Dan Butler

Born in in 1954 in Indiana, Dan Butler studied drama at Indiana University. While there, he won the Irene Ryan Acting Scholarship, which was sponsored by the prestigious Kennedy Center. His onscreen acting career began in 1982, in a supporting role on an episode of "Remington Steele" (NBC, 1982-87), and continued with supporting roles throughout the '80s and early '90s in both film and television, with parts in dramas like "Longtime Companion" (1989) and "Silence of the Lambs" (1991), as well as a multi-episode arc on the sitcom "Roseanne" (ABC, 1988-1997). In 1993, Butler first appeared in his breakout role as sports DJ Bob 'Bulldog' Briscoe, on the hit sitcom "Frasier" (NBC, 1993-2004). The brash, macho, womanizing character was in stark contrast to the openly gay Butler, who was nominated for the 1995 Drama Desk Award for Outstanding One-Person Show, for his play "The Only Thing Worse You Could Have Told Me," where he plays ten different characters trying to understand what 'gay' means. Butler was also the voice of Mr. Simmons on the long running animated series "Hey Arnold!" (Nickelodeon, 1996-2004). After those two shows had run their course, Butler continued to appear regularly in supporting roles in films like "Crazy Stupid Love" (2011) and shows such as "Blue Bloods" (CBS, 2010-) and "Banshee" (Showtime, 2013-16) before co-starring on the horror series "The Mist" (Spike, 2017).