Chris A. Butler; Film Set Decorator
Chris A. Butler, Hollywood set decorator who was nominated for an Academy Award in 1993 for his work on the film “Chaplin,” has died at the age of 42.
Butler died Saturday at his home in Los Angeles of the complications of AIDS.
A native of Knoxville, Tenn., Butler studied at the Atlanta School of Art and began his career as a Los Angeles window dresser for Saks Fifth Avenue and Geary’s.
He began working on film crews with 1978 movie “The Betsy.” He later was set decorator for the films “An Innocent Man” in 1989, “Postcards From the Edge” in 1990, “L.A. Story” and “Bill & Ted’s Bogus Journey” in 1991, the story of Charlie Chaplin in 1992 and “Fatal Instinct” in 1993. His final film was “Triple Indemnity.”
Butler is survived by his mother, Carolyn Niles of Beverly Hills; his sister, Alicia Villaire of Laguna Niguel, and his longtime companion, Peter Schwartz of Los Angeles.
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