Buster Crabbe
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- Byname of:
- Clarence Lindon Crabbe
- Born:
- February 7, 1908,Oakland,California,U.S.
- Died:
- April 23, 1983,Scottsdale,Arizona (aged 75)
- Awards And Honors:
- Olympic Games
Buster Crabbe (born February 7, 1908,Oakland,California, U.S.—died April 23, 1983,Scottsdale, Arizona) was a swimmer from theUnited States whose Olympic gold medal led to a long and successfulacting career.
- Bronze: 1 (1,500-meter freestyle)
- Gold: 1 (400-meter freestyle)
Crabbe, who grew up inHawaii and swam for theUniversity of Southern California, competed at the1928 Olympics in Amsterdam, winning a bronze medal in the 1,500-meterfreestyle and finishing in fourth place in the 400-meter freestyle. At the1932 Olympics in Los Angeles, Crabbe faced world-record holder Jean Taris ofFrance andOlympic record holder Takashi Yokoyama ofJapan in the 400-meter freestyle finals. Taris led most of the race, but Crabbe pulled even with 25 meters to go and reached the wall one-tenth of a second ahead of Taris to set anOlympic record (4 min 48.4 sec) and win the gold medal.
Buster Crabbe was the only actor who played all three of the most popular,iconic characters of the day: Flash Gordon, Buck Rogers, andTarzan.
Hollywoodmovie producers, aware of the acting success enjoyed byJohnny Weissmuller after his Olympicswimming gold, signed Crabbe to an acting contract. He starred in more than 170movies, including the title roles in theFlash Gordon andBuck Rogers serials. He also appeared ontelevision, authored fitness books, and owned a successful swimming pool company. In 1960 he was awarded a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. Crabbe set 16 world records and was named to the International Swimming Hall of Fame in 1965.
