A friend of actress and comic Brett Butler has posted a crowdsourcing GoFundMe page to help raise $15,000 for the “Grace Under Fire” star to help her avoid eviction from her current home.
Lon Strickler posted the GoFundMe on Friday and as of Monday afternoon, 147 donors had contributed $7,410, about halfway to the goal.
“We all know and love Brett from her TV series ‘Grace Under Fire’ as Grace Kelly and her many TV and stage appearances,” Strickler wrote. “But like many others, this past year has put her in a critical situation and desperation has set in. I’m not exaggerating using those words. It is urgent. Brett has exhausted all of her resources and the stress of looming eviction is straining her mentally and physically.”
Butler grew up in Marietta in the 1960s and briefly attended the University of Georgia. She had a farm in Rome for awhile, too. According to an interview she did with The Hollywood Reporter in 2011, she eventually lost her farm and spent time in homeless shelters.
Her inactive Twitter account, which hasn’t seen a new post since 2018, said she had been residing in Los Angeles.
In an interview with me in 2003 to promote stand-up shows at the Punchline, Butler said “Marietta reaped none of the cultural benefits of Atlanta. I didn’t like it. I couldn’t wait to leave.” In her gritty best-selling 1996 autobiography, “Knee Deep in Paradise,” she recounted marrying an abusive husband at age 20, then divorcing and escaping to Houston. There, she discovered stand-up comedy; so hungry to practice her newfound art, she even did jokes at strip clubs.
Butler eventually landed in New York City. That’s where the producers of “Roseanne” and “The Cosby Show” in 1993 gave her the lead role in “Grace Under Fire.” The show generated huge ratings but Butler’s battles with drugs and alcohol wreaked havoc on the set and helped send the once-successful sitcom to an early grave.
In 2003, Butler said being a big star “was compelling and boring. It’s a dangerous cocktail. I’m not blaming the system. I had stars in my eyes. I had all my dreams come true. Now I am so grateful to be alive and working in a job I love.”
She most recently had recurring roles on Apple TV+’s “The Morning Show” and AMC’s “The Walking Dead.”
Butler, Strickler wrote, “is one of of the kindest down to earth people that any one will meet. She has helped me get through some rough times and I feel it’s time for me, and her friends, to help get her through this. I have taken the initiative to start this Go Fund Me page because she is a very private person and I know she won’t ask for help. Brett has many fans all over the world. I am praying hearts will open and you will give what you can. She has made millions of people laugh over the years. It’s time to give back to her for her gift of laughter to all of us.”
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