Bill Butler, an accomplished cinematographer who most notably brought the visual vision of Steven Spielberg’s Jaws to life, died on Wednesday evening at the age of 101. Butler was just two days away from celebrating his 102nd birthday. Nonetheless, he leaves behind an incredible body of work in Hollywood that will forever be remembered and turned back to in the film industry's history.
The news of the death of Bill Butler was first reported by The American Society of Cinematographers, which he was the “most senior member” of, and the organization bestowed upon a Lifetime Achievement Award from back in 2003. Along with being the director of photography on Jaws, Butler also was the cinematographer for 1978’s Grease, numerous Rocky movies and the original Chucky movie, 1988’s Child’s Play. He was also nominated for an Oscar alongside Haskell Wexler for Best Cinematography for creating the visuals for the 1975 Best Picture winner, One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest.
He was born Wilmer Cable Butler on April 7, 1921 in Cripple Creek. Colorado to farmer parents. When he was a kid, he moved with his family to Iowa, where he would receive a degree in engineering from the University of Iowa. Butler began his career at a local radio station in Indiana before being instrumental in building the first TV stations for ABC when television was just getting its start.
Butler met famed The French Connection and The Exorcist director Wiliam Friedkin just in time for him to work with him on Friedkin's first credit, The People vs. Paul Crump, a documentary about the titular prisoner who was on death row that was so powerful that it led to Illinois’ governor to reduce Crump’s sentence. The project was key to Butler turning to a career in film cinematography, and Friedkin proved to be a valuable connection that introduced him to the likes of Francis Ford Coppola, whom he worked with on 1969’s The Rain People.
The director of photography worked on an early Steven Spielberg movie, 1972’s Something Evil, before working with him again for the iconic shark movie ahead of its 1975 release, which of course was a huge success. Nearly 50 years following Jaws originally hitting theaters, it’s thought to be one of the best horror movies ever made, whereas many regard it to be the greatest movie of all time, including filmmaker Quentin Tarantino.
While on the set of Jaws, Butler actually developed numerous mechanisms to allow them to shoot the land and water shots required for the movie, including creating a pontoon camera raft that was waterproof to achieve the shark fin POV shots.
Also among Butler’s accomplishments is the fact that he worked closely with Sylvester Stallone as a writer, director and star on Rocky II, Rocky III and Rocky IV as the D.P. His final movie was 2009’s Evil Angel. Butler is survived by his five daughters and wife Iris Butler. On behalf of CinemaBlend, we send condolences to the Butler family at this time.
