1998)
- Star Trek: Voyager
Star Trek: Voyager is a science fiction television series set in the Star Trek universe. The show was created by Rick Berman, Michael Piller, and Jeri Taylor and is the fourth incarnation of Star Trek, which began with the 1960s series Star Trek, created by Gene Roddenberry...
as Steth in episode Vis à Vis (1998)
- Just Shoot Me!
Just Shoot Me! is an American television sitcom that aired for seven seasons on NBC from March 4, 1997 to August 16, 2003, with 148 episodes produced. The show was created by Steven Levitan, the show's executive producer.-Description:...
as Bill Slatton in episode Eve of Destruction (1998)
- Suddenly Susan
Suddenly Susan is an American sitcom that was broadcast on NBC from 1996 to 2000. Its headlining star was Brooke Shields, who got the show after a guest appearance on Friends in the episode "The One After the Superbowl"....
as Dr. Richards in episode War Games (1998)
- Touched by an Angel
Touched by an Angel is an American Fantasy drama television series that chronicles the missions of a group of angels sent by God. Created by John Masius and produced by Martha Williamson , it ran on CBS for nine seasons, from September 21, 1994 to April 27, 2003, and aired in many countries all...
as Dr. Ivar Kronenberg in episode Anatomy Lesson (1999)
- Ally McBeal
Ally McBeal is an American television series which ran on the Fox network from 1997 to 2002. The series was created by David E. Kelley, who also served as the executive producer, along with Bill D'Elia...
as a lawyer, episode Changes (1999)
- Crossing Jordan
Crossing Jordan is an American television crime/drama series that aired on NBC from September 24, 2001 to May 16, 2007. It stars Jill Hennessy as the crime-solving medical examiner, Jordan Cavanaugh. The show uses an ensemble cast approach featuring a group of Jordan's co-workers, members of the...
as Arnold Hummer (2002)
- American Dreams
American Dreams is an American television drama program broadcast on the NBC television network. It debuted on September 29, 2002. The show is set mostly in Philadelphia, and partly at Lehigh University...
as Coach Ambros (2002-2003)
- Malcolm in the Middle
Malcolm in the Middle is an American comedy television series created by Linwood Boomer for the Fox Network. The series was first broadcast on January 9, 2000, and ended its six-and-a-half-year run on May 14, 2006, after seven seasons and 151 episodes...
as Norm in episode "Butterflies"
- Supernatural
Supernatural is an American drama/horror television series starring Jared Padalecki as Sam Winchester and Jensen Ackles as Dean Winchester, brothers who hunt demons and other figures of the paranormal. The series, which is filmed in Vancouver, BC, debuted on September 13, 2005 on The WB, and is now...
as Reverend Sorenson in "Hook Man" (2005)
- House
House, also known as House, M.D., is an American television medical drama that debuted on the Fox network on November 16, 2004. The program was co-created by David Shore and Paul Attanasio; Fox officially credits Shore as creator. The show's central character is Dr...
as Dr. Weber in "Distractions" (2006)
- Monk
Monk is an American crime drama, created by Andy Breckman and starring Tony Shalhoub as the titular Adrian Monk. It is primarily a mystery series, although the show also features broadly comic touches. The show debuted on July 12, 2002, on the USA Network...
as Dr. Scott in "Mr. Monk Goes to the Hospital"
- Cashmere Mafia
Cashmere Mafia was a short-lived American television dramedy which ran on ABC from January 6, 2008 to February 20, 2008. The series was created by Kevin Wade, who also served as executive producer alongside Darren Star, Gail Katz, Jeff Rake and Michael Pressman, with Susie Fitzgerald co-executive...
as Maxwell Tate in "Yours, Mine, and Hers"
- Til Death
Til Death is the first full-length studio album by the American band The Undead, and the first release since the 3 song cassette from 1995. Til Death was recorded in 1997, in Bobby Steele's bedroom in New York. It was released in June 25, 1998 on Underworld Records/Post Mortem Records, and a promo...
as Paul in "Clay Date"
- Without a Trace
Without a Trace is an American television drama which originally ran on CBS from September 26, 2002 to May 19, 2009. The series is set in New York City and is about a fictitious full-time FBI missing persons unit.-Premise:...
as David Wilkins in The Source"
Noted documentary, TV movie, or film roles
- The Manhattan Project
The Manhattan Project is a 1986 American film released on June 13, 1986. Named after the World War II-era program, the plot revolves around a gifted high school student who decides to construct a nuclear bomb for a national science fair...
as SWAT Team member
- Longtime Companion
Longtime Companion is a 1990 film with Bruce Davison, Campbell Scott, Patrick Cassidy, and Mary-Louise Parker. The first wide-release theatrical film to deal with the subject of AIDS, the film takes its title from the words The New York Times used to describe the surviving same-sex partner of...
as Walter
- The Long Walk Home
The Long Walk Home was a 1990 film released starring Sissy Spacek and Whoopi Goldberg.The film is set in Montgomery, Alabama, United States, during the 1955 Montgomery Bus Boycott, and features Goldberg as Odessa Cotter, an African-American maid, employed by a well-to-do white woman, Miriam...
as Charlie
- Everyday Heroes as Dennis Peterson
- The Silence of the Lambs as Roden
- Rising Sun as Ken Shubik
- Dave
Dave is a 1993 comedy-drama movie written by Gary Ross, directed by Ivan Reitman, and starring Kevin Kline, Sigourney Weaver, Frank Langella, Kevin Dunn, Ving Rhames, Ben Kingsley, and Laura Linney. Ross was nominated for an Academy Award for his screenplay which is based on Anthony Hope's novel...
as Reporter
- The Fan
The Fan is a 1996 American thriller film starring Robert De Niro and Wesley Snipes. It was directed by Tony Scott and based on the novel of the same name by Peter Abrahams. The Fan is a psychological thriller that follows Gil Renard , a baseball fan who progresses into his own insanity...
as Garrity
- The Silver Screen: Color Me Lavender as self
- Enemy of the State as NSA Director Adm. Shaffer
- The Sissy Duckling
The Sissy Duckling is a children's book written by noted actor Harvey Fierstein and illustrated by Henry Cole. It is 40 pages long and intended for children ages 4-8. It follows the story of Elmer, a duck who is mocked for being a "sissy" but who ultimately proves his bravery...
(voice)
- Fixing Frank
Fixing Frank is a 2002 gay-themed drama film starring Dan Butler, Andrew Elvis Miller and Paul Provenza. The film played the film festival circuit in 2002 before a delayed theatrical release in 2005...
as Dr. Apsey
- From the Earth to the Moon as Gene Kranz
- Karl Rove, I Love You as Himself (Producer, co-director, co-writer)
- Prayers for Bobby
Prayers for Bobby is a television movie that premiered on the Lifetime network on January 24, 2009. Nominated for two Primetime Emmy Awards , Prayers for Bobby is produced by Once Upon A Times Films, Ltd in association with Permut Presentations and Sladek Taaffe...
as Rev. Whitsell
- Sniper 2
Sniper 2 is an American film shot in Hungary in November 2002 and released in early 2003. It stars Tom Berenger, Bokeem Woodbine, Erika Marozsán and Tamás Puskás, and was directed by Craig R. Baxley...
as Eckles