David Butler: Quick Facts

Written and fact-checked by

The Information Architects of Encyclopaedia Britannica

Facts

Born	December 17, 1894 • San Francisco • California
Died	June 14, 1979 (aged 84) • Arcadia • California
Notable Works	“Ali Baba Goes to Town” • “Bright Eyes” • “Calamity Jane” • “Caught in the Draft” • “High School Hero” • “Just Imagine” • “Pigskin Parade” • “Road to Morocco” • “Shine on, Harvest Moon” • “Sunny Side Up” • “The Little Colonel” • “The Littlest Rebel”

Photos

Poster for the 1935 film The Little Colonel shows illustrated portraits of Lionel Barrymore with white hair and mustache, and Shirley Temple in a yellow coat and black hat, saluting.

Bill Robinson and Shirley Temple tap dancing together on a porch, with a horse and stable tack visible in the background, in a scene from The Little Colonel (1935).

Doris Day as Calamity Jane in the 1953 film, wearing a fringed western outfit and wide-brimmed hat, smiling broadly while holding a rifle outdoors.

See All Images →

default image

Mitchell Leisen

American director

default image

George Marshall

American director

default image

Joseph Stein

American librettist

default image

Maggie Gyllenhaal

American actress

Master of suspense

Alfred Hitchcock

English-born American director

Steven Spielberg wearing a tuxedo and bow tie, smiling at the camera on the red carpet at the Cannes International Film Festival.

Steven Spielberg

American film director and producer

Woody Allen speaking into a microphone with hands raised beside his face during a press conference, against a red background.

Woody Allen

American director, writer, and actor

Martin Scorsese smiling in a tuxedo and bow tie, holding an Oscar statuette at the Academy Awards, with a gold Oscar statue in the background.

Martin Scorsese

American filmmaker

Vincente Minnelli, seated at right, discusses a storyboard with actress Lana Turner, seated at left in costume, on the set of The Bad and the Beautiful.

Vincente Minnelli

American director

Clint Eastwood wearing a light suit and olive shirt with tie, standing outdoors at the Cannes Film Festival.

Clint Eastwood

American actor and director

Director Norman Taurog, wearing a hat and glasses, sits beside actor Mickey Rooney, who is smiling, on the set of the film Boys Town, with camera equipment visible behind them.

Norman Taurog

American director

Film director Robert Altman stands with arms crossed in a yellow jacket and white cap among crew and equipment on the set of Thieves Like Us.

Robert Altman

American film director

Sidney Lumet in a tuxedo holds his Honorary Academy Award and smiles backstage at the 77th Annual Academy Awards, with a gold Oscar statue in the background.

Sidney Lumet

American director

George Cukor

George Cukor

American film director

Mike Nichols, wearing a black tuxedo and bow tie, stands smiling at a podium with a star-shaped award in front of him at the AFI Lifetime Achievement Awards.

Mike Nichols

American director

Don Siegel, wearing a hat and sunglasses, stands beside Clint Eastwood, also in sunglasses and a suit, on the set of the film Dirty Harry with a large studio light overhead.

Don Siegel

American director

Stanley Tucci

Stanley Tucci

American actor, filmmaker, and screenwriter

Arthur Penn looks through a Panavision film camera while directing The Missouri Breaks, wearing a hat and sunglasses on his head.

Arthur Penn

American director

Film director Blake Edwards, right, holding up a cloth and speaking to actor Peter Sellers, left, on the set of The Pink Panther, with ornate architecture in the background.

Blake Edwards

American director and screenwriter

Overhead view of a Busby Berkeley dance sequence from Footlight Parade, showing dancers arranged in a precise, symmetrical circular formation with outstretched arms and legs.

Busby Berkeley

American director