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Buster Crabbe | |
|---|---|
 Crabbe,c. early 1940s | |
| Born | Clarence Linden Crabbe II (1908-02-07)February 7, 1908 Oakland, California, U.S. |
| Died | April 23, 1983(1983-04-23) (aged 75) Scottsdale, Arizona, U.S. |
| Burial place | Green Acres Memorial Park, Scottsdale, Arizona |
| Alma mater | University of Southern California |
| Occupations |
|
| Years active | 1930–1983 |
| Known for | |
| Spouse | |
| Children | 3 |
| Relatives | Nick Holt (grandson) |
Clarence Linden "Buster" Crabbe II (/ˈkræb/; February 7, 1908 – April 23, 1983) was an American two-time Olympic swimmer and film and television actor.[1] He won the 1932 Olympic gold medal for 400-metre freestyle swimming event, which launched his career on thesilver screen and later television. He starred in a variety of popularfeature films andmovie serials released between 1933 and the 1950s,[2] portraying the top three syndicated comic-strip heroes of the 1930s:Tarzan,Flash Gordon, andBuck Rogers.
Crabbe was born February 7, 1908,[3] to Edward Clinton Simmons Crabbe, a real estate broker, and Lucy Agnes (née McNamara) Crabbe, inOakland, California. He had a brother, Edward Clinton Simmons Crabbe Jr. (1909–1972). Crabbe grew up inHawaii and graduated fromPunahou School inHonolulu. He then attended theUniversity of Southern California, where he was the school's firstAll-American swimmer (1931) and a 1931 NCAA freestyle titlist. He also became a member of theSigma Chi fraternity before graduating from USC in 1931.
| Olympic medal record | ||
|---|---|---|
| RepresentingtheUnited States | ||
| Men'sswimming | ||
 | 1932 Los Angeles | 400 m freestyle |
 | 1928 Amsterdam | 1500 m freestyle |
Crabbe competed in twoOlympic Games as aswimmer. At the1928 Summer Olympics inAmsterdam, he won thebronze medal for the 1,500 metresfreestyle, and at the1932 Summer Olympics inLos Angeles, he won thegold medal for the 400 metres freestyle when he beatJean Taris of France by a tenth of a second.[4][5]
He is credited in some films as "Larry Crabbe" or "Larry (Buster) Crabbe". His role in theTarzan serialTarzan the Fearless (1933) began a career in which Crabbe starred in more than a hundred films. InKing of the Jungle (1933),Jungle Man (1941), and the serialKing of the Congo (1952), he played typical "jungle man" roles. He starred in several popular films at this time, includingThe Sweetheart of Sigma Chi (1933), alongsideBetty Grable,Search for Beauty (1934), andDaughter of Shanghai (1937) credited as Larry Crabbe.
In 1936, he was selected over several stars to playFlash Gordon in the first, very successfulUniversal PicturesFlash Gordon serial, which was followed by two sequels released in 1938 and 1940. The series was later edited and shown extensively on American television during the 1950s and 1960s, then fully restored for home video release. He also starred asBuck Rogers for Universal, playing the role with dark hair, unlike his blonde hair for Flash Gordon. In 1939 Crabbe reunited with Grable for a lead role in the mainstream comedyMillion Dollar Legs.
Crabbe starred at theBilly Rose's Aquacade at theNew York World's Fair during its second year (1940), replacing fellow Olympic swimmer and Tarzan actorJohnny Weissmuller.[citation needed] In 1943,Al Sheehan recruited Crabbe to perform as part of theAqua Follies, awater ballet show including diving acts.[6]
During World War II, Crabbe was put under contract byProducers Releasing Corporation for lead roles from 1942 to 1946. He portrayed aWestern folk-hero version ofBilly the Kid in 13 films, and Billy Carson in 23, along withAl St. John as hissidekick. As a 34-year-old married man, Crabbe had a draft deferment, but made Armytraining films for thefield artillery atFt. Sill, Oklahoma, along with St. John.[7] Crabbe also played some jungle roles for the studio.
Following the war, Crabbe appeared opposite Weissmuller as a rival in two jungle films,Swamp Fire (1946) andCaptive Girl (1950). For his final multi-chapter movie serial, Crabbe returned to the jungle playing the role ofThun'da inKing of the Congo (1952).
Crabbe was frequently featured in archival footage in the children's television program,The Gabby Hayes Show. Prior to his playing "Captain Gallant", Crabbe had hosted the local New York City-based children's film wraparound television series,The Buster Crabbe Show. It was set against the backdrop of a ranch foreman's bunk house and featured Crabbe engaging his viewers with games, stories, craftmaking, hobbies, informational segments, and interviews with guest performers and personalities. This was in-between the reruns of old movie serials, westerns, and comedies.The Buster Crabbe Show was seen weekday evenings on WOR-TV (Channel 9) in New York City from Monday, March 12, 1951, to Friday, October 3, 1952. The series name was changed toBuster's Buddies! and returned to the NYC airways on WJZ-TV (Channel 7) (nowWABC) on Monday, September 21, 1953. The WJZ TV version of the series included a studio audience of kids, becoming more of a kids' variety show. Despite the addition of the studio audience and Crabbe's personality,Buster's Buddies! was not a hit, and it was canceled on Friday, March 26, 1954.[8]
On September 28, 1952,Sports Final with Buster Crabbe debuted onWNBT-TV in New York City. Crabbe gave updates sports news from 11:15 to 11:20 p.m. Eastern Time on Sundays.[9]
Crabbe starred in the syndicated television series,Captain Gallant of the Foreign Legion (1955 to 1957) as Captain Michael Gallant; the adventure series aired on NBC. His real-life son, Cullen Crabbe, appeared in the series as the character "Cuffy Sanders".
Crabbe made regular television appearances, including an episode of the 1979 seriesBuck Rogers in the 25th Century, in which he played a retired fighter pilot named "Brigadier Gordon", in honor of Flash Gordon. When Rogers (Gil Gerard) praises his flying, Gordon replies "I've been doing that sort of thing since before you were born", not realizing Buck was actually born over 500 years earlier. (Indeed, Crabbe first played Buck Rogers in 1939, six years before Gerard's birth.) Rogers responds "You think so?" to which Gordon replies "Young man, Iknow so!"
He was also in a TV spot forContinental Airlines, where Crabbe spies himself in an old Flash Gordon short being shown on board: "I think I know that guy. He used to be my idol."
Crabbe's Hollywood career waned somewhat in the 1950s and 1960s, and he became a stockbroker and businessman during this period. According to David Ragan'sMovie Stars of the '30s, Crabbe owned aSouthern California swimming pool-building company in later years. In the mid-1950s, Crabbe purchased theAdirondack campus of the Adirondack-Florida School,[10] which advertised itself as a swim camp, called Camp Meenahga, for boys aged eight to fourteen, with most of the campers coming from Montreal.[11] He was also the aquatics director at theConcord Resort Hotel in New York State'sCatskill Mountains.[12]
During this period, Buster joined the swimming pool company Cascade Industries inEdison, New Jersey. In his capacity as Vice President of Sales, promoter, and spokesman for Cascade, "the world's first 'package pool' company", he attended shopping mall openings andfairgrounds, combining the promotion of his swim camps and Cascade's vinyl liner for in-ground swimming pools. A pool line was named after him, and swimming pools were sold by "Buster Crabbe Dealers" throughout the eastern seaboard and southern states from 1952 until 1990.
Though he followed other pursuits, he never stopped acting. But his career in the 1950s, and later, was limited to low-budget films, including westerns such asGunfighters of Abilene (1960) co-starring Barton MacLane,Arizona Raiders (1965) co-starring Audie Murphy, andThe Bounty Killer (1965) co-starring Dan Duryea and Rod Cameron. Crabbe appeared as the father of a young swimmer in the comedySwim Team (1979), and as a sheriff in the low-budget horror filmAlien Dead (1980), followed byThe Comeback Trail (1982), one year before his death. Crabbe also appeared in television commercials[13] forHormel Chili,Icy Hot, and the Magic Mold Bodyshirt, an early version of maleshapewear, which purportedly helped in weight loss. Through Icy Hot, he was actively involved in arthritis education. Despite his numerous film and television appearances, he is best remembered today as one of the original cinema action heroes of the 1930s and 1940s.
In the 1950s, two published comic book series were named after him.Eastern Color published 12 issues ofBuster Crabbe Comics from 1951 to 1953, followed byLev Gleason's four issues ofThe Amazing Adventures of Buster Crabbe in 1954.
In 1965, he was inducted into theInternational Swimming Hall of Fame. During his senior swimming career, Crabbe set 16 world and 35 national records.[14] He continued swimming through his sixties and in 1971 set a world record in his age group.[15]
In 1933, he married Adah Virginia Held (1912–2004) and gave himself a year to make it as an actor. If he did not find employment as an actor in that period, he planned to start law school at the University of Southern California.[citation needed]
Crabbe and his wife had two daughters, Caren Lynn ("Sande") and Susan, and a son, Cullen. In 1957, Sande died ofanorexia nervosa aged 20.[16]
He is the maternal grandfather of the college football coachNick Holt.[17]
In 1983, at age 75, Crabbe died of a heart attack at his home inScottsdale, Arizona.[2] He is interred at Green Acres Memorial Park in Scottsdale.[18]
| Year | Title | Role |
|---|---|---|
| 1933 | King Of The Jungle | Kaspa |
| 1933 | Tarzan the Fearless | Tarzan |
| 1934 | Badge of Honor | Bob Gordon |
| You're Telling Me! | Bob Murchison | |
| 1936 | Flash Gordon | Flash Gordon |
| The Arizona Raiders | "Laramie" Nelson | |
| 1938 | Flash Gordon's Trip to Mars | Flash Gordon |
| Red Barry | Red Barry | |
| 1939 | Buck Rogers | Buck Rogers |
| 1940 | Flash Gordon Conquers the Universe | Flash Gordon |
| 1941–46 | Billy the Kid (film series) | Billy the Kid / Billy Carson |
| 1946 | Swamp Fire | Mike Kalavich |
| 1947 | Last of the Redmen | Magua |
| The Sea Hound | Captain Silver | |
| 1950 | Pirates of the High Seas | Jeff Drake |
| 1952 | King of the Congo | Captain Roger Drum and "Thun'da" |
| 1956 | Gun Brothers | Chad Santee |
| 1957 | The Lawless Eighties | Linc Prescott |
| 1958 | Badman's Country | Wyatt Earp |
| 1960 | Gunfighters of Abilene | Kip Tanner |
| 1965 | Arizona Raiders | Captain Andrews |
| The Bounty Killer | Mike Clayman | |
| 1978 | Swim Team | Rock Sands |
| 1980 | Alien Dead | Sheriff Kowalski |
| 1982 | The Comeback Trail | Duke Montana |
| Preceded by | Tarzan actor 1933 | Succeeded by |
| New title | Flash Gordon actor 1936 – 1940 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by John Dillie Jr. | Buck Rogers actor 1939 | Succeeded by |
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|---|---|---|
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| Men's Team | | |
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| Women's Team | ||
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| 400 metres |
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| International | |
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