David Butler
David Butler (December 17, 1894 – June 14, 1979) was an American actor, film director, film producer, screenwriter, and television director.
David Butler

Wisconsin Center for Film and Theater Research · detail from · Public domain
- Name
- David Butler
- Born
- 17 December 1894
- Birthplace
- San Francisco, California, U.S.
- Died
- 14 June 1979
- Place of death
- Arcadia, California, U.S.
- Occupation
- Actor, film director, film producer, screenwriter, television director
- Nationality
- United States.
- Fields
- film, film direction, television direction and film production.
- Honours
- star on Hollywood Walk of Fame.
- Languages
- English.
VALÉORINE Encyclopedia
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Documentary summary
David Butler (December 17, 1894 – June 14, 1979) was an American actor, film director, film producer, screenwriter, and television director.
Admitted source layer · organised and presented by VALÉORINE
Note VALÉORINE
David Butler (1894–1979) was an American actor, director and film actor, among other activities. Born in San Francisco, the actor died in Arcadia. David Butler was active in acting, film and film direction.
Languages used include English. The actor received star on Hollywood Walk of Fame.
Composed from admitted, traceable facts · 01 October 2026
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In this article
Key facts
Key facts
• Name — David Butler • Born — 17 December 1894 • Birthplace — San Francisco, California, U.S. • Died — 14 June 1979 • Place of death — Arcadia, California, U.S. • Occupation — Actor, film director, film producer, screenwriter, television director • Years Active — 1910–1967
Biography
Biography
Butler was born in San Francisco, California. His mother was actress Adele Belgrade, and his father was actor and director Fred J. Butler. His first acting roles were playing extras in stage plays. He later appeared in two D.W. Griffith films: The Girl Who Stayed Home and The Greatest Thing in Life. He also appeared in the 1927 Academy Award-winning film 7th Heaven. The same year, Butler made his directorial debut with High School Hero, a comedy for Fox. During Butler's nine-year tenure at Fox, he directed over 30 films, including five Shirley Temple vehicles. Butler's last film for Fox, Kentucky, won Walter Brennan an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor. Butler worked with Bing Crosby in Road to Morocco and If I Had My Way. He directed many films starring Doris Day, including It's a Great Feeling, Tea for Two, By the Light of the Silvery Moon, Lullaby of Broadway, April in Paris, and Calamity Jane. During the late 1950s and 1960s, Butler directed primarily television episodes, mainly for Leave It to Beaver and Wagon Train. Butler supported Barry Goldwater in the 1964 United States presidential election. For his contributions to the film industry, Butler was inducted into the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 1960 with a motion pictures star located at 6561 Hollywood Boulevard. Butler's 1927 Packard Six Series 426 Sedan sold on Bring a Trailer on January 6, 2023.
Partial filmography
Partial filmography
• The Birth of a Nation (1915) as Union soldier/Confederate soldier (uncredited) • The Greatest Thing in Life (1918) • The Unpainted Woman (1919) • Better Times (1919) • Nugget Nell (1919) • The Petal on the Current (1919) • The Other Half (1919) • Bonnie Bonnie Lassie (1919) • The Pointing Finger (1919) • The Triflers (1920) • The Sky Pilot (1921) • The Wise Kid (1922) • The Village Blacksmith (1922) • Conquering the Woman (1922) • According to Hoyle (1922) • The Hero (1923) • A Noise in Newboro (1923) • Poor Men's Wives (1923) • Mary of the Movies (1923) (cameo) • Desire (1923) • Cause for Divorce (1923) • The Temple of Venus (1923) • Hoodman Blind (1923) • Arizona Express (1924) • Private Affairs (1925) • The Phantom Express (1925) • His Majesty, Bunker Bean (1925) • The Man on the Box (1925) • Wages for Wives (1925) • The People vs. Nancy Preston (1925) • Havoc (1925) • The Sap (1926) • The Blue Eagle (1926) • Meet the Prince (1926) • Oh, Baby! (1926) • The High School Hero (1927) • News Parade (1928) • Win That Girl (1928) • Prep and Pep (1928) • Sunny Side Up (1929) • Chasing Through Europe (1929) • High Society Blues (1930) • Just Imagine (1930) • Delicious (1931) • Business and Pleasure (1932) • Down to Earth (1932) • Hold Me Tight (1933) • My Weakness (1933) • Bottoms Up (1934) • Bright Eyes (1934) • The Little Colonel (1935) • The Littlest Rebel (1935) • Captain January (1936) • Dimples (1936) • Pigskin Parade (1936) • Kentucky (1938) • That's Right – You're Wrong (1939) • You'll Find Out (1940) • Caught in the Draft (1941) • Road to Morocco (1942) • Thank Your Lucky Stars (1943) • Shine On, Harvest Moon (1944) • The Princess and the Pirate (1944) • San Antonio (1945) • The Time, the Place and the Girl (1946) • It's a Great Feeling (1949) • The Story of Seabiscuit (1949) • Tea for Two (1950) • Where's Charley? (1952) • April in Paris (1952) • By the Light of the Silvery Moon (1953) • Calamity Jane (1953) • King Richard and the Crusaders (1954) • The Command (1954) • Jump into Hell (1955) • The Girl He Left Behind (1956) • C'mon, Let's Live a Little (1967)
Identity
Identity
David Butler is recorded as screenwriter, film producer, actor and director.

Lobby card for the American comedy film The Wise Kid (1922).
Universal Film Manufacturing Company · source

Not believed to have been renewed. This page contains images of several directors from Hollywood in the late 1930s and early 1940s.
Motion Picture Herald · Internet Archive
Life and career
Dated record
Life and career
The full dated record · 2 entries
1894
David Butler was born on 17 December 1894.
1979
David Butler died on 14 June 1979.
Places
Named by the record
Places
Only places the record itself states, plotted where the house gazetteer settles their coordinates. Nothing is inferred from a name or a nationality.
San Francisco.
Birth place
Arcadia.
Death place
Notes from the source article
Cited by Wikipedia
Notes from the source article
These works are cited by the source article, in its own numbering. They are recorded as its citations, not as sources VALÉORINE has verified.
- 1.Atkins, Irene Kahn. David Butler. Rowman & Littlefield. 1993. 0810827050.
- 2.Critchlow, Donald T. When Hollywood Was Right: How Movie Stars, Studio Moguls, and Big Business Remade American Politics. Cambridge University Press. 2013-10-21. 9781107650282.
- 3.David Butler Hollywood Walk of Fame. www.walkoffame.com.
- 4.David Butler – Hollywood Star Walk. Los Angeles Times.
References
Citations
References
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reference work
Secondary witness
The Encyclopedia exists whether or not anything is for sale. Corrections are recorded rather than overwritten, and every version of this record is kept. Published 15 August 2026.
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