Yancy Butler
| Yancy Butler | |
|---|---|
 Butler at the Motor City Comic Con in May 2009 | |
| Born |
July 2, 1970 Manhattan, New York. United States |
| Occupation | Actress |
| Years active | 1992–present |
Yancy Victoria Butler (born July 2, 1970) is an American actress. She is best known for her roles as Natasha Binder in the 1993 film Hard Target, Jess Crossman in Drop Zone, and Detective Sara Pezzini on the TNT supernatural drama series Witchblade.
Early life
Butler was born in Greenwich Village in Manhattan, the daughter of Leslie Vega, a theatre company manager, and Joe Butler, the drummer for the 1960s rock group The Lovin' Spoonful.[1][2]
Career
Butler's first major role was in the television series Mann & Machine in 1992, in which she played an android police officer partnered with a human detective. The series was set in Los Angeles in the near future. The series was co-created by Dick Wolf. A year later, she starred in her second series, South Beach, in which she played a con artist and thief who made a deal with the federal government; in exchange for their wiping of her criminal record, she performs certain tasks for them.
Butler's first film appearance was a small supporting role in the 1979 slasher film Savage Weekend. Her next film appearance was a starring role in John Woo's 1993 film, Hard Target. She then starred in the 1994 film Drop Zone. In 1995, she starred as Corinne the dancer in the film Let It Be Me. Butler was cast as a series regular in the television series Brooklyn South playing Anne-Marie Kersey, a Brooklyn policewoman, which ran for one season from 1997 to 1998.
Butler starred in the television film Witchblade (2000) and the subsequent television series, adapted from the ongoing comic book of the same title; the series ran for two seasons on the Turner Network Television network for a total of 23 episodes. The series has a cult following, and was ranked seventh in the Top 10 Basic Cable Dramas for 2002. The show's cancellation was announced after the second season in September 2002.[3]
In 2005, Yancy starred in the film Bloodlines.[4] In 2006, she starred in the film Striking Range. In 2007, she appeared in 13 episodes of the television soap opera As the World Turns, as Ava Jenkins. She was confirmed to appear in Tales of an Ancient Empire,[5] the follow-up to The Sword and the Sorcerer.[6] On January 24, 2012, Tales of an Ancient Empire was released on DVD. Butler, however, did not appear in the film.[7] She appeared in a small role in another comic book adaptation, the film version of Kick-Ass.[8]
Personal life
Substance abuse and legal issues
On January 2, 2003, Butler was arrested after getting into a fight with her father, Joe Butler, at her uncle's Long Island home. She was charged with criminal contempt for violating an order of protection and two counts of harassment.[9] She subsequently completed a stint in rehab and attended counseling sessions.
Fourteen months after the cancellation of the Witchblade series, in November 2003, Butler was taken into custody in Delray, Florida, for disorderly intoxication and sentenced to a substance-abuse treatment program after police there found her stumbling in and out of traffic. Butler told police that she was an alcoholic who was on medication, according to a Delray Beach Police report. At first, she said she'd been kicked out of a halfway house, but later said she was still in one, the report said.[10]
On March 13, 2007, Butler was charged with driving under the influence and failure to drive in the established lane after she crashed her Saab 900 into a wire guard rail in Sharon, Connecticut.[11] The actress was released on a $500 bail and ordered to appear in Bantam, Connecticut Superior Court on March 26, 2007.[12][13][14]
On March 28, Bantam Superior Court Judge Richard Marano issued a rearrest order for Butler because she had twice not appeared at scheduled court dates. The judge directed that the warrant not be served until April 2 to give Butler a chance to explain why she was not in court.[15]
Two days prior to the DUI offense, Butler allegedly phoned 911 after a fight with her boyfriend, 53-year-old Earl Ward Jr. Responding officers reported witnessing a drunk Butler complaining about Ward, who refused to hand over her car keys. The argument resulted in her throwing several items at him. Ward later told police that Butler had been smoking crack cocaine and drinking liquor over the course of the weekend.[16]
Stalking complaint
On February 2, 2007, a former boyfriend of Butler's was arraigned in Litchfield, Connecticut on charges stemming from a stalking complaint she had filed.[17][18] On September 27, 2007, the former boyfriend pleaded no contest in Bantam Superior Court to one count of creating a public disturbance and was ordered to pay a $50 fine.[19]
Filmography
Film
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1979 | Savage Weekend | Little Girl | |
| 1993 | Hard Target | Natasha Binder | |
| 1993 | The Hit List | Jordan Henning | |
| 1994 | Drop Zone | Jessie Crossman | |
| 1995 | Let It Be Me | Corinne | |
| 1996 | Fast Money | Francesca March | |
| 1997 | Ravager | Avedon Hammond | |
| 1997 | The Ex | Deidre Kenyon | |
| 1997 | Annie's Garden | Lisa Miller | |
| 1999 | The Witness Files | Sandy Dickinson | |
| 2000 | Doomsday Man | Captain Kate Roebuck | |
| 2004 | The Last Letter | Ms. Toney / Alicia Cromwell | |
| 2006 | Striking Range | Emily Johanson | |
| 2008 | Vote and Die: Liszt for President | Ann Barklely | |
| 2010 | Kick-Ass | Angie D'Amico | |
| 2012 | Shark Week | Elena | |
| 2013 | Hansel & Gretel Get Baked | Officer Hart | |
| 2013 | Kick-Ass 2 | Angie D'Amico | |
| 2016 | Death Race 2050 | Alexis Hamilton |
Television
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1992 | Mann & Machine | Sgt. Eve Edison | |
| 1993 | South Beach | Kate Patrick | 7 episodes |
| 1997–1998 | Brooklyn South | Officer Anne-Marie Kersey | |
| 2000 | Witchblade | Detective Sara Pezzini | Television film |
| 2001–2002 | Witchblade | Detective Sara Pezzini | 23 episodes |
| 2006 | Double Cross | Kathy Swanson | Television film |
| 2006 | Basilisk: The Serpent King | Hannah Carmelina Santorini Frankman | |
| 2007 | As the World Turns | Ava Jenkins | 13 episodes |
| 2008 | Wolvesbayne | Lillith | Television film |
| 2010 | Lake Placid 3 | Reba | Television film |
| 2011 | The Mentalist | Aunt Jodie | 1 episode |
| 2011 | Rage of the Yeti | Villers | Television film |
| 2012 | Lake Placid: The Final Chapter | Reba | Television film |
| 2015 | Lake Placid vs. Anaconda | Reba | Television film |
Awards
On June 10, 2002, Butler won a Saturn Award for Best Actress in a Television Series, at the 29th Annual Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror Films Awards ceremony, for her performances in Witchblade.[20]
References
- ↑ Yancy Butler Biography at Film Reference. Retrieved September 23, 2010.
- ↑ "Interview: Yancy Butler (Witchblade's Sara Pezzini) - Part Two". Sci Fi Dimensions. July 2002. Retrieved 2010-09-24.
- ↑ Josh, Grossberg (2002-09-05). ""Witchblade" Sliced by TNT". E! Online. Retrieved 2006-12-29.
- ↑ Bloodlines Movie, from Serendipitous Films
- ↑ "Yancy Butler Joins the Family in Tales | Horror Movie, DVD, & Book Reviews, News, Interviews at Dread Central". Dreadcentral.com. 2008-04-17. Retrieved 2010-10-14.
- ↑ "A Few More Details On That SWORD AND THE SORCERER Follow-Up We've Been Hearing About!! - Ain't It Cool News: The best in movie, TV, DVD, and comic book news". Aintitcool.com. 2008-04-23. Retrieved 2010-10-14.
- ↑ "Tales of an Ancient Empire (2010)". amazon.com. Retrieved 2012-01-31.
- ↑ ""Interview: Yancy Butler (Witchblade, Wolvesbane)" Action Flick Chick; October 26, 2009". Actionflickchick.com. 2009-10-26. Retrieved 2010-10-14.
- ↑ ""Witchblade" Star Ordered to Rehab". E! Online. 2003-11-24. Retrieved 2010-10-14.
- ↑ Josh, Grossberg (2003-11-24). ""Witchblade" Star Ordered to Rehab". E! Online. Retrieved 2006-12-29.
- ↑ "Actress Yancy Butler arrested for DUI". USA Today. March 15, 2007
- ↑ "Actress Yancy Butler Arrested for DUI". ABC News Online. 2007-03-15. Retrieved 2007-03-15.
- ↑ Kennedy, Tracy (2007-02-14). "Actress finds legal trouble of her own". The Register Citizen. Retrieved 2007-03-15.
- ↑ SUNDIE, BRYAN (2007-02-14). "SHARON: Actress charged in domestic violence case". Waterbury Republican American. Retrieved 2007-03-15.
- ↑ "A no-show in court, `Witchblade' star facing another arrest". The Associated Press via The Advocate. 2007-03-28. Retrieved 2007-03-28.
- ↑ "What NOT to do in a SAAB [Archive] - SaabCentral Forums". Saabcentral.com. 2007-03-15. Retrieved 2010-10-14.
- ↑ 'Witchblade' star says ex-boyfriend stalked her 2/1/2007 10:37 AM ET USA Today
- ↑ 'Witchblade' Actress Arrested At Sharon Home After Incident LITCHFIELD-Turner Network Television's "Witchblade" star Yancy Butler, who last week accused an ex-boyfriend of stalking her, was ordered to attend Alcoholics Anonymous Tuesday in Bantam Superior Court after State Police arrested her last Sunday in Sharon on a disorderly conduct charge. By: Tracy Kennedy 02/15/2007 Litchfield County Times
- ↑ "Former boyfriend fined $50 in Yancy Butler case - Norwich, CT". Norwich Bulletin. 2007-09-25. Retrieved 2010-10-14.
- ↑ Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror Films, Saturn Award Recipients, 2002, from The Internet Movie Database
External links
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