- Born
- Nickname
- Norby Kitty
- Height5′ 7″ (1.70 m)
- Norbert Leo Butz was born on January 30, 1967, in St. Louis, MO, the seventh child of Elaine and Norbert A. Butz. He has German, French, and Irish ancestry. Norbert went to audition for the Alabama Shakespeare festival in 1993 without using his middle name, but because people kept getting him confused with his father, he quickly decided to add Leo. In 1997, his Broadway career began when he moved with his then-wife Sydney and their baby daughter Clara, to become swing in the musical "Rent." After a couple of months in the part, he got the full-time lead of Roger. After "Rent," Norbert toured as the emcee in "Cabaret" when his daughter Maggie was born. Norbert starred in other shows, such as playing the confused heartthrob Jamie in "The Last 5 Years" and the revenge-seeking Camille in "Thou Shalt Not." He got his big break in 2003 as the hot, careless Prince Fiyero in "Wicked." During his "Wicked" run, however, Norbert and Sydney divorced, and Norbert met his future fiancée and wife, Michelle Federer. Norbert left the show on July 7, 2004, to star in the hit "Dirty Rotten Scoundrels," in which he played the clueless but funny Freddy Benson. Norbert continued that role with the national tour until October 2006, when he filmed Dan in Real Life (2007). Dan in Real Life (2007) opened in theaters on October 26, 2007.
- IMDb mini biography by: leoprez1030
- SpousesMichelle Federer(July 23, 2007 - present) (1 child)Sydney Davis(1994 - ?) (divorced, 2 children)
- ChildrenGeorgia TeresaClara DavisMaggie Davis
- ParentsElaine ButzNorbert Butz
- RelativesTeresa Butz(Sibling)Jim Butz(Sibling)
- In 2009, while Butz was in Seattle performing in the out-of-town previews of the musical "Catch Me If You Can," his sister Teresa (who lived in Seattle with her fiancée, Jennifer Hopper) was raped and then stabbed to death. Hopper was also raped and severely wounded, but a detective on the case told reporters that Teresa had sacrificed herself to save Jennifer. Teresa and Jennifer had planned to get married that September. The Seattle opening of "Catch Me If You Can" was briefly delayed out of respect for the Butz family. When Norbert Leo Butz won the Tony for his lead performance in the musical, he dedicated it to his father and his sister, saying "this is for my father, I based this character on, and for my sister. I love you Teresa. We remember you every night." In 2011, Teresa's murderer, Isaiah Kalebu, was convicted of "aggravated murder" and was sentenced to life in prison without possibility of parole. In 2012, Seattle journalist Eli Sanders of "The Stranger" newspaper won a Pulitzer Prize for feature writing for his article about Hopper and Butz.
- He won the 2005 Best Actor in a Musical Tony for his role in "Dirty Rotten Scoundrels." His co-star in the musical and fellow Tony nominee was John Lithgow.
- His last performance in "Rent" was December 6, 1998. He'd been a swing and eventually played the role of Roger.
- In 2011, he won his second Tony award for lead actor in a musical for "Catch Me If You Can," in which he played Agent Carl Hanratty, the role originated by Tom Hanks in the nonmusical movie version of the play.
- Went to Bishop DuBourg High School
- I hate sitting around a table and talking about what a play might mean. I'm the person who's always like, 'Can we get up on our feet and just do it?'
- I was in the original cast of 'Wicked', and that got a bad review in 'The New York Times,' and it's the most successful thing that's ever been put onstage.
- I have 10 brothers and sisters.
- If you individualize an audience, it helps up the stakes of your responsibility to that audience.
- I don't know if Jesus said it in the Bible, but someone said that 'the love of money is the root of all evil,' and I do think there's a correlation between the ambition that a lot of people have, in terms of financial remuneration, and the loss of core values.
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