Butrick’s claim to fame rests primarily on his hilarious performance as the New Waver Johnny Slash in the early 80s sitcom Square Pegs. The rest of his fame rests in playing the son of Captain James T. Kirk in the Star Trek: The Wrath of Kahn. He also appeared as a different character in the television series Star Trek: The Next Generation.
After appearing in a string of minor roles in a string of minor films in the late 80s, Butrick was tragically diagnosed with brain cancer and Aids. He succumbed to the latter on St. Patrick’s Day of 1989, cutting short what might have been a very promising career with his impeccable comic timing.