William Elias George
William “Butchie” Elias George, aka “Anteater” and “Crazy George,” of Lone Pine, died Thursday, August 10, 2023, a result of complications sustained from a 2014 motorcycle accident. He was born in Washington County, to Syrian immigrants Elias and Martha George.
A well-known artist, collector, music lover, and Harley Davidson enthusiast, William graduated from Monongahela High School before attending Southern Illinois University Carbondale for art education.
William was a member of the Washington County Artists Co-op and was known for using diverse mediums and styles to craft sculptures, drawings, oil, and acrylic paintings. His works ranged from abstract art, pop art, surrealism, and realism.
Over the course of his career, he produced multiple genres of paintings, many capturing the changing seasons of Washington County covered bridges. To celebrate his hometown, William created the Eighty-Four Centennial commemorative poster, and was commissioned to design posters, community and college calendars, signs, murals, and ads across the country.
William also was well known for founding the publication “Motorcycle Happenings Guide,” which ran from 1965 until his accident. Using metal salvaged from an airshaft from the World Trade Center, he also designed a 9/11 sculpture that was exhibited at both the Termesphere Gallery, The Journeyman Museum, and Learning Center in South Dakota. In a 2003 Post-Gazette article written about his sculpture, he explained, “The artistic spirit wants to be free, so I live a life to allow it to be free.” In further describing himself, he stated, “It’s my firm belief that artists should be seen, not heard. I want my works to speak for themselves.”
William also had a love for acting/filmmaking; he appeared as Butchie, the wild haired, bearded biker riding the Harley-Davidson Panhead Motorcycle with Larry Vaira’s Tommy- Gun Biker character in George A. Romero’s Dawn of the Dead (1978). He also was the motorcycle stunt man for Bruce McGill in Animal House (1978). He went on to work alongside Tom Savini as an art department crew member for the Night of the Living Dead (1990) remake, which he also appeared in as a biker. He was particularly proud of a documentary that he produced about Carbondale, Ill., his second home, called “Carbondale Here and Now,” which detailed the protests of the 60s.
Never missing a Sturgis rally until his accident, William truly loved being a traveling artist, selling screen prints and being an acrylic body painter at motorcycle rallies all over the country, including the Black Hills Motorcycle Classic. Though he made a living as an artist, he refused to sell any of his paintings: He once explained in a 1999 interview in the Southern Illinoisan, that his ambition is like that of many artists, “I wanna be famous when I’m dead.”
He is survived by siblings, Pete, Joe (Kay), Michael (Debbie), Nancy (Chuck), Anthony (Martha), and Bob; sisters-in- law, Ruthann and Marian; and numerous nieces and nephews.
William was preceded in death by siblings Elias, Kenneth, Ben, Anthony, David, Paul, John, and Helen.
Memorials may be sent to the Lone Pine Christian Church, 582 Lone Pine Road, Washington, PA 15301; or the National Motorcycle Safety Fund at https://nmsfund.org/
Condolences may be sent to 152 Sugar Run Road, Eighty-Four, PA 15330.
A private service and burial will be held at a later date, at the George Family Cemetery at the family farm in Eighty-Four.
Arrangements are entrusted to William G. Neal Funeral Homes, Ltd., 925 Allison Avenue, Washington.
A guest book is available at www.NealFuneralHomes.com.