River Butcher
River Butcher is an American stand-up comedian, actor, writer, producer, and podcast host. Butcher is best known for personal, observational comedy focused on their vegetarianism, feminism, love of baseball, and experiences as a butch lesbian.[2] Originally from Akron, Ohio, he now resides in Los Angeles, California.[3]
Date of birth | August 12, 1982 |
---|---|
Place of birth | Akron, Ohio, USA |
Nationality | American |
Pronouns | they/them and he/him[1] |
Occupation | comedian, actor, writer, producer, podcast host |
Early life
Butcher was raised in the Kenmore neighborhood of Akron, Ohio,[3] an only child whose parents divorced when Butcher was one month old.[4] They attended Our Lady of the Elms High School[5] and graduated from Archbishop Hoban High School in 2001.[6]
While attending the University of Akron, Butcher worked at a skateboard shop named Summer Squall[7] and an indoor skating facility called Joe's Skate Park,[8] and helped design a skatepark that opened in Akron in 2001.[8] They graduated from the University of Akron with a degree in printmaking in 2005.[6][4] Butcher attended graduate school at University of Notre Dame.[6]
In 2006, he had an art exhibit at a printmaker's show called "Prints at an Exposition".[9] This exhibit, which was a series of prints on muslin showing the body's organs, was inspired by Butcher's own appendectomy.[9]
Career
Early years
Butcher began their comedy career performing improv in Chicago at The Second City and has since performed stand-up at clubs including Zanies, the Jukebox, and Flappers, as well as Chicago Underground Comedy, The Hideout, The Lincoln Lodge, UCB, Cole's, and Meltdown.[10][11] They made a late night debut on Conan in June 2016.[12][13]
2014–present
In the fall of 2014, they appeared alongside Cameron Esposito in a series of videos for BuzzFeed Motion Pictures titled "Ask a Lesbian".[14][15] Butcher and Esposito also co-hosted the web series "She Said" for Amy Poehler's Smart Girls Network.[16] The two wrote and starred together again in Take My Wife, on the comedy streaming service Seeso.[17][18] Butcher also co-hosted the stand-up comedy podcast Put Your Hands Together with Cameron Esposito, which was recorded weekly in front of a live audience at the Upright Citizens Brigade Theater in Los Angeles until it ended in July 2019.[19][20][21]
His first comedy album Butcher was released in August 2016 by the independent record label Kill Rock Stars.[22][23] The set was performed at Mississippi Studios in Portland, Oregon.[24] It debuted at number one on iTunes.[4]
In 2016, they appeared in 8 episodes of the first season of Adam Ruins Everything.[25] They returned in 2017 for one additional appearance.
In 2018, they started hosting a baseball-focused podcast called Three Swings.[26]
As stated in an interview, Butcher said their strongest comedy influences are Rosie O'Donnell, Ellen DeGeneres, Brett Butler, Elayne Boosler, Maria Bamford, and Paul F. Tompkins.[27]
Voice Acting
River Butcher provided the voice for Asher, a nonbinary character in Kipo and the Age of Wonderbeasts in three episodes of season two released in 2020[28] as well as voice acting the nonbinary character Sweet in the animated show Danger & Eggs.
Quotes
« | Thank you for your support of my haircut. I know it’s a good haircut, not only because you appreciate it, but because when I went through the airport the other day, I got an equal number of ‘ma’ams’ and ‘sirs.’ Right down the middle. Perfect. It’s working.[29] | » |
Links
References
- ↑ "Twitter bio". Retrieved 27 July 2021.
- ↑ Flaherty, Bridget (August 17, 2006). "Rhea Butcher lays down all that she is and more on "Butcher"". The Laugh Button. Retrieved November 3, 2016.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Rabinowitz, Amanda (August 26, 2016). "Comedian Rhea Butcher Keeps Akron at the Heart of Her Success". WKSU. Retrieved October 15, 2020. CS1 maint: discouraged parameter (link)
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 Bigley II, James (November 16, 2016). "Comedian Rhea Butcher is the Real Deal". Cleveland Magazine. Retrieved May 31, 2017.
- ↑ O'Connor, Bill (May 3, 1995). "Youths Horrified by Nazi Camps: Study of Holocaust Fills Students with Wonder at Evil of WWII Slaughter". Akron Beacon Journal (Akron, Ohio). p. D1.
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 Heldenfels, Rich (October 12, 2014). "Akron Native to Perform at Musica: Rhea Butcher Returning Home with Stand-up Act". Akron Beacon Journal (Akron, Ohio). p. B1.
- ↑ Wallace, Julie (September 11, 2000). "Falls to Be Popular with Skateboarders". Akron Beacon Journal (Akron, Ohio). p. B1.
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 Wallace, Julie (September 14, 2001). "Park for Skaters Ready to Roll Out Mayor, Councilman to Unveil Akron Site Tomorrow". Akron Beacon Journal (Akron, Ohio). p. D1.
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 Shinn, Dorothy (February 5, 2006). "Stellar Printmakers Put Stamp on Exhibit: Summit Artspace Has Local Artists Showcasing Fresh Approaches to Art". Akron Beacon Journal":(Akron, Ohio). p. E4.
- ↑ "Profile: Rhea Butcher". KCRW. Retrieved November 3, 2016.
- ↑ Jung, E. Alex (August 16, 2016). "Cameron Esposito and Rhea Butcher on Take My Wife, 'The Show Where Lesbians Don’t Die'". Vulture. Retrieved May 31, 2017.
- ↑ "Rhea Butcher Stand-Up". Conan. June 30, 2016. Retrieved November 3, 2016.
- ↑ "Late Night". The Times Herald-Record (Middletown, New York). June 30, 2016. p. 22.
- ↑ Habersburger, Keith (October 31, 2014). "Questions You Wish You Could Ask a Lesbian". BuzzFeed.
- ↑ Star, Erika (February 20, 2013). "Lez Stand Out: Rhea Butcher and Cameron Esposito". AfterEllen.
- ↑ "Amy Poehler's Made A New Web Series For Women". BuzzFeed. Retrieved November 3, 2016.
- ↑ Poniewozik, James (May 24, 2017). "Have You Heard the One About the Angsty Comic? Yes, Too Often". The New York Times. Retrieved May 31, 2017.
- ↑ Yohannes, Alamin (August 29, 2016). "Cameron Esposito, Rhea Butcher Talk Comedy, Diversity and 'Take My Wife'". NBC News. Retrieved May 31, 2017.
- ↑ "Put Your Hands Together with Cameron Esposito and Rhea Butcher". UCB Theatre.
- ↑ Rapa, Patrick (December 6, 2016). "L.A. standup comic Cameron Esposito diversifies her portfolio". The Philadelphia Inquirer.
- ↑ Esposito, Cameron (2019-06-26). "After 6.5 great yrs, @pyhtshow will end July 30. It's been my baseline in LA — thank u to everyone who ran it, performed on it & came to laugh.pic.twitter.com/15encdzcWe". @cameronesposito. Retrieved 2019-10-07.
- ↑ "Rhea Butcher 'Butcher' Out Now on CD & MP3". Kill Rock Stars. Retrieved November 3, 2016.
- ↑ Heldenfels, Rich (August 21, 2016). "New Album, Show for Comedian Rhea Butcher: Akron Native Returns to Area for Local Appearance, CD Signing". Akron Beacon Journal (Akron, Ohio). p. E1.
- ↑ Watts, Rebecca (January 13, 2016). "Rhea Butcher Is Killing It". The Portland Mercury. Retrieved November 3, 2016.
- ↑ "Adam Ruins Everything (TV Series 2015– ) - IMDb" – via www.imdb.com.
- ↑ Lee, Rachel (April 25, 2018). "Interview with comedian Rhea Butcher". Got a Girl Crush.
- ↑ Shapiro, Gregg (2016). "Rhea Butcher: Butcher than all of you: An interview with lesbian comedian Rhea Butcher". Chicago Pride.
- ↑ Kipo and the Age of Wonderbeasts (TV Series 2020– ) - IMDb, retrieved 2020-06-23
- ↑ Long, Sarah (February 24, 2017). "Get to Know Nonbinary Comedian Rhea Butcher & Her Other Political Beliefs". SheKnows. Retrieved August 5, 2020.
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