Although his death in a single automobile crash was listed an
accident, some say that Butterworth was extremely despondent over the
death of close friend Robert Benchley a few months earlier and
deliberately crashed his speeding car.
Died of a fractured skull when he lost control of his speeding
convertible on Sunset Boulevard and crashed into a lamp post.
Graduated from Notre Dame's law school in 1924 and passed the bar but
decided against a law career and moved into journalism.
A one-time news reporter for the Chicago American and New York Times, his talents as a writer were instrumental in establishing solid friendships with journalist Heywood Hale Broun and humorist Frank Sullivan, who helped him find initial work on radio.
He was the inspiration for cereal icon Cap'n Crunch.
Appeared in several jazz-age Broadway musicals, including "Allez Oop
(1927), "Good Boy" (1928) and "Sweet Adeline" (1929), before making
films.
Buried in St. Joseph Valley Memorial Park in Granger, Indiana.