Oscar Nominated ‘Jaws’ Cinematographer Bill Butler Has Passed Away

The legendary, Oscar-nominated cinematographer of Steven Spielberg’s horror classic Jaws, Bill Butler passed away Wednesday at the age of 101 years old, THR reports this morning.

The site notes, “He would have turned 102 on Friday.”

It was back in 1976 that Bill Butler was co-nominated for a “Best Cinematography” statue at that year’s Academy Awards for his work on One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, a film released just one year after Butler served as Cinematographer on the horror classic Jaws.

“His iconic shots included the early dawn attack of the first victim that opens the film, the Vertigo-inspired dolly zoom that accompanies Chief Brody’s shock at witnessing a shark attack from the beach and the extreme close-ups of panicking swimmers,” THR explains, detailing Bill Butler’s integral role in the making of the game-changing summer blockbuster.

Bill Butler later served as Cinematographer/Director of Photography on the original Child’s Play in the 1980s, returning to the horror genre for Anaconda in the late 1990s.

Butler’s cinematography credits also include The Return of Count Yorga, Deathmaster, Something Evil, The Conversation, Demon Seed, Damien: Omen II, Grease, Rocky II, Stripes, Rocky III, Rocky IV, Hot Shots!, Flipper, Frailty, and the 1987 TV movie “Bates Motel.” In 1972 alone, Butler worked in the second-unit department on both The Godfather and Deliverance.

Bill Butler is survived by five daughters and his wife, Iris.

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