Larry Butler

Lawrence W. Butler was an American special effects artist working from the mid 1930s through the early 1970s who is credited as the inventor of the blue screen traveling matte process still used in modern visual effects work. He began his career in the United States alongside his father, an optical effects director, before relocating to England in the mid 1930s to join Alexander Korda's London Films, where he worked on the 1936 production Things to Come. His major technical breakthrough came when he developed and perfected the blue screen matte technique, which he showcased on the 1940 fantasy film The Thief of Bagdad, work that won him the Academy Award for Best Special Effects. He went on to contribute effects work to Casablanca at Warner Bros, then moved to Columbia Pictures where he worked on Gilda, The Lady from Shanghai and The Caine Mutiny. Over his career he received three further Academy Award nominations in the special effects category. He remained active in the film industry until his retirement in 1973, his final film being Charley Varrick.