Lawrence Butler& Donald Glouner VFX

Lawrence W.Butler
Date of Birth
30 July 1908, Akron, Ohio, USA
Date of Death
19 October 1988
Lawrence W. Butler is the son of special and optical effects director William Butler. Lawrence began his career working with his father; he then went to work with Alexander Korda in England where Butler did the special effects for The Thief of Baghdad (1940) and Jungle Book (1942) . Following WW II, Butler became the head of Columbia’s special effects department for close to thirty years. Later he was  awarded with  one Oscar for  Marooned (1969). In 1976, he and Roger Banks were awarded a special Oscar for their scientific and technical contributions dealing with “the concept of applying low inertia and stepping electric motors to film transport systems and optical printers for motion picture production.”

Donald Glouner Date of Birth
30 July 1908, Akron, Ohio, USA
Date of Death
19 October 1988
Lawrence W. Butler is the son of special and optical effects director William Butler. Lawrence began his career working with his father; he then went to work with Alexander Korda in England where Butler did the special effects for The Thief of Baghdad (1940) and Jungle Book (1942) . Following WW II, Butler became the head of Columbia’s special effects department for close to thirty years. Later he was  awarded with  one Oscar for  Marooned (1969). In 1976, he and Roger Banks were awarded a special Oscar for their scientific and technical contributions dealing with “the concept of applying low inertia and stepping electric motors to film transport systems and optical printers for motion picture production.”

Donald Charles Glouner was a special effects cinematographer, whose specialties were matte/processes effects and montage sequences. He worked mainly at Columbia as associate of Lawrence Butler, the head of Columbia special effects department. Eventually the team formed the Butler-Glouner Co., an independent effects studio that was in business until 1973. He was awarded with an Oscar for Marooned (1969)
Donald Glouner died July 16, 1994, age 80. He was the younger brother of cinematographer Martin Glouner (1909-1983) and the uncle of Emmy winner cinematographer Richard Glouner (1931-1998).

Butler and Glouner Inc. used very often matte paintings, always uncredited. The only one confirmed (by Craig Barron) is Albert Whitlock paintings for “The Pit and the Pendulum”. Some other matte shot are similar on style and could have been painted by Whitlock.
At some titles Butler and Glouner worked together with FX company Project Unlimited (Gene Warren, Wah Chang, Tim Barr) with whom Bill Brace collaborated paintings mattes. It is very probably that Brace was responsible for the matte paintings on “Master of the World”.

-Thumb Tripping (1972) … Opticals
-Butterflies Are Free (1972) (photo effects)
-Doctors’ Wives  (1971) (photographic effects)
-The Love Machine (1971)Special Effects Company (photographic effects)

-Hornets’ Nest (1970)  Photographic Effects

-The Comic (1969) (special effects)
-More Dead Than Alive (1968)  Special Effects Company
-Head (1968) Photographic Effects
-The Ghost in the Invisible Bikini (1966) Special Effects Company
-Ambush Bay (1966)  Photographic Effects
-Pajama Party (1964) Special Effects Company
-Bikini Beach (1964) Special Effects Company (photographic special effects)

- X (1963) Special Effects Company
-”The Outer Limits” (1963)  Special Effects Company

-Beach Party (1963)  Special Effects Company (photographic special effects)
-Operation Bikini (1963) Special Effects Company

-13 Ghosts (1960)  Photographic Color Effects (as Butler-Glouner, Inc.)