Robert Butler (director)

Infobox Actor
name = Robert Butler

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imagesize =
caption =
birthname =
birthdate = birth date and age|1927|11|17|mf=y
birthplace = Los Angeles, California, United States
deathdate =
deathplace =
emmyawards = Director of the Year - Series
1974
"The Blue Knight"
Best Directing in Drama - A Single Program of a Series with Continuing Characters and/or Theme
1974
"The Blue Knight"
Outstanding Directing in a Drama Series
1981
"Hill Street Blues"

Robert Butler (born November 17, 1927) is an American film director. He helped launch actor Kurt Russell's career through four Walt Disney movies (including "The Computer Wore Tennis Shoes" and "The Barefoot Executive"), but his strongest and most fondly remembered contributions have been to the small screen.

Biography

Butler began his career as a stage manager and an assistant, before launching his directing career on such classic shows as "The Untouchables", "Dr. Kildare", "The Dick Van Dyke Show", "The Fugitive" or "The Twilight Zone".

For over three decades, Butler was then hired to shoot pilots for many popular TV series, thus helping create their specific identity. In this sense, he must be given some credit for the success and/or popularity of such diverse shows as the original "", the war parody sitcom "Hogan's Heroes", the colorful and visually innovative "Batman", the violent and forgotten "The Blue Knight", the 1980s revolutionary cop show "Hill Street Blues", the mysterious and humorous detective "Remington Steele" (a show which he also co-created), the deliciously delirious and romantic "Moonlighting", the family drama "Sisters" and the highly popular character-driven Superman adaptation of the early 1990s, "Lois & Clark".

In addition to the above, Butler has also directed episodes for many other shows, including "I Spy", "The Invaders", "Gunsmoke", "The Outcasts", "", "Kung Fu", "Hawaii Five-O", "Columbo" and "Midnight Caller".

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

External links

*memoryalpha|Robert Butler
*imdb name|id=0125111|name=Robert Butler

Persondata
NAME= Butler, Robert
ALTERNATIVE NAMES=
SHORT DESCRIPTION=Television and film director
DATE OF BIRTH= November 17, 1927
PLACE OF BIRTH= Los Angeles, California, United States
DATE OF DEATH=
PLACE OF DEATH=