River Buddy Butcher[1] (formerly Rhea Harriett Butcher, born August 12, 1982) is an American stand-up comedian, actor, writer, producer, and podcast host. Butcher is best known for personal, observational comedy focused on his vegetarianism, feminism, love of baseball, and experiences as a queer person.[2]
While attending the University of Akron, Butcher worked at a skateboard shop named Summer Squall[8] and an indoor skating facility called Joe's Skate Park,[9] and helped design a skatepark that opened in Akron in 2001.[9] He graduated from the University of Akron with a degree in printmaking in 2005.[7][5] Butcher attended graduate school at University of Notre Dame.[7]
In 2006, Butcher had an exhibit at a printmaker’s show called "Prints at an Exposition".[10] This exhibit, which was a series of prints on muslin showing the body's organs, was inspired by his own appendectomy.[10]
Comedy career
Early years
Butcher began his comedy career performing improv in Chicago at The Second City and has since performed stand-up at clubs including Zanies, the Jukebox, and Flappers, as well as Chicago Underground Comedy, The Hideout, The Lincoln Lodge, UCB, Cole's, and Meltdown.[11][12] He made his late-night debut on Conan in June 2016.[13][14]
2014–present
In the fall of 2014, Butcher appeared alongside Cameron Esposito in a series of videos for BuzzFeed Motion Pictures titled "Ask a Lesbian".[15][16] Butcher and Esposito also co-hosted the web series "She Said" for Amy Poehler's Smart Girls Network.[17] The two wrote and starred together again in Take My Wife, on the comedy streaming service Seeso.[18][19] Butcher also co-hosted the stand-up comedy podcast Put Your Hands Together with Cameron Esposito, which was recorded weekly in front of a live audience at the Upright Citizens Brigade Theater in Los Angeles until it ended in July 2019.[20][21][22]
Butcher met fellow comedian Cameron Esposito at an open mic hosted by Esposito.[29] The two soon started collaborating and then began to date.[29] On December 12, 2015, Butcher and Esposito married onstage at The Hideout in Esposito's hometown of Chicago, Illinois.[30][31] In August 2018, Butcher and Esposito announced their separation to "live individual lives."[32] Their split was covered in a Vanity Fair article.[31] In September 2019, Esposito wrote an article for the New York Times discussing the couple's pending divorce.[33]
Butcher is a trans man and uses he and they pronouns.[1][34] In November 2021, Butcher announced that he had changed his name to River.[1]
^O'Connor, Bill (May 3, 1995). "Youths Horrified by Nazi Camps: Study of Holocaust Fills Students with Wonder at Evil of WWII Slaughter". Akron Beacon Journal (Akron, Ohio). p. D1.
^ abcHeldenfels, Rich (October 12, 2014). "Akron Native to Perform at Musica: Rhea Butcher Returning Home with Stand-up Act". Akron Beacon Journal (Akron, Ohio). p. B1.
^Wallace, Julie (September 11, 2000). "Falls to Be Popular with Skateboarders". Akron Beacon Journal (Akron, Ohio). p. B1.
^ abWallace, Julie (September 14, 2001). "Park for Skaters Ready to Roll Out Mayor, Councilman to Unveil Akron Site Tomorrow". Akron Beacon Journal (Akron, Ohio). p. D1.
^ abShinn, Dorothy (February 5, 2006). "Stellar Printmakers Put Stamp on Exhibit: Summit Artspace Has Local Artists Showcasing Fresh Approaches to Art". Akron Beacon Journal":(Akron, Ohio). p. E4.
^Heldenfels, Rich (August 21, 2016). "New Album, Show for Comedian Rhea Butcher: Akron Native Returns to Area for Local Appearance, CD Signing". Akron Beacon Journal (Akron, Ohio). p. E1.
^Watts, Rebecca (January 13, 2016). "Rhea Butcher Is Killing It". The Portland Mercury. Retrieved November 3, 2016.
