Dean Butler (born May 20, 1956) is a Canadian-American actor 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 University of the Pacific may refer to: *University of the Pacific (Colombia) *University of the Pacific (Ecuador) *University of the Pacific (Peru) * University of the Pacific (United States) *University of Asia Pacific, Bangladesh * University of ...

Stockton, California Stockton is a city in and the county seat of San Joaquin County, California, San Joaquin County in the Central Valley (California), Central Valley of the U.S. state of California. Stockton was founded by Carlos Maria Weber in 1849 after he acquir ...

Career

Butler's career as an actor started with a small part on the TV series '' The Streets of San Francisco''. His first major role was in the 1978 TV movie ''Forever,'' based on Judy Blume's

novel A novel is a relatively long work of narrative fiction, typically written in prose and published as a book. The present English word for a long work of prose fiction derives from the for "new", "news", or "short story of something new", itsel ...

of the same title. 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. After ''Little House'' ended, he played Jeff "Moondoggie" Griffin in the TV series '' The New Gidget'' and Buffy’s dad, Hank Summers, on ''

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''. During the 1980s and 1990s, Butler was a guest star on various television series, including ''

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'', '' Who's the Boss?'', '' The Love Boat'', and '' JAG''. He co-starred with the late Gary Coleman in '' The Kid with the 200 I.Q.''. He appeared in the movies ''

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'' and ''The Final Goal''. Onstage, Butler has performed in the shows of

Stephen Sondheim Stephen Joshua Sondheim (; March 22, 1930November 26, 2021) was an American composer and lyricist. One of the most important figures in twentieth-century musical theater, Sondheim is credited for having "reinvented the American musical" with sho ...

. 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 ''

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''.

Directing and producing

Butler now works largely behind the camera producing entertainment, sports, and documentary programming. Butler produces '' Feherty'' for Golf Channel, starring David Feherty. In addition, he is a West Coast correspondent for ''Broadway World'', a provider of web content about the performing arts. 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''. 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. Additionally, in 2012, Butler co-executive produced ''Pa's Fiddle: The Music of America'' for PBS.

Personal life

Butler is married to actress

Katherine Cannon Katherine Cannon (born September 6, 1953 in Hartford, Connecticut) is an American actress. Career Cannon's early roles included ''Hawaii Five-O (1968 TV series), Hawaii Five-O'' (episode: "Time and Memories", 10/7/1970); ''Fools' Parade'' (1971 ...

, who played Felice Martin on the television series ''

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''. They met when Cannon auditioned for the female lead in the

Michael Landon Michael Landon (born Eugene Maurice Orowitz; October 31, 1936 – July 1, 1991) was an American actor and filmmaker. He is known for his roles as Little Joe Cartwright in ''Bonanza'' (1959–1973), Charles Ingalls in ''Little House on the Pr ...

series ''

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''. They live in Los Angeles, California.

Acting credits

Film

Theatre

''Theatre Credits''
''BroadwayWorld''

References

External links

* *
Dean Butler's Legacy Documentaries - a Peak Moore Enterprises, Inc. CompanyAbout Dean Butler
{{DEFAULTSORT:Butler, Dean 1956 births Living people American male film actors American male television actors Television producers from California People from Prince George, British Columbia Male actors from British Columbia Canadian emigrants to the United States People from Piedmont, California Male actors from the San Francisco Bay Area Canadian male film actors Canadian male television actors Canadian television producers