Dean Butler (actor)
Canadian-American actor (born 1956)
Dean Butler
Butler preparing for an interview on New York's Fox 5 on April 30, 2014.
Born (1956-05-20 ) May 20, 1956 (age 68) Occupations Actor producer screenwriter Years active 1976–2008 (actor); 2005–present (producer) Spouse
Dean Butler (born May 20, 1956[1] ) is a Canadian-American actor[2] and producer of entertainment, sports and documentary programming.
Biography
Early life
Born in Prince George, British Columbia, and raised in Piedmont, California , Butler studied communication arts at the University of the Pacific in Stockton, California .[3] [4]
Career
Butler's career as an actor started with a small part on the TV series The Streets of San Francisco .[5] His first major role was in the 1978 TV movie Forever, based on Judy Blume 's novel of the same title.[6]
Butler is best known for his portrayal of Almanzo Wilder on the NBC family drama Little House on the Prairie , which was based on the classic Little House books by Laura Ingalls Wilder . He appeared in the final four seasons of the show, the spin-off show Little House: A New Beginning , and the three post-series TV movies.[7] After Little House ended, he played Jeff "Moondoggie" Griffin in the TV series The New Gidget and Buffy’s dad, Hank Summers, on Buffy the Vampire Slayer .[8] [9]
During the 1980s and 1990s, Butler was a guest star on various television series, including Murder, She Wrote ; Who's the Boss? ; The Love Boat ; and JAG .[10] [11] He co-starred with the late Gary Coleman in The Kid with the 200 I.Q. .[12] He appeared in the movies Desert Hearts and The Final Goal .[13] [14]
Onstage, Butler has performed in the shows of Stephen Sondheim . He appeared on Broadway in the original company of Into the Woods as Rapunzel's Prince, internationally as Tony in West Side Story and regionally in Company .[15] [16] [17]
Directing and producing
Butler now works largely behind the camera producing entertainment, sports, and documentary programming.[18] Butler produces Feherty for Golf Channel , starring David Feherty .[19] In addition, he is a West Coast correspondent for Broadway World , a provider of web content about the performing arts.[20]
Butler has directed, produced, written, and narrated bonus features for Little House on the Prairie DVD collections. He narrated a six-part documentary, The Little House Phenomenon .[21]
Butler has produced two documentaries, Little House on the Prairie: The Legacy of Laura Ingalls Wilder and Almanzo Wilder: Life Before Laura , which drew their inspiration from the Little House books of Laura Ingalls Wilder .[citation needed ] Additionally, in 2012, Butler co-executive produced Pa's Fiddle: The Music of America for PBS .[22]
Personal life
Butler is married to actress Katherine Cannon , who played Felice Martin on the television series Beverly Hills 90210 . They met when Cannon auditioned for the female lead in the Michael Landon series Father Murphy .[23] They live in Los Angeles, California.
Acting credits
Film
Theatre
References
^ Mike Rose, cleveland com (May 20, 2024). "Famous birthdays list for today, May 20, 2024 includes celebrities Cher, Rachel Platten" . cleveland . Retrieved June 2, 2024 .
^ Buck, Jerry (July 12, 1982). "Dean Butler hits it big in new shot at 'Little House' " . The Miami News . Retrieved July 14, 2012 . [permanent dead link ]
^ "Dean Butler" . Legacy Documentaries . Archived from the original on December 30, 2019. Retrieved November 1, 2017 .
^ Buck, Jerry (June 30, 1982). " 'Little House' star joined cast after graduation". The Desert Sun .
^ Nicholls, Liz (June 4, 1998). "From vampire-slaying to bigamy". The Edmonton Journal .
^ "Forever" . IMDB . January 6, 1978. Archived from the original on February 14, 2017. Retrieved December 8, 2017 .
^ Diefenbach, Mallory (July 29, 2017). "Actor Dean Butler dishes on 'Little House' prior to his WNY appearance" . The Daily News . Archived from the original on January 1, 2019. Retrieved December 8, 2017 .
^ "Dean Butler" . Comet Over Hollywood . August 10, 2017. Archived from the original on December 8, 2017. Retrieved December 8, 2017 .
^ Bloechi, Alyssa (July 25, 2016). " 'Little House' actor visits Manitowoc Saturday" . HTR Media . Archived from the original on December 8, 2017. Retrieved December 8, 2017 .
^ "Murder, She Wrote" . TVGuide.com . Archived from the original on December 8, 2017. Retrieved December 8, 2017 .
^ "Good Neighbors/Captain's Portrait/Familiar Faces" . IMDB . Archived from the original on February 8, 2017. Retrieved December 8, 2017 .
^ "THE KID WITH THE 200 I.Q." BBFC . Archived from the original on December 8, 2017. Retrieved December 8, 2017 .
^ Cohn, Paulette. "Dean Butler Reminisces on 'Little House' Days and Michael Landon (INTERVIEW)" . Biography.com . Archived from the original on December 8, 2017. Retrieved December 8, 2017 .
^ "The Final Goal" . IMDB . Archived from the original on February 18, 2017. Retrieved December 8, 2017 .
^ "Dean Butler – Broadway Cast & Staff" . Internet Broadway Database . Archived from the original on December 8, 2017. Retrieved December 8, 2017 .
^ Hancock, Melanie (June 22, 2017). "Discover Laura" . Discover Laura . Archived from the original on December 8, 2017. Retrieved December 8, 2017 .
^ Jacobs, Tom (October 6, 1993). "Company" . Variety . Archived from the original on December 8, 2017. Retrieved December 8, 2017 .
^ Bloechi, Alyssa (August 2, 2016). "Almanzo shares love of 'Little House' " . HTR Media . Archived from the original on October 22, 2020. Retrieved December 8, 2017 .
^ "Dean Butler · Legacy Documentaries" . Legacy Documentaries . Archived from the original on November 7, 2017. Retrieved December 8, 2017 .
^ "Dean Butler Theatre Credits" . Broadway World . Archived from the original on December 8, 2017. Retrieved December 8, 2017 .
^ Soltes, John (July 8, 2015). "INTERVIEW: Dean Butler remembers 'Little House' as sixth season hits Blu-ray" . Hollywood Soap Box . Archived from the original on December 8, 2017. Retrieved December 8, 2017 .
^ "MTSU 'Pa's Fiddle' documentary part of PBS package" . MTSU News . June 18, 2012. Archived from the original on December 1, 2022. Retrieved July 3, 2023 .
^ Dalporto, Deva (September 11, 2014). " 'Little House on the Prairie': Where Are They Now?" . Biography.com . Archived from the original on December 8, 2017. Retrieved December 8, 2017 .
External links