Known to fans of the TV series "Frasier" (NBC, 1993-) as Bob "Bulldog" Briscoe, the womanizing, blue-collar, loud-mouthed sports radio host and nemesis to stuffy Dr. Frasier Crane, Dan Butler is one of the few openly gay stars on primetime TV. His sexual orientation has had no impact on his career on "Frasier" nor has there been any negative audience fallout since Butler disclosed it on "Entertainment Tonight" in 1994.

The talented, compact Butler won parts--most of them heterosexual--in a host of TV and movie projects. Butler had been involved with the theatre since his youth in Fort Wayne,