Robert Butler, who directed TV pilots for ‘Batman,’ ‘Hill Street Blues,’ dead at 95

Robert Butler, a three-time Emmy Award winner who directed television pilots for “Batman,” “Star Trek,” “Hill Street Blues” and “Moonlighting,” died on Nov. 3. He was 95.

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Butler died in Los Angeles, according to an announcement from his family.

The director’s career spanned nearly five decades, Variety reported. He was nominated for seven Primetime Emmy Awards and won three times, taking home two awards for “The Blue Knight” in 1974 and one for “Hill Street Blues” in 1981.

Butler also received Emmy nominations for episodes of “Moonlighting,” “Sirens” and “Lois & Clark The Adventures of Superman.”

Other series Butler directed included episodes of “Hogan’s Heroes,” “Hennesey,” “The Dick Van Dyke Show,” “Bonanza,” “The Twilight Zone,” “Gunsmoke” and “Hawaii Five-O,” according to Variety.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, Butler also directed episodes of “The Untouchables,” “Dr. Kildare,” “The Fugitive,” “Walt Disney’s Wonderful World of Color,” “Kung Fu,” “I Spy,” “Columbo,” “The Waltons” and “Ironside.”

Butler received the Directors Guild of America’s inaugural Lifetime Achievement Award in Television Direction in 2015, the entertainment news website reported.

“Few directors have changed the face of television as much as Bob did -- his impact on the medium is truly immeasurable and this loss to our Guild is deeply felt,” Directors Guild of America President Lesli Linka Glatter said in a statement on Friday. “At ease in any genre, Bob’s pilots established the look and feel of several seminal series including ‘Hogan’s Heroes,’ ‘Batman’ and ‘Star Trek.’

“His groundbreaking work on ‘Hill Street Blues’ brought to life the grit and reality of an urban precinct by coupling his unique visual style with evocative performances he coaxed from an incomparable cast, forever changing the trajectory and style of episodic procedurals.,” Glatter added. “Bob’s legacy will live on in the memories of the many Directors he influenced and mentored, and the countless viewers who laughed and cheered along with his exceptional work.”

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