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(Top) 1 Career 2 Filmography 2.1 Film 2.2 Television 3 References 4 External links

Robert Butler (director)

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Robert Butler
Born	(1927-11-16)November 16, 1927 Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Died	November 3, 2023(2023-11-03) (aged 95) Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Occupation(s)	Film and television director

Robert Stanton Butler (November 16, 1927 – November 3, 2023)^[1] was an American film^[2] and Emmy Award-winning television director. He is best known for his work in television, where he directed the pilots for a number of series including Star Trek, Hogan's Heroes, Batman and Hill Street Blues.^[3]

Career[edit]

Butler graduated from University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), where he majored in English. He was first in an army band, before his career as a stage manager and an assistant before launching his directing career with an episode of Hennesey (starring Jackie Cooper and including a young Ron Howard)^[3] and then went on to direct such shows as The Untouchables, Dr. Kildare, The Dick Van Dyke Show, Batman, The Fugitive and The Twilight Zone.

Butler shot pilots for many TV series including the original Star Trek, Shane, Hogan's Heroes, Batman, The Blue Knight, Hill Street Blues, Remington Steele (a show which he also co-created), Moonlighting, Sisters, and Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman.

Butler also directed episodes for many other shows, including Bonanza, I Spy, Blue Light, The Invaders, Gunsmoke, The Outcasts, Mission: Impossible, Kung Fu, Hawaii Five-O, Columbo: Publish or Perish, Columbo: Double Shock, and Midnight Caller.

Butler directed actor Kurt Russell in four Walt Disney movies, including Guns in the Heather, The Computer Wore Tennis Shoes and The Barefoot Executive.

Butler won two Emmy Awards for outstanding directing, the first in 1973 for The Blue Knight pilot, and the second in 1981 for his Hill Street Blues premiere.

In 2014, Butler's work was the subject of a career retrospective at the UCLA Film and Television Archive.^[3]

Butler was honored by the Directors Guild of America (DGA) with a Lifetime Achievement Award for Distinguished Achievement in Television Direction in February 2015.^[4]

Robert Butler died in Los Angeles on November 3, 2023, at the age of 95.^[5]

Filmography[edit]

Film[edit]

Guns in the Heather (1969)
The Computer Wore Tennis Shoes (1969)
The Barefoot Executive (1971)
Scandalous John (1971)
Now You See Him, Now You Don't (1972)
The Ultimate Thrill (1974)
Black Bart (1975) (Also producer)
Hot Lead and Cold Feet (1978)
Night of the Juggler (1980)
Underground Aces (1981)
Up The Creek (1984)
Turbulence (1997)
Where Do the Balloons Go? (2009) (Short film)

Television[edit]

Year	Title	Director	Producer	Notes
1959–1960	Hennesey	Yes	No	3 Episodes
1960	Happy	Yes	No	1 Episode
1960	The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis	Yes	No	1 Episode
1960–1961	The DuPont Show with June Allyson	Yes	No	5 Episodes
1961	Bonanza	Yes	No	1 Episode
	The Dick Van Dyke Show	Yes	No	2 Episodes
	The Dick Powell Theater	Yes	No	1 Episode
	The Gertrude Berg Show	Yes	No	2 Episodes
	Have Gun – Will Travel	Yes	No	1 Episode
	Michael Shayne	Yes	No	1 Episode
	Peter loves Mary	Yes	No	2 Episodes
1961–1962	The Detectives	Yes	No	5 Episodes
1962	Follow The Sun	Yes	No	3 Episodes
1962	The Rifleman	Yes	No	1 Episode
1962–1963	Dr. Kildare	Yes	No	2 Episodes
	Stoney Burke	Yes	No	2 Episodes
	The Untouchables	Yes	No	7 Episodes
1963	Ben Casey	Yes	No	3 Episodes
	The Greatest Show On Earth	Yes	No	2 Episodes
	The Richard Boone Show	Yes	No	1 Episode
1963–1964	The Lieutenant	Yes	No	2 Episodes
1963–1965	The Defenders	Yes	No	2 Episodes
1964	Arrest and Trial	Yes	No	1 Episode
1964	The Twilight Zone	Yes	No	2 Episodes
1964–1966	The Fugitive	Yes	No	6 Episodes
1965	Mister Roberts	Yes	No	5 Episodes
	Run For Your Life	Yes	No	1 Episode
	The Virginian	Yes	No	1 Episode
1965–1966	Hogan's Heroes	Yes	No	5 Episodes
1965–1975	The Magical World Of Disney	Yes	No	12 Episodes
1966	Blue Light	Yes	No	1 Episode
	Shane	Yes	No	1 Episode
	I Spy	Yes	No	4 Episodes
	Batman	Yes	No	6 Episodes
	Star Trek	Yes	No	2 Episodes
1967	Bob Hope Presents the Chrysler Theatre	Yes	No	1 Episode
	The Invaders	Yes	No	3 Episodes
	Judd, for the Defense	Yes	No	2 Episodes
	N.Y.P.D.	Yes	No	2 Episodes
1967–1972	Gunsmoke	Yes	No	3 Episodes
1967–1981	Insight	Yes	Yes	4 Episodes
1968	Cimarron Strip	Yes	No	2 Episodes
1968	Ironside	Yes	No	1 Episode
1969	Mission: Impossible	Yes	No	1 Episode
	The Outcasts	Yes	No	1 Episode
	CBS Playhouse	Yes	No	1 Episode
1969–1970	Lancer	Yes	No	4 Episodes
1970	Then Came Bronson	Yes	No	1 Episode
1972	Nichols	Yes	No	1 Episode
1972–1973	The Waltons	Yes	No	3 Episodes
1973	Doc Elliot	Yes	No	1 Episode
	Hawaii Five-O	Yes	No	1 Episode
	Kung Fu	Yes	No	4 Episodes
	Roll Out	Yes	No	1 Episode
1973–1974	Columbo	Yes	No	2 Episodes
1975	The Blue Knight	Yes	No	1 Episode
1981	Hill Street Blues	Yes	No	6 Episodes
1982–1987	Remington Steele	Yes	Yes	Also creator and executive consultant
1985	Moonlighting	Yes	No	1 Episode
1985	Our Family Honor	Yes	No	1 Episode
1987	Out on a Limb	Yes	No	2 Episodes
1988–1991	Midnight Caller	Yes	Executive	Also executive consultant
1991–1996	Sisters	Yes	No	Also executive consultant
1993	Sirens	Yes	No	2 Episodes
1993–1994	Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman	Yes	Executive	Also executive consultant
1999	St. Michael's Crossing	Yes	Executive
2001	The Division	Yes	No	1 Episode

TV movies

Year	Title	Director	Producer	Writer
1971	Death Takes a Holiday	Yes	No	No
1973	The Blue Knight	Yes	No	No
1974	McMasters of Sweetwater	Yes	No	No
1975	Strange New World	Yes	No	No
1976	Dark Victory	Yes	No	No
	James Dean	Yes	No	No
	Mayday at 40,000 Feet!	Yes	No	No
1977	In the Glitter Palace	Yes	No	No
1978	Lacy and the Mississippi Queen	Yes	No	No
1978	A Question of Guilt	Yes	No	No
1984	Concrete Beat	Yes	No	No
1986	Long Time Gone	Yes	No	No
1987	On the Edge	Yes	Yes	Yes
1988	Out of Time	Yes	Executive	No
1991	The Brotherhood	Yes	No	No
1994	White Mile	Yes	No	No
1998	Glory, Glory	Yes	Executive	No

Associate director

Climax! (1956–1958) (4 Episodes)
Playhouse 90 (1958–1959) (3 Episodes)

References[edit]

^ Tinoco, Armando (2023-11-11). "Robert Butler Dies: TV Director For 'Batman,' 'Star Trek,' 'Hill Street Blues' & 'Moonlighting' Pilots Was 95". Deadline. Retrieved 2023-11-18.

^ "Robert Butler". Movies & TV Dept. The New York Times. Archived from the original on 2013-07-28.

^ ^a ^b ^c Susan King, "Director Robert Butler put stamp on 'Batman,' other landmark series", Los Angeles Times, February 15, 2014.

^ Variety, February 5, 2015

^ "Robert Butler, Director on Pilots for 'Batman,' 'Star Trek' and 'Hill Street Blues,' Dies at 95". The Hollywood Reporter. November 11, 2023. Retrieved November 11, 2023.

External links[edit]

Films directed by Robert Butler

Feature

Television

Death Takes a Holiday (1971)
The Blue Knight (1973)
Strange New World (1975)
James Dean (1976)
Mayday at 40,000 Feet! (1976)
Out of Time (1988)
White Mile (1994)

Awards for Robert Butler

Directors Guild of America Award for Outstanding Directing – Drama Series

1971–2000

Daniel Petrie for "Hands of Love" (1971)
Robert Butler for "Dust Bowl Cousins" (1972)
Charles S. Dubin for "Knockover" (1973)
David Friedkin for "Cross Your Heart, Hope to Die" (1974)
James Cellan Jones for Jennie: Lady Randolph Churchill (1975)
Glenn Jordan for "Rites of Friendship" (1976)
John Erman for "Second Hour" (1977)
Gene Reynolds for "Prisoner" (1978)
Roger Young for "Cop" (1979)
Roger Young for "Lou" (1980)
Robert Butler for "Hill Street Station" (1981)
David Anspaugh for "Personal Foul" (1982)
Jeff Bleckner for "Life in the Minors" (1983)
Thomas Carter for "The Rise and Fall of Paul the Wall" (1984)
Will Mackenzie for "My Fair David" (1985)
Will Mackenzie for "Atomic Shakespeare" (1986)
Marshall Herskovitz for "Pilot" (thirtysomething) (1987)
Marshall Herskovitz for "Therapy" (1988)
Eric Laneuville for "I'm in the Nude" (1989)
Michael Zinberg for "Vietnam" (1990)
Eric Laneuville for "All God's Children" (1991)
Rob Thompson for "Cicely" (1992)
Gregory Hoblit for "Pilot" (NYPD Blue) (1993)
Charles Haid for "Into That Good Night" (1994)
Christopher Chulack for "Hell and High Water" (1995)
Christopher Chulack for "Fear of Flying" (1996)
Barbara Kopple for "The Documentary" (1997)
Paris Barclay for "Hearts and Souls" (1998)
David Chase for "The Sopranos" (1999)
Thomas Schlamme for "Noël" (2000)

2001–present

Alan Ball for "Pilot" (Six Feet Under) (2001)
John Patterson for "Whitecaps" (2002)
Chris Misiano for "Twenty Five" (2003)
Walter Hill for "Deadwood" (2004)
Michael Apted for "The Stolen Eagle" (2005)
Jon Cassar for "Day 5: 7:00 a.m. – 8:00 a.m." (2006)
Alan Taylor for "Smoke Gets in Your Eyes" (2007)
Daniel Attias for "Transitions" (2008)
Lesli Linka Glatter for "Guy Walks Into an Advertising Agency" (2009)
Martin Scorsese for "Boardwalk Empire" (2010)
Patty Jenkins for "Pilot" (The Killing) (2011)
Rian Johnson for "Fifty-One" (2012)
Vince Gilligan for "Felina" (2013)
Lesli Linka Glatter for "From A to B and Back Again" (2014)
David Nutter for "Mother's Mercy" (2015)
Miguel Sapochnik for "Battle of the Bastards" (2016)
Reed Morano for "Offred" (2017)
Adam McKay for "Celebration" (2018)
Nicole Kassell for "It's Summer and We're Running Out of Ice" (2019)
Lesli Linka Glatter for "Prisoners of War" (2020)
Mark Mylod for "All the Bells Say" (2021)
Sam Levinson for "Stand Still Like the Hummingbird" (2022)
Peter Hoar for "Long, Long Time" (2023)

Directors Guild of America Lifetime Achievement Award – Television

James Burrows / Robert Butler (2014)
Joe Pytka (2015)
Don Mischer (2018)
Robert A. Fishman (2022)
David Nutter (2023)

v t e Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Directing for a Drama Series
1950s	Jack Smight for "Eddie" (1959)
1960s	Robert Mulligan for The Moon and Sixpence (1960) George Schaefer for Macbeth (1961) Franklin J. Schaffner for The Defenders (1962) Stuart Rosenberg for "The Madman" (1963) Tom Gries for "Who Do You Kill?" (1964) Paul Bogart for "The 700 Year Old Gang" (1965) Sydney Pollack for "The Game" (1966) Alex Segal for Death of a Salesman (1967) Paul Bogart for "Dear Friends" (1968) David Greene for "The People Next Door" (1969)
1970s	Paul Bogart for "Shadow Game" (1970) Daryl Duke for "The Day the Lion Died" (1971) Alexander Singer for "The Invasion of Kevin Ireland" (1972) Jerry Thorpe for "An Eye for an Eye" (1973) Robert Butler for "Part III" (1974) Bill Bain for "A Sudden Storm" (1975) David Greene for "Part I: Chapters 1 & 2" (Rich Man, Poor Man) (1976) David Greene for "Part 1" (Roots) (1977) Marvin J. Chomsky for Holocaust (1978) Jackie Cooper for "Pilot" (The White Shadow) (1979)
1980s	Roger Young for "Cop" (1980) Robert Butler for "Hill Street Station"(1981) Harry Harris for "To Soar and Never Falter" (1982) Jeff Bleckner for "Life in the Minors" (1983) Corey Allen for "Goodbye, Mr. Scripps" (1984) Karen Arthur for "Heat" (1985) Georg Stanford Brown for "Parting Shots" (1986) Gregory Hoblit for "Pilot" (L.A. Law) (1987) Mark Tinker for "Weigh In, Way Out" (1988) Robert Altman for "The Boiler Room" (1989)
1990s	Thomas Carter for "Promises to Keep" / Scott Winant for "The Go-Between" (1990) Thomas Carter for "In Confidence" (1991) Eric Laneuville for "All God's Children" (1992) Barry Levinson for "Gone for Goode" (1993) Daniel Sackheim for "Tempest in a C-Cup" (1994) Mimi Leder for "Love's Labor Lost" (1995) Jeremy Kagan for "Leave of Absence" (1996) Mark Tinker for "Where's 'Swaldo?" (1997) Mark Tinker for "Pilot" (Brooklyn South) / Paris Barclay for "Lost Israel, Part 2" (1998) Paris Barclay for "Hearts and Souls" (1999)
2000s	Thomas Schlamme for "Pilot" (The West Wing) (2000) Thomas Schlamme for "In the Shadow of Two Gunmen: Part I" & "Part II" (2001) Alan Ball for "Pilot" (Six Feet Under) (2002) Christopher Misiano for "Twenty Five" (2003) Walter Hill for "Deadwood" (2004) J. J. Abrams for "Pilot" (Lost) (2005) Jon Cassar for "Day 5: 7:00 a.m. – 8:00 a.m." (2006) Alan Taylor for "Kennedy and Heidi" (2007) Greg Yaitanes for "House's Head" (2008) Rod Holcomb for "And in the End..." (2009)
2010s	Steve Shill for "The Getaway" (2010) Martin Scorsese for "Boardwalk Empire" (2011) Tim Van Patten for "To the Lost" (2012) David Fincher for "Chapter 1" (2013) Cary Joji Fukunaga for "Who Goes There" (2014) David Nutter for "Mother's Mercy" (2015) Miguel Sapochnik for "Battle of the Bastards" (2016) Reed Morano for "Offred" (2017) Stephen Daldry for "Paterfamilias" (2018) Jason Bateman for "Reparations" (2019)
2020s	Andrij Parekh for "Hunting" (2020) Jessica Hobbs for "War" (2021) Hwang Dong-hyuk for "Red Light, Green Light" (2022) Mark Mylod for "Connor's Wedding" (2023)

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