Brent Butt

Brent Butt
Butt performs at Casino Regina
Born	Brent Leroy Butt (1966-08-03) August 3, 1966 (age 58) Tisdale, Saskatchewan, Canada
Occupations	Actor comedian screenwriter
Years active	1989–present
Notable credit	Corner Gas (2004–2009)
Spouse	Nancy Robertson ​ (m. 2005)​
Website	brentbutt.com

Brent Leroy Butt^[1] (born August 3, 1966) is a Canadian actor, comedian, and writer. He is best known for his role as Brent Leroy on the CTV sitcom Corner Gas, which he created.^[2][3] He also created the television series Hiccups and wrote the 2013 film No Clue. In 2023, he released his debut novel, Huge, a psychological thriller about touring comedians.

Early life and education

Born on August 3, 1966, in Tisdale, Saskatchewan,^[4] Butt attended Tisdale Unit Composite School. After graduating, Butt briefly attended Ontario's Sheridan College before returning to his home in Saskatchewan.

Career

While working as a drywaller, Butt and a friend started a publishing company, Windwolf Graphics. His comic, Existing Earth, was nominated for an Eagle Award. They published two issues before running out of money.

In February 1988, Butt performed stand-up comedy for the first time at an amateur night at a Saskatoon comedy club.^[5] He then began performing in the Yuk Yuk's chain in Western Canada, before moving to Toronto in 1989, where he lived in a Cabbagetown apartment with two other comedians, and performing at Yuk Yuk's there.

Butt presented stand-up performances for CTV, CBC Television, CBC Radio's Definitely Not the Opera, and The Comedy Network in Canada, as well as A&E in the United States and the Special Broadcasting Service in Australia. He composed a number of prairie-oriented funny and/or "folksy" songs, including "Nothing Rhymes with Saskatchewan" and "Hairy Legs".

In 2003, through his production company Prairie Pants, Butt co-created the CTV television series Corner Gas, set in his home province of Saskatchewan.^[6][7] He starred in the show from 2004 to 2009^[8]

On May 19, 2005, Butt hosted a Royal Command Performance gala for Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, held in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, to celebrate the Canadian province's centennial. He performed his song "Nothing Rhymes with Saskatchewan" and traded jokes with Leslie Nielsen. That year, he also hosted the Juno Awards.^[9]

In 2008, Butt and Prairie Pants made the decision to end Corner Gas after its sixth season, which aired during the 2008–2009 season.^[10]

At the World Television Festival in Banff, Alberta, Butt was given the Comedy Network Sir Peter Ustinov Award which is presented in recognition of a significant body of comedic work. Past recipients include John Cleese, Bob Newhart, John Candy, and Eugene Levy.^[11]

Butt also wrote and produced a comedy series for CTV, from 2010 to 2011, entitled Hiccups. The series starred Nancy Robertson as Millie Upton, a children's author who begins seeing a life coach to deal with her anger management issues.^[12]

On July 25, 2010, Butt had a one-hour comedy special titled The Brent Butt Comedy Special. It was shown on The Comedy Network. Guest stars were Seth Rogen, Dave Foley, and Jully Black.

In 2014, Butt co-wrote and co-executive produced the film, Corner Gas: The Movie, which was released in theatres and on CTV on December that year.^[13] He also reprised the role of Brent LeRoy. The film included cameo appearances by several Canadian TV personalities as well as Academy Award nominee Graham Greene and Will Sasso.

In April 2018, Brent's follow-up series Corner Gas Animated premiered on The Comedy Network.^[13]

In 2023 his debut novel was released, Huge, a psychological thriller set among stand-up comedians on tour.^[14]

Personal life

Butt is married to his Corner Gas and Hiccups co-star Nancy Robertson. The two have been married since 2005.

Awards and nominations

Butt has won four Canadian Comedy Awards, for Best Male Stand-up (2001), Best Male TV Performance (Corner Gas, 2004–05), and Best Writing – TV Series (Corner Gas, 2004). The Comedy Network Sir Peter Ustinov Award was awarded to Butt at the Banff World Television Festival in 2008.^[15]

Filmography

Film
Year	Title	Role	Notes
1999	Dudley Do-Right	A Bad Guy in the back
2000	Screwed	Buddy
	Duets	Hotel clerk
	Comedy Club	Bob Pooley
2001	Rider Pride	Les P.	Short film
2013	No Clue	Leo Falloon	Writer Producer
2014	Corner Gas: The Movie	Brent Leroy	Co-writer Co-executive producer

Television
Year	Title	Role	Notes
1992	Maniac Mansion	Applicant #1	Season 3 episode 6: "Science Is Only Skin Deep"
	The Kids in the Hall	Barfly	Episode #3.11
1993	Kung Fu: The Legend Continues	Baker	Uncredited Season 1 episode 10: "Rain's Only Friend"
	Comics!	Himself
1995-1996	Get Serious: Seven Deadly Sins		7 episodes Writer - 5 episodes
1997	Millennium	Short order cook	Season 2, episode 2: "Beware of the Dog"
	Howling at the Moon		TV movie
	Comedy Now!	Himself	Title: "Funny Pants"
1998	X-Files	Coroner	Season 5, episode 12: "Bad Blood"
	The Improv Comedy Olympics	Host
1999	Cool Undercover	Security guard	TV movie
	The Metrix	Jasper	TV movie
	Chill		TV movie
2000	Cream of Comedy	Host
	Becoming Dick	Businessman #2	TV movie
2001	Big Sound	Todd	3 episodes
2003	Cold Squad	Barry	Season 6, episode 12: "True Believers: Part 1"
	Canadian Comedy Awards	Himself	Writer
2004–2009	Corner Gas	Brent Leroy	Creator Director - 5 episodes Executive producer
2005	Robson Arms	Reeves	Season 1, episode 7: "Hairpiece of Mind"
	Beyond Corner Gas: Tales from Dog River	Himself	Creator Writer Executive producer
2009	It's Been a Gas	Himself/Brent Leroy	Executive producer
2010–2011	Hiccups	Stan Dirko	Creator Writer Executive producer Director - 4 episodes
2011	Winnipeg Comedy Festival		Episode: "Misfortune Tellers" Writer
2013	Leo Awards	Himself	Writer
2018	The Social	Himself	Guest co-host on the March 28, 2018 episode
2018–2021	Corner Gas Animated	Brent Leroy	Creator Co-writer Co-executive producer

References

1. "Oscar & Emma's House". Corner Gas. Retrieved October 27, 2020.
2. Pat Hancock (July 2009). Crazy Canadian Trivia 4. Scholastic Canada. p. 37. ISBN 978-0-545-98994-7.
3. Butt, Brent. "IMDb Profile". IMDB.
4. McIntosh, Andrew (2015). "Brent Butt". The Canadian Encyclopedia. Toronto: Historica Canada. Retrieved October 27, 2020.
5. "Butt, Brent (Profile)". Archived from the original on September 27, 2007. Retrieved 2007-01-07.
6. Zoë Druick; Aspa Kotsopoulos (August 1, 2008). Programming Reality: Perspectives on English-Canadian Television. Wilfrid Laurier Univ. Press. p. 230. ISBN 978-1-55458-084-2.
7. Charles Boberg (August 26, 2010). The English Language in Canada: Status, History and Comparative Analysis. Cambridge University Press. p. 45. ISBN 978-1-139-49144-0.
8. Ron Brown (June 30, 2012). Rails Across the Prairies: The Railway Heritage of Canada's Prairie Provinces. Dundurn. p. 42. ISBN 978-1-4597-0216-5.
9. Stephen Stohn (March 3, 2018). Whatever It Takes: Life Lessons from Degrassi and Elsewhere in the World of Music and Television. Dundurn. p. 188. ISBN 978-1-4597-3999-4.
10. CBC Arts (April 10, 2008). "Corner Gas to end in spring 2009". Retrieved April 10, 2008.
11. Strauss, Marise (June 9, 2008). "Butt tickled to join his heroes". Playback Online. Retrieved October 1, 2008.
12. "CTV Orders New Comedy Pilot From Brent Butt". Channel Canada. October 2, 2008. Archived from the original on October 16, 2008. Retrieved October 3, 2008.
13. "Brent Butt interview: ‘Corner Gas Animated’ star talks about his hit TV revival". Pop Journalism. Robert Ballantyne, April 8, 2018.
14. "Brent Butt's debut novel HUGE is a psychological thriller inspired by his life as a touring stand-up comedian". CBC Books. October 6, 2023. Retrieved October 17, 2023.
15. Gopaul, Sarah (May 15, 2008). "'Corner Gas' star to be honoured with comedy award". Archived from the original on July 18, 2011. Retrieved October 1, 2008.

External links

• Official website
• Brent Butt on ComedyNightLife.com
• Brent Butt at IMDb 
• Brent Butt article in Canadian Encyclopedia
• Brent Butt entry in Encyclopedia of Saskatchewan
• Brent Butt as guest on comedy podcast Stop Podcasting Yourself