Bat-Director Robert Butler has died

[Jim Akin]

The director of the series pilot was 95. Hollywood Reporter obituary is here.

[BiffPow]

Always sad to hear of a life passing, but what a full life! Such great shows and real talent for directing memorable television moments! He achieved a happy place in history and fulfilled his God-given potential.

Thank you, Jim, for informing us and providing the link.

[Scott Sebring]

Directing the "Hi Diddle Riddle," "Fine Feathered Finks," and "Instant Freeze" storylines, he set the pace, feel and tone for the first season and the series. Could have used him for many more episodes through the series run.

RIP Robert Butler

Some behind the scenes with Robert Butler in action.

[Ben Bentley]

Saddened to wake up to this news this morning.

IMHO, the Lorenzo Semple and Robert Butler were the archetects of the lightning in a bottle that was the ‘66 Batman TV show and subsequently made it the cultural phenomenon that has loomed large for nearly six decades since.

Bob Butler was a trusted “Pilot” director and as such was responsible for getting some of the biggest shows of the sixties off the ground. Batman was a total mid season replacement gamble and it was Butler’s job to bring Dozier and Semple’s straight/funny concept to life with the nuances within performances required in order for it not to desecend as it so easily could into farce.

Butler directed the first three episodes filmed of Batman’s first season, all three of which remain some of the very best episodes of the full 120 episode run.

Rest in peace, Bob.
A 95 year run and the body of work he gave us was one hell of a run by anyone’s metric.

[Jim Akin]

Thanks, Scott and Ben, for elaborating on Mr. Butler's great role in establishing the Batman 1966 vision -- and his amazing contributions to many other great TV series of the 1960s and 70s.

I posted the obit link from my phone and kept it perfunctory because I hate typing with my thumbs. You both said what I'd have tried to say, but better and with visual aids.

RIP Robert Butler, and thanks for creating the template.

[dell]

From IMDB:

Trivia
Michael Zinberg credits Butler with having the ruthless, adventurous, innovative vision that produced the powerful pilot episode of Hill Street Blues (1981) that sold NBC, and network president Fred Silverman on green-lighting this landmark urban-cop series.
Quotes
[on making Hill Street Blues (1981)] I was tired of clean speeches, where people waited until others stopped talking, tired of clean shots--I didn't (censored) want it. In my mind, the show came from the congestion of the material, the congestion of the characters. I remember the camera operator cleaning up shots, in the classic Hollywood style that I had begun to hate, and I had to brainwash him to let it be a mess. I wanted it messy. The trick was to make it look seemingly real, live, raunchy, congested. We jammed the streets with derelict cars and graffiti. We suggested Eastern-city crunch very well. The multiple stories added to the congestion, so I ran with it. There's a pair of people arguing here, something developing over there. My idea was that we were putting on binoculars and panning around at the people, keeping it fluid, rather than cutting. That really worked well for that series.

[Yellow Oval]

Wow, 95 and a full career! A full life-life lived if there ever was one! Thank you, Mr. Butler, for setting the course for one of America's most beloved TV series. Also, thank you, Scott, for the very interesting pics and video. For a brief second, I felt a twinge I used to get as a kid back in the early '60s when sitting down to watch an episode of Batman on TV. The magic of childhood...