Lou Butera (May 15, 1937 – June 25, 2015) was an American professional pool player (then retired and operated a pool hall) and an inductee into the Billiard Congress of America's Hall of Fame in 1986.
His nickname, "Machine Gun Lou", derives from his stunning the crowd and fellow competitors by 150-and-out in straight pool in under 25 minutes against his opponents.Billiard Congress of America Hall of Fame
He gained exposure to the masses in 1981 and 1982 when he appeared in network trick shot competitions on CBS and ABC.The Snap Magazine, pages 12-13, May/June 1991
Early life When Lou was seven years old, his mother died. His father, who owned a billiard room, had Lou come directly to the business after school each day. Lou would do his homework then play pool until he and his father went home. His early idol was Irving Crane, a pool player from Binghamton, NY.
Career Lou earned his famous nickname, from setting the world record for fastest run out, in an exhibition against Luther Lassiter he ran 150 balls in straight pool in just 19 minutes. Throughout his career, Butera won many tournaments. He was runner-up to Irving Crane in the 1972 World Championship in Los Angeles. In 1973, he won his first World Championship. He also won the Pennsylvania State Championship."The Collectible Breed," Nick Stubbs, page 12, Snap Magazine. Retrieved August 4, 2007
In 1974, Butera won the All Japan Championship title, and also triumphed over Richie Florence to win the Bud Lundahl's Midwest Open, a straight pool tournament he won by a score of 150–68 in the title match."Pot Shots", by Bruce Venzke, page 17, The National Billiard News, June 1980. Retrieved May 19, 2007 In 1991, Butera served as coach of the World Billiard Federation World Team, whose members included Nick Varner, Mike Sigel and Ray Martin. In a profile that appeared in the May/June, 1995 issue of , he was referred to as "...the man who may be the fastest pool player the game has ever known."
Lou Butera was one of the 43 invited pool players who competed in the International Pool Tour's King of the Hill Shootout in Orlando, Florida, December 2005. Digitized videos of Butera demonstrating trick shots were included with the PC pool simulator Virtual Pool.
Death He died from Parkinson's disease on June 26, 2015.
Filmography
As an accomplished pool player, Butera has produced various instructional videos for students of pool about the fundamentals of the game."Machine Gun Lou," Lou Butera Pictures
Lou Butera appeared in several films as an actor and technical advisor. He had a cameo appearance, as himself, in the pool hustling comedy film The Baltimore Bullet and as a pool player in Police Academy 6: City Under Siege.Lou Butera, Actor, at the Internet Movie Database Butera had a cameo appearance as pool player in, and was the pool technical advisor for, the 1984 film Racing with the Moon, starring Sean Penn.
He was also featured on the 1995 Virtual Pool CD Rom video game. In 1986 he was inducted into the Billiard Congress of America Hall of Fame.
Movies Year Title Role1980 The Baltimore Bullet Technical Adviser 1984 Racing with the Moon A Pool Player1989 Police Academy 6: City Under Siege A Pool Player
Titles 1964 Pennsylvania Straight Pool Tournament 1965 Pennsylvania Straight Pool Tournament 1966 Pennsylvania Straight Pool Tournament 1967 Midwest Open Straight Pool Tournament 1969 Street City Open Straight Pool Tournament 1969 Pittsburgh Straight Pool Tournament 1972 California Straight Pool Tournament 1973 BCA World Straight Pool Championship 1974 U.S. Classic 14.1 Championship 1974 All Japan Championship 9-Ball 1975 Midwest Open 14.1 Championship 1986 Billiard Congress of America Hall of Fame 1994 Mosconi Cup
References
External links