Former 'Grace Under Fire' Star Brett Butler Reveals She Is Homeless!

[Brian Damage]

Brett Butler starred in a successful ABC sitcom for five years, so many people might be surprised to learn that the Grace Under Fire actress is now homeless.

The actress, a two-time Golden Globe nominee her role in the 1993-98 comedy series, struggled with substance abuse while starring on the show, which was in the top 10 for two seasons. The Chuck Lorre-created show was canceled in 1998 after she was asked to leave the set because of her drug use.

"I almost died like Michael Jackson. ... I was dying of addiction," she said in an interview with Entertainment Tonight's Nancy O'Dell.

"I did everything but crack and needles pretty much," she added. "I had a variety of things given to me by doctor, and other things. I'm not doing it to be coy, but I'm not going to go through what I did. I did it 'til the wheels came off."

She went in and out of rehab, and after the show was canceled, she moved out of her L.A. mansion to a farm in Georgia, where she lived with 15 pets, but she soon ran out of money and found herself in a homeless shelter.

She said she regrets the way she acted while at the height of her career and hopes that people will forgive her for "making someone's day miserable over the choice of a word in a 22-minute show. A lot of times, I'd be an ass and didn't even think I was. Like, I'd call my managers and go, 'There's a while limo out here for an awards show,' and he'd say, 'Don't get in it,'" she said. "And he should have said, 'You ungrateful cracker, go get in the car. Go to the show, and they'll drop you out back.'"

She's now making an attempt at a comeback, developing a reality TV show about her self-professed psychic abilities and performing this weekend at the Downtown Comedy Club in Los Angeles.

"I really feel like an old dog, though," she said. "It's almost lke I was a horse that ran in the derby once. The kids are coming up and going, 'Are you still doing this?' I think it's something to do with me living through it."

Still, she's trying to remain optimistic.

"I don't think about what I survived," she said. "I hope I forgive, I hope I'm forgiven, and I'm just really glad that I think things are funny and there's no end to that."

http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/liv...r-brett-263299

[Reverend Jim]

Originally Posted by Brian Damage

Brett Butler starred in a successful ABC sitcom for five years, so many people might be surprised to learn that the Grace Under Fire actress is now homeless.

The actress, a two-time Golden Globe nominee her role in the 1993-98 comedy series, struggled with substance abuse while starring on the show, which was in the top 10 for two seasons. The Chuck Lorre-created show was canceled in 1998 after she was asked to leave the set because of her drug use.

"I almost died like Michael Jackson. ... I was dying of addiction," she said in an interview with Entertainment Tonight's Nancy O'Dell.

"I did everything but crack and needles pretty much," she added. "I had a variety of things given to me by doctor, and other things. I'm not doing it to be coy, but I'm not going to go through what I did. I did it 'til the wheels came off."

She went in and out of rehab, and after the show was canceled, she moved out of her L.A. mansion to a farm in Georgia, where she lived with 15 pets, but she soon ran out of money and found herself in a homeless shelter.

She said she regrets the way she acted while at the height of her career and hopes that people will forgive her for "making someone's day miserable over the choice of a word in a 22-minute show. A lot of times, I'd be an ass and didn't even think I was. Like, I'd call my managers and go, 'There's a while limo out here for an awards show,' and he'd say, 'Don't get in it,'" she said. "And he should have said, 'You ungrateful cracker, go get in the car. Go to the show, and they'll drop you out back.'"

She's now making an attempt at a comeback, developing a reality TV show about her self-professed psychic abilities and performing this weekend at the Downtown Comedy Club in Los Angeles.

"I really feel like an old dog, though," she said. "It's almost lke I was a horse that ran in the derby once. The kids are coming up and going, 'Are you still doing this?' I think it's something to do with me living through it."

Still, she's trying to remain optimistic.

"I don't think about what I survived," she said. "I hope I forgive, I hope I'm forgiven, and I'm just really glad that I think things are funny and there's no end to that."

http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/liv...r-brett-263299

[catlover79]

WOW.

[AB]

So sad, drugs & booze will really mess up a person's life.

[80sTrivia]

Definitely a sad, cautionary tale. Brett could have had the world, as she co-created Grace Under Fire. If she had kept it together, the show certainly would have gone on for another few seasons and then she could have made millions from a syndication deal.

[Rambo Stallone]

I don't really believe it I remember she was really hard to deal with the networks and possibly now can't get roles because of it. She was paid well, probably trying to get publicity. I doubt she is bankrupt, maybe only have a few Millions in something, these Celebrities always go to the extreme saying they homeless then you find they have 80 million dollars in things they have but it's tied up.

[Rambo Stallone]

Originally Posted by 80sTrivia

Definitely a sad, cautionary tale. Brett could have had the world, as she co-created Grace Under Fire. If she had kept it together, the show certainly would have gone on for another few seasons and then she could have made millions from a syndication deal.

Rubbish the series Run for 112 episodes so it goes in syndication deal, so she be getting royalty. The Series was from the 90 not the 60s also so their Managers would have secured good deals for them. The problem is the show doesn't rate and is one of these shows that look outdated today. The star of the show to me was Dave Thomas and his Dad on it Tom Poston that made it funny.

[ThomasE]

I loved the show. It's not too dated. You team it up with "Roseanne" and it would be just fine. She caused people to leave the show. She was off her rocker back in the day.

[Mr. Television]

The show isn't dated. The first 3 seasons were great. The last 2 weren't as good. I think that's what hurts the show in syndication. Brett was on top of the world and she blew it. I wish her only the best right now.

[80sTrivia]

Originally Posted by Rambo Stallone

Rubbish the series Run for 112 episodes so it goes in syndication deal, so she be getting royalty. The Series was from the 90 not the 60s also so their Managers would have secured good deals for them. The problem is the show doesn't rate and is one of these shows that look outdated today. The star of the show to me was Dave Thomas and his Dad on it Tom Poston that made it funny.

You definitely don't have any right to call what I said rubbish, thank you very much...

[hawkeye123]

That is really sad.I loved this show and thought it was hillarious.She was a great actor and comedian.I hope she gets her act together.I would of never suspected this from her charecthor.

[hawkeye123]

That is really sad.I loved this show and thought it was hillarious.She was a great actor and comedian.I hope she gets her act together.I would of never suspected this from her charecthor.

[liane49]

Originally Posted by Rambo Stallone

I don't really believe it I remember she was really hard to deal with the networks and possibly now can't get roles because of it. She was paid well, probably trying to get publicity. I doubt she is bankrupt, maybe only have a few Millions in something, these Celebrities always go to the extreme saying they homeless then you find they have 80 million dollars in things they have but it's tied up.

If you go on goggle it says she's homeless.

[RetroGuy2000]

So very sad. She had/has so much comedic talent. It's terrible that she let drugs get in the way of her dreams, and that she's still paying the price 15+ years later.

Brett was one celebrity who came to the town where I lived, back in 1998, when she was at the height of her fame, and she was very funny and nice. I wish her the best of luck getting her back on her feet.

[TMC]

http://uproxx.com/tv/brett-butler-ho...t-away-murder/

The woman in the photo above, depicted in a scene from the second season of HBO’s The Leftovers, may not be immediately recognizable to most readers. For five years in the 1990s, however, she was the star of a popular ABC sitcom that was watched by close to 20 million viewers a week in its first two seasons. In 1998, in the midst of its fifth season, ABC cancelled the sitcom after the star’s substance abuse led to erratic onset behavior, the departure of several cast members, and falling ratings.

Her name is Brett Butler, and her sitcom was Grace Under Fire.

Butler, who was nominated for two Golden Globe awards for her work on Grace Under Fire, developed an addiction to painkillers during her stint on the show. Under the influence of those painkillers, Butler was reportedly a menace to the rest of the cast. Her erratic behavior included flashing her bosom at a 12-year-old cast member, who quit the show abruptly. Between the fourth and fifth season of Grace Under Fire, Butler entered rehab. It didn’t work. Another cast member, Julie White, left the show before the fifth season because of conflicts with the star. Midway through production of season five, Butler entered rehab again. ABC stopped production on the series and cancelled it.

After rehab, Butler was unable to maintain her sobriety. She continued to abuse drugs heavily, as she told Entertainment Tonight in 2011:

Butler eventually left Los Angeles and moved to a farm in Georgia. When she ran out of money, she found herself living in a homeless shelter.

In recent years, however, Butler has managed to maintain her sobriety, and she’s been able to work again. In 2012, she had a short stint on the soap opera Young and the Restless; two years later, she appeared frequently on Charlie Sheen’s FX show, Anger Management; and she appeared in an episode of The Leftovers last year. She’s added several more projects in the last year, including a starring role in a movie, a bit part in a Robert De Niro film due out next year, and a more substantive role in Friday’s Child, an Imogen Poots film.

TVline is reporting, however, that she’s potentially landed her most high profile role yet since returning to acting. In the third season of How to Get Away with Murder, Butler will be returning to ABC for a “mystery role.” Details about the part are being kept under wraps, but in any event, it’s another successful step in Butler’s attempt to reclaim her career.

“I hope I forgive, I hope I’m forgiven,” she told ET in 2011. It appears as though the industry is well on its way to forgiveness.