With his documentary Pumping Iron, George Butler helped to put Arnold Schwarzenegger on the map, in terms of public view. Following the passing of the documentarian, the bodybuilding legend paid his respect.
It is not much of an understatement to say that when Butler came out with the documentary Pumping Iron it revolutionized the sport of bodybuilding, fully kicking it into the mind of the public. A big portion of that came from a young unknown Austrian bodybuilder by the name of Arnold Schwarzenegger, who oozed charisma and confidence, with a physique to back it up.
So naturally, Arnold was devastated to hear the news that George had passed away at the age of 77 years old. He took to his Twitter after finding out this sad news, to give his thoughts on George as a person and a documentarian, as well as speaking to the impact he had on Arnold’s life in particular.
“When I think about all of the people who were responsible for the growth of bodybuilding and the sport’s crossover to the mainstream, two of the first people to come to mind are, without any doubt, George Butler and Charles Gaines. Pumping Iron, the book and the movie, drew the general public in to our strange little niche sport and brought fitness and this Austrian with an unpronounceable name and a funny accent – to the masses,” Schwarzenegger wrote.
“I was saddened to hear the news of George’s passing. He was such a talent, he had a fantastic eye, and he was a force for the sport of bodybuilding and the fitness crusade. My thoughts are with his family.”
Rest in peace to my friend George Butler. Read my full statement below. pic.twitter.com/TcMnsYTqSB
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— Arnold (@Schwarzenegger) October 22, 2021
The Life of George Butler
Before he was putting Arnold Schwarzenegger in the spotlight, George Butler was born in Britain, growing up in Somalia, Kenya, and Jamaica. He began working with the Peace Corp and doing photography and journalism, where he was assigned to take photos at a Mr. Universe Championship, which inspired his decision to create the Pumping Iron movie.
This sparked a boom in popularity for the sport, and kicked off his career in documentary filmmaking, leading to him being referred to as a pioneer for dramatic documentaries.
George Butler’s Filmography
Here are all the films he created in his career:
- Pumping Iron
- Pumping Iron II: The Women
- In the Blood
- The Endurance: Shackleton’s Legendary Antarctic Expedition
- Shackleton’s Antarctic Adventure
- Going Upriver
- Roving Mars
- The Lord God Bird
- The Good Fight
- Tiger, Tiger
- Tiger, Tiger: The IMAX Experience
It is quite clear that George Butler had a massive impact on a lot of people, not just Arnold Schwarzenegger. Fitness Volt would like to send our sincerest condolences to his friends and family during this time of mourning.
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I met George as a student. My Documentary professor Charles Musser knew him and I was working on my thesis film and had interviewed Beve Francis, a subject in Buttler’s Pumping Iron II film. When George unabashedly answered the door at his Manhattan apartment he had a large white bandage on his nose, “I’ve just come from the hospital where I had surgery today”, he said. I offered to return at a better time, but George insisted on spending a generous amount of time answering my questions and showing me the amazing photographs of Arnold and Bev he had taken while making the two films and invited me to come up to his New England home for a longer visit which we were unable to accomplish before his passing. Then the unexpected happened, George had invited me to join him that evening for a screening of Pumping Iron II. Pointing to the bandage on his nose he asked, “Aaron, would you be able to attend the screening for me this evening, I”m in no condition to be introducing my film, I was hoping you might Introduce it for me and please share about your thesis project. I was thrilled of course and accepted the honor with great enthusiasm. His producer, Keero was in touch with me immediately afterwards to let me know that the producers were very pleased with the outcome and asked that we remain in touch which we have done, and the rest is a story I hope to be sharing very soon.