October 25, 2021—We are very sad to share that Director/Producer George Butler died peacefully at his home in True Farm, New Hampshire, on October 21, 2021. The cause of death at age 78 was pneumonia.
George established his own film company, White Mountain Films, in 1972 and produced many critically acclaimed documentaries. In 1977, he produced Pumping Iron, which introduced the world to the sport of professional bodybuilding and the film’s star, Arnold Schwarzenegger. George’s curiosity for the natural world, for science and adventure, combined with his steadfast commitment to the giant screen, led him to create the award-winning giant screen films Roving Mars, winner of the GSTA Best Film for Learning Award in 2006, and Shackleton’s Antarctic Adventure, winner of the GSTA awards for Best Film and Best Cinematography in 2001. Most recently he was producer and director of Tiger Tiger, an IMAX documentary to be released in 2022 and made with his friend Frank Marshall, with whom he had previously partnered on Roving Mars. A dedicated conservationist and avid woodsman, he also directed and produced such conservation-themed docs as The Lord God Bird and In the Blood.
George was also a gifted photographer, whose subjects included inner city Detroit, Jamaica (where he grew up), and personalities such as John Kerry and Arnold Schwarzenegger.
The son of a British Army officer and American mother, George was born in England on October 12, 1943, and raised in Somalia and Jamaica. He leaves two sons and six grandchildren and countless friends. A memorial service in New York will follow.
We send our sincere sympathy to his family and many friends and colleagues.