"Governor" Arnold Schwarzenegger, a well-known action superstar, has made great contributions to the film and television and bodybuilding industries. But without a director's push, Schwarzenegger probably wouldn't be where he is today. The director was George Butler.
Sadly, the director passed away at the age of 78, having directed the famous documentary "Pump Iron".
Butler helped Cement Schwarzenegger's reputation by starring in the famous Terminator.
According to Butler's son, the documentary filmmaker died of pneumonia at his home in Holderness, New Hampshire, on Oct. 21, 2021.
Butler was born in Chester, England, in 1942, where he began his photography career. The son of a British soldier spent his childhood in Somalia and Jamaica.
While studying at the University of North Carolina, he met Robert Fiore, and the two then directed the documentary Pump Iron together. In the film, Schwarzenegger and Lou Fellinho compete for the title of Mr. Olympia, and it is because of this documentary that Schwarzenegger began his film career.
Butler covered bodybuilding as a journalist in the 1970s, and before raising money to make the film, he had written a book about the sport.
Schwarzenegger had only played a few minor roles in television and film at the time, and the filming of Pump Iron greatly increased the popularity of the "governor".
The Terminator star once praised the filmmaker on Twitter.
"When I think of all the people who have contributed to the development of the fitness movement and the movement going mainstream, the first two people that come to my mind are, without a doubt, George Butler and Charles Gaines."
Butler's later credits include the film Against the Current, about Senator John Kerry's journey to the Vietnamese Navy, and Perseverance, about Ernest Shackleton's 1914 trip to Antarctica.
Butler's film Endurance was nominated for a 2001 BAFTA Award, voiced by Hollywood star Liam Neeson.
In a 40-year career, he directed more than 10 films. His last film, Tiger tells the story of a big cat conservationist who enters the wild in India and Bangladesh.
The director's greatest contribution is to cultivate an action superstar like Arnold Schwarzenegger, whose greatness is self-evident.