Frank Russell Butler (December 28, 1889 — June 10, 1967) was an American

film A film also called a movie, motion picture, moving picture, picture, photoplay or (slang) flick is a work of visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, feelings, beauty, or atmosphere ...

and

theatre Theatre or theater is a collaborative form of performing art that uses live performers, usually actors or actresses, to present the experience of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place, often a stage. The perfor ...

actor An actor or actress is a person who portrays a character in a performance. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. The analogous Greek term is (), lit ...

and later an award-winning

screenwriter A screenplay writer (also called screenwriter, scriptwriter, scribe or scenarist) is a writer who practices the craft of screenwriting, writing screenplays on which mass media, such as films, television programs and video games, are based. ...

, born in

Oxford Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...

Oxfordshire Oxfordshire is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the north west of South East England. It is a mainly rural county, with its largest settlement being the city of Oxford. The county is a centre of research and development, primarily ...

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separa ...

to parents Frederick Butler and Sarah Ann Hedges. His son, Hugo Butler, also became a Hollywood screenwriter.

Career

Theatre

His theatre career included two appearances (1920s–1930s) in Broadway-theatre productions in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

Film work

Butler's film career started with

silent film A silent film is a film with no synchronized recorded sound (or more generally, no audible dialogue). Though silent films convey narrative and emotion visually, various plot elements (such as a setting or era) or key lines of dialogue may, wh ...

s in the early 1920s. He appeared in almost fifty films and wrote more than sixty

screenplays ''ScreenPlay'' is a television drama anthology series broadcast on BBC2 between 9 July 1986 and 27 October 1993. Background After single-play anthology series went off the air, the BBC introduced several showcases for made-for-television, fea ...

. This included the 1937 film '' Champagne Waltz''.

Awards

He co-won, with Frank Cavett, the

Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay The Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay is the Academy Award for the best screenplay not based upon previously published material. It was created in 1940 as a separate writing award from the Academy Award for Best Story. Beginning with th ...

for the film ''

Going My Way ''Going My Way'' is a 1944 American musical comedy drama film directed by Leo McCarey and starring Bing Crosby and Barry Fitzgerald. Written by Frank Butler and Frank Cavett based on a story by McCarey, the film is about a new young priest tak ...

'' (1944). Butler had earlier been nominated for an

Academy Award for Best Writing (Original Screenplay) The Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay is the Academy Award for the best screenplay not based upon previously published material. It was created in 1940 as a separate writing award from the Academy Award for Best Story. Beginning with th ...

twice in the same year, for ''

Road to Morocco ''Road to Morocco'' is a 1942 American comedy film starring Bing Crosby, Bob Hope and Dorothy Lamour, and featuring Anthony Quinn and Dona Drake. The film, which was written by Frank Butler and Don Hartman and directed by David Butler for ...

'' and ''Wake Island'', both released in 1942.

Partial filmography

* '' Behold My Wife!'' (1920) (acted) * '' The Great Moment'' (1921) (acted) * '' The Sheik'' (1921) (acted) * '' Beyond the Rocks'' (1922) (acted) * '' A Tailor-Made Man'' (1922) (acted) * '' My American Wife'' (1922) (acted) * '' The Tiger's Claw'' (1923) (acted) * ''

The Call of the Wild ''The Call of the Wild'' is a short adventure novel by Jack London, published in 1903 and set in Yukon, Canada, during the 1890s Klondike Gold Rush, when strong sled dogs were in high demand. The central character of the novel is a dog name ...

'' (1923) (acted) * ''

Satan in Sables ''Satan in Sables'' is a 1925 American silent drama film directed by James Flood and starring Lowell Sherman and Pauline Garon. It was produced and released by Warner Brothers. Cast Preservation status A print of ''Satan in Sables'' surviv ...

'' (1925) (acted) * '' Made for Love'' (1926) (acted) * '' 30 Below Zero'' (1926) * '' The Honorable Mr. Buggs'' (1927) * ''

Flying Elephants ''Flying Elephants'' is a two-reel silent film from 1928 directed by Frank Butler and produced by Hal Roach. It stars Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy as a pair of battling cavemen. Plot The film takes place in the Stone Age, where the King of t ...

'' (1928) (directed) * '' The Big Killing'' (1928) * '' Just Married'' (1928) * '' China Bound'' (1929) * '' Untamed'' (1929) * ''

Strictly Unconventional ''Strictly Unconventional'' is a 1930 American pre-Code drama film directed by David Burton, written by Sylvia Thalberg and Frank Butler, and starring Catherine Dale Owen, Paul Cavanagh, Tyrell Davis, Lewis Stone and Ernest Torrence. It w ...

'' (1930) * '' Those Three French Girls'' (1930) * ''

Remote Control In electronics, a remote control (also known as a remote or clicker) is an electronic device used to operate another device from a distance, usually wirelessly. In consumer electronics, a remote control can be used to operate devices such a ...

'' (1930) * ''

New Moon In astronomy, the new moon is the first lunar phase, when the Moon and Sun have the same ecliptic longitude. At this phase, the lunar disk is not visible to the naked eye, except when it is silhouetted against the Sun during a solar eclipse. ...

'' (1930) * '' This Modern Age'' (1931) * '' When a Feller Needs a Friend'' (1932) * '' College Humor'' (1933) * ''

Search for Beauty ''Search for Beauty'' is a 1934 American pre-Code dramedy film, with some musical Busby Berkeley-esque athletic sequences, directed by Erle C. Kenton and starring Buster Crabbe and Ida Lupino (the film was released shortly before Lupino's 16th bi ...

'' (1934) * '' Babes in Toyland'' (1934) * ''

Vagabond Lady ''Vagabond Lady'' is a 1935 American comedy film directed by Sam Taylor and written by Frank Butler. The film stars Robert Young and Evelyn Venable. The film was released on May 3, 1935, by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. Plot Irresponsible, happy-go-l ...

'' (1935) * '' Coronado'' (1935) * '' Strike Me Pink'' (1936) * '' The Milky Way'' (1936) * ''

The Bohemian Girl ''The Bohemian Girl'' is an Irish Romantic opera composed by Michael William Balfe with a libretto by Alfred Bunn. The plot is loosely based on a Miguel de Cervantes' tale, ''La Gitanilla''. The best-known aria from the piece is " I Dreamt I Dw ...

'' (1936) * '' The Princess Comes Across'' (1936) * '' Champagne Waltz'' (1937) * '' Waikiki Wedding'' (1937) * '' Paris Honeymoon'' (1939) * '' Never Say Die'' (1939) * '' The Star Maker'' (1939) * ''

Road to Singapore ''Road to Singapore'' is a 1940 American semi-musical comedy film directed by Victor Schertzinger and starring Bing Crosby, Dorothy Lamour and Bob Hope. Based on a story by Harry Hervey, the film is about two playboys trying to forget previo ...

'' (1940) * '' I Want a Divorce'' (1940) * '' Rangers of Fortune'' (1940) * ''

Road to Zanzibar ''Road to Zanzibar'' is a 1941 Paramount Pictures semi-musical comedy film starring Bing Crosby, Bob Hope, and Dorothy Lamour, and marked the second of seven pictures in the popular "'' Road to …''" series made by the trio. It takes place in ...

'' (1941) * '' Aloma of the South Seas'' (1941) * ''

My Favorite Blonde ''My Favorite Blonde'' is a 1942 American comedy film directed by Sidney Lanfield and starring Bob Hope and Madeleine Carroll. Based on a story by Melvin Frank and Norman Panama, the film is about a vaudeville performer who gets mixed up with Br ...

'' (1942) * '' Beyond the Blue Horizon'' (1942) * ''

Wake Island Wake Island ( mh, Ānen Kio, translation=island of the kio flower; also known as Wake Atoll) is a coral atoll in the western Pacific Ocean in the northeastern area of the Micronesia subregion, east of Guam, west of Honolulu, southeast of T ...

'' (1942) * ''

'' (1942) * '' Hostages'' (1943) * ''

'' (1944) * '' A Medal for Benny'' (1945) * '' Incendiary Blonde'' (1945) * ''

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the mo ...

'' (1947) * ''

Welcome Stranger The Welcome Stranger is the biggest alluvial gold nugget that has ever been found, which had a calculated refined weight of .Potter, Terry F. (1999) ''The Welcome Stranger: a definitive account of the worlds largest alluvial gold nugget''. I ...

'' (1947) * '' The Perils of Pauline'' (1947) * '' Golden Earrings'' (1947) * '' Whispering Smith'' (1948) * ''

Road to Bali ''Road to Bali'' is a 1952 American comedy film directed by Hal Walker and starring Bing Crosby, Bob Hope, and Dorothy Lamour. Released by Paramount Pictures on November 19, 1952, the film is the sixth of the seven '' Road to …'' movies. It wa ...

'' (1952) * '' Strange Lady in Town'' (1955)

References

External links

* * 1880s births 1967 deaths American male film actors American male screenwriters American male silent film actors American male stage actors Best Adapted Screenplay Academy Award winners 20th-century American male actors British emigrants to the United States 20th-century American male writers 20th-century American screenwriters {{US-theat-actor-1890s-stub