Bill Butler, the ‘Jaws’ cinematographer, dies aged 101
After providing images to countless movies, famed cinematographer Bill Butler has passed away at 101. Butler passed away on Wednesday evening and would have been 102 today. He was best known for his work on films like Jaws and the Rocky franchise.
With a career spanning over five decades, Butler was primarily self-taught, working on movies like Francis Ford Coppola’s The Rain People in 1969. From there, he worked on the musical Grease and replaced cinematographer Haskell Wexler on the film One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest. Later in his career, Butler would replace Wexler on Coppola’s The Conversation.
After meeting Steven Spielberg by happenstance in the late ’70s, Butler signed on to be a part of the director’s next film centred around a killer shark. When crafting the shots for the film Jaws, Butler mentioned wanting to create striking imagery reminiscent of painting, which includes the infamous opening scene when the first of the shark’s victims is claimed.
To get the shots for the Spielberg blockbuster, Butler was also known for his camera work on the 1972 film Deliverance, after which he used a waterproof box to store the camera for the underwater scenes. Butler was nominated for an Academy Award for his work on One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest and won an Emmy for his work on 1977’s Raid on Entebbe and 1984’s A Streetcar Named Desire. Butler is survived by his five daughters and wife.
Never Miss A Scene
The Far Out Film Newsletter
All the latest film news from the independent voice of culture.
Straight to your inbox.