Butler died Wednesday, per the American Society of Cinematographers.
Emmy-winning cinematographer, Bill Butler, has died. He was 101. According to the American Society of Cinematographers, Butler, who served as the director of photography on Jaws, died Wednesday.
In addition to the '70s cult classic, Butler also worked as d.p. on several box office hits of the era, including One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest -- which earned him an Oscar nom -- Francis Ford Coppola’s The Conversation, Grease and Ice Castles, as well as the Bill Murray comedy, Stripes. Butler was also credited for his work in several of the Rocky franchise films, though not the original.
Butler was also the cinematographer for Demon Seed and Capricorn One, as well as the Neil Simon adaptation, Biloxi Blues, 1988's Child’s Play, musical drama, Graffiti Bridge, Flipper, Anaconda and the 1997 murder mystery film Deceiver, starring Tim Roth and Renee Zellweger.
He later worked on Bill Paxton's 2001 crime drama Frailty, and the Chevy Chase's Funny Money in 2006.
On the TV side, Butler earned an Emmy for shooting the telepic, Raid on Entebbe, in 1977, and again in 1984 for his work on an adaptation of A Streetcar Named Desire, starring Ann-Margret and Treat Williams. He was also nominated the year prior for the ABC miniseries, The Thorn Birds.
Butler got his start in the entertainment industry as an engineer at a radio station in Gary, Indiana, and would go on to help design and build the first television stations at ABC’s Chicago affiliate and later at WGN-TV. While there, Butler worked on a documentary that led to the commutation of an Illinois death row inmate's sentence. His first credit on a narrative feature, however, came on Philip Kaufman’s 1967 film, Fearless Frank, starring Jon Voight.
While on the Universal lot working for Kaufman, Butler met a young Steven Spielberg, and ended up as d.p. on two of the director’s early efforts, the TV movies Something Evil and Savage, before teaming up for Jaws.
His work behind the camera has since been honored by the American Society of Cinematographers, with Butler receiving the lifetime achievement award in 2003.
He is survived by his wife, Iris, and five daughters.
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