David Butler (director)

{{Infobox person

| name = David Butler

| image = David Butler (director) 1919.jpg

| caption = Butler in Better Times (1919)

| birth_name =

| birth_date = {{birth date|1894|12|17}}

| birth_place = San Francisco, California, U.S.

| death_date = {{death date and age|1979|06|14|1894|12|17}}

| death_place = Arcadia, California, U.S.

| occupation = Actor, film director, film producer, screenwriter, television director

| years_active = 1910–1967

| spouse =

| othername =

}}

David Butler (December 17, 1894 – June 14, 1979) was an American actor, film director, film producer, screenwriter, and television director.

Biography

Butler was born in San Francisco, California. His mother was actress Adele Belgrade, and his father was actor and director Fred J. Butler. His first acting roles were playing extras in stage plays. He later appeared in two D.W. Griffith films: The Girl Who Stayed Home and The Greatest Thing in Life. He also appeared in the 1927 Academy-Award winning film 7th Heaven.

The same year, Butler made his directorial debut with High School Hero, a comedy for Fox. During Butler's nine-year tenure at Fox, he directed over 30 films, including four Shirley Temple vehicles. Butler's last film for Fox, Kentucky, won Walter Brennan an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor.

Butler worked with Bing Crosby in Road to Morocco and If I Had My Way. He directed many films starring Doris Day, including It's a Great Feeling, Tea for Two, By the Light of the Silvery Moon, Lullaby of Broadway, April in Paris, and Calamity Jane.

During the late 1950s and 1960s, Butler directed primarily television episodes, mainly for Leave It to Beaver and Wagon Train.{{cite book|last1=Atkins|first1=Irene Kahn|first2=David|last2=Butler|title=David Butler|publisher=Rowman & Littlefield|date=1993|isbn=0810827050|url-access=registration|url=https://archive.org/details/davidbutler00butl}}

Butler supported Barry Goldwater in the 1964 United States presidential election.{{Cite book | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=QfHXAAAAQBAJ&q=David%20Butler | title=When Hollywood Was Right: How Movie Stars, Studio Moguls, and Big Business Remade American Politics| isbn=9781107650282| last1=Critchlow| first1=Donald T.| date=2013-10-21| publisher=Cambridge University Press}}

For his contributions to the film industry, Butler was inducted into the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 1960 with a motion pictures star located at 6561 Hollywood Boulevard.{{Cite web|url=http://www.walkoffame.com/david-butler|title=David Butler {{!}} Hollywood Walk of Fame|website=www.walkoffame.com|language=en-US|access-date=2017-06-12}}{{Cite web|url=http://projects.latimes.com/hollywood/star-walk/david-butler/|title=David Butler – Hollywood Star Walk – Los Angeles Times|website=projects.latimes.com|language=en|access-date=2017-06-12}}

David Butler’s 1927 Packard Six Series 426 Sedan sold on Bring a Trailer on January 6 2023.