Robert Butler Dies: TV Director for ‘Batman,’ ‘Star Trek,’ ‘Hill Street Blues’ and ‘Moonlighting’ Pilots Was 95

Robert Butler, a television director for the pilot programs for Star Trek, Batman, Hill Street BluesAnd Moonlight, died. He was 95.

Butler’s family announced that the Emmy-winning director died on November 3 in Los Angeles.

Butler graduated from UCLA, where he studied English, and began his entertainment career as an anchor at CBS. He achieved his first success as a director in 1959 when he directed an episode of the military comedy Hennesey with Jackie Cooper and Abby Dalton.

Over the years, Butler has been sought after pilots for shows like… Hogan’s heroes (1965), the original Star Trek (1966), Batman (1966), the first television miniseries The Blue Knight (1973), Hill Street Blues (1978), Moonlight (1985), sisters (1991) and Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman (1993).

Butler won two Emmy Awards, the first for The Blue Knight Pilot in 1973 and the second in 1981 Hill Street Blues. In 2015, he received the Lifetime Achievement Award for Excellence in Television Directing from the Directors Guild of America.

Other television shows Butler has directed include: The twilight zone (1964), The refugee (1964), Mr. Roberts (1965), The magical world of Disney (1965), I spy (1966), The intruders (1967), Judd, for the defense (1967), NYPD (1967), Gun smoke (1967), insight (1967), Cimarron stripes (1968), Impossible mission (1969), Lancer (1969), The Waltons (1972), Columbus (1973) and The corporate sector (2001), to name just a few.

Butler has also directed films and television films such as Disney Arms on the Heath (1969), The computer was wearing tennis shoes (1969) and The barefoot driver (1971). Additional credits include the television film for The Blue Knight (1973), Strange new world (1975), James Dean (1976), No more time (1988), White Mile (1994) and turbulence (1997), to name just a few.