Brett Butler on Grace Under Fire

		Sunday, Nov 23, 2008 08:36:19 AM

	GRACE UNDER FIRE

	BRETT BUTLER as Grace Kelly

	DAVE THOMAS as Russell Norton

	JULIE WHITE as Nadine Swoboda

	CASEY SANDER as Wade Swoboda

	KAITLIN CULLUM as Libby Kelly

	COLE & DYLAN SPROUSE as baby Patrick Kelly


	PROGRAM CONTACTS & FAQ

	PROGRAM SCHEDULE

Brett Butler
Grace Kelly on Grace Under Fire

Brett Butler should have been born in Tuskegee, "only the hospital was in Montgomery, Alabama," she explains. But she contends -- more importantly -- that she "was conceived in Atlanta and raised in Georgia." The lady has been called "a good ol' girl" version of Lenny Bruce and "one of the best comic minds around today."

Lest anyone thinks her name is a misprint from the pages of "Gone With the Wind," she explains that her mother did give her a literary name, but after Hemingway's heroine, Lady Brett Ashley, in "The Sun Also Rises." "Butler" had a non-literary source. It came via her mother's marriage to her stepfather.

Brett performed her first routine in a school pageant at the age of eight. "I did some old George Carlin stuff, like 'the hippy-dippy weatherman,' and some anecdotes about me and my four sisters that my mother had sent to Reader's Digest, which never published them."

Throughout her high-school years, friends would comment on Brett's humor, although she doesn't remember doing anything she meant to be funny. Her innate sense of humor not only helped her through high school, but also through a short-lived marriage. She finally moved to Texas and began pursuing a career in comedy, performing "wherever and whenever." After doing more than 1,000 shows in two years, she drove her '69 Grand Prix to New York City (the first time she ever left the South), and she's been a mainstay on the comedy scene ever since.

Brett's razor-sharp delivery and fast-paced stage act is peppered with intelligent insights among a few obscure literary references. Racism, religion, women's shelters, rednecks and Elvis all suffer the wrath of her hilarious scrutiny.

She willingly describes herself as "proletarian, but literate ... I'm a hypocrite. I'm a socialist with a Gold Card," she says, laughing. "I think we need a revolution, but I'm scared I won't be able to find good moisturizer after it happens. I'm just trying to flip the coin and see the darker side." Brett can now view that dark side -- and her somewhat rocky journey through life -- with humor, thanks to rigorous self-assessment.

Brett was nominated for a 1990 American Comedy Award as Funniest Female Stand-up. She had been a writer and part-time performer on ABC's "Dolly" series, starring Dolly Parton. To date, she has appeared on dozens of TV comedy shows and is very popular on the comedy-club circuit. Last summer, she finished a mini stand-up tour in seven cities around the country. "Grace Under Fire" is her first starring series and she is beginning her second season as an executive producer of the program. This year also saw the publication of her autobiography, "Knee Deep In Paradise."

Brett is bicoastal, with home bases in New York City and Los Angeles. In her spare time, she likes to write short stories and poetry. For a pet, she feeds "the biggest, nastiest 20-pound cat named Floyd."

VITAL STATISTICS
BIRTHPLACE: Montgomery, AL
BIRTHDATE: Jan. 30
HEIGHT: 5'9"
HAIR: Blonde ... Not!
EYES: Green

Also Visit:

Please note, this is a local TV station in Charleston-Huntington, WV. If you live outside the Charleston-Huntington, West Virginia television viewing area, please contact the local TV station in your area.