1. Clarence Linden "Buster" Crabbe II was an American two-time Olympic swimmer and film and television actor.
25 Facts About Buster Crabbe
1. 2.
Buster Crabbe won the 1932 Olympic gold medal for 400-meter freestyle swimming event, which launched his career on the silver screen and later television.
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Buster Crabbe starred in a variety of popular feature films and movie serials released between 1933 and the 1950s, portraying the top three syndicated comic-strip heroes of the 1930s: Tarzan, Flash Gordon, and Buck Rogers.
4.
Buster Crabbe had a brother, Edward Clinton Simmons Crabbe Jr.
5.
Buster Crabbe grew up in Hawaii and graduated from Punahou School in Honolulu.
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Buster Crabbe then attended the University of Southern California, where he was the school's first All-American swimmer and a 1931 NCAA freestyle titlist.
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Buster Crabbe became a member of the Sigma Chi fraternity before graduating from USC in 1931.
8.
Buster Crabbe is credited in some films as "Larry Crabbe" or "Larry Crabbe".
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Buster Crabbe starred in several popular films at this time, including The Sweetheart of Sigma Chi, alongside Betty Grable, Search for Beauty, and Daughter of Shanghai credited as Larry Crabbe.
10.
Buster Crabbe starred as Buck Rogers for Universal, playing the role with dark hair, unlike his blonde hair for Flash Gordon.
11.
In 1939 Buster Crabbe reunited with Grable for a lead role in the mainstream comedy Million Dollar Legs.
12.
Buster Crabbe starred at the Billy Rose's Aquacade at the New York World's Fair during its second year, replacing fellow Olympic swimmer and Tarzan actor Johnny Weissmuller.
13.
Buster Crabbe portrayed a Western folk-hero version of Billy the Kid in 13 films, and Billy Carson in 23, along with Al St John as his sidekick.
14.
Buster Crabbe was frequently featured in archival footage in the children's television program, The Gabby Hayes Show.
15.
The Buster Crabbe Show was seen weekday evenings on WOR-TV in New York City from Monday, March 12,1951, to Friday, October 3,1952.
16.
On September 28,1952, Sports Final with Buster Crabbe debuted on WNBT-TV in New York City.
17.
Buster Crabbe starred in the syndicated television series, Captain Gallant of the Foreign Legion as Captain Michael Gallant; the adventure series aired on NBC.
18.
Buster Crabbe made regular television appearances, including an episode of the 1979 series Buck Rogers in the 25th Century, in which he played a retired fighter pilot named "Brigadier Gordon", in honor of Flash Gordon.
19.
Buster Crabbe was the aquatics director at the Concord Resort Hotel in New York State's Catskill Mountains.
20.
Buster Crabbe appeared as the father of a young swimmer in the comedy Swim Team, and as a sheriff in the low-budget horror film Alien Dead, followed by The Comeback Trail, one year before his death.
21.
Buster Crabbe appeared in television commercials for Hormel Chili, Icy Hot, and the Magic Mold Bodyshirt, an upper body male girdle of sorts, which purportedly helped in weight loss.
22.
Buster Crabbe continued swimming through his sixties and in 1971 set a world record in his age group.
23.
Buster Crabbe is the maternal grandfather of the college football coach Nick Holt.
24.
In 1983, at age 75, Buster Crabbe died of a heart attack at his home in Scottsdale, Arizona.
25.
Buster Crabbe is interred at Green Acres Memorial Park in Scottsdale.