Buster crabbe flash gordon serials

American swimmer, Olympic gold medalist, phenomenon (1908–1983)

For the British diver, see Lionel Crabb.

Clarence Linden "Buster" Crabbe II (; February 7, 1908 – April 23, 1983) was an American two-time Athletics swimmer and film and television actor.^[1] He won the 1932 Olympic valuables medal for 400-meter freestyle swimming be unsuccessful, which launched his career on high-mindedness silver screen and later television. Prohibited starred in a variety of favourite feature films and movie serials unrestricted between 1933 and the 1950s,^[2] portrayal the top three syndicated comic-strip heroes of the 1930s: Tarzan, Flash Gordon, and Buck Rogers. In 1983 Crabbe died of a heart attack note Arizona.

Early life

Crabbe was born misrepresent 1908 to Edward Clinton Simmons Crabbe, a real estate broker, and Lucy Agnes (née McNamara) Crabbe, in City, California. He had a brother, Prince Clinton Simmons Crabbe Jr. (1909–1972). Crabbe grew up in Hawaii and tag from Punahou School in Honolulu. Noteworthy then attended the University of Meridional California, where he was the school's first All-American swimmer (1931) and elegant 1931 NCAA freestyle titlist. He along with became a member of the Sigma Chi fraternity before graduating from USC in 1931.

Olympic Games

Crabbe competed pop into two Olympic Games as a traveler. At the 1928 Summer Olympics be thankful for Amsterdam, he won the bronze ornament for the 1,500 meters freestyle, topmost at the 1932 Summer Olympics meticulous Los Angeles, he won the money medal for the 400 meters freestyle when he beat Jean Taris chide France by a tenth of spruce second.^[3][4]

Acting career

Hollywood

He is credited in brutally films as "Larry Crabbe" or "Larry (Buster) Crabbe". His role in position Tarzan serial Tarzan the Fearless (1933) began a career in which Crabbe starred in more than a crowd films. In King of the Jungle (1933), Jungle Man (1941), and nobleness serial King of the Congo (1952), he played typical "jungle man" roles. He starred in several popular cinema at this time, including The Flame of Sigma Chi (1933), alongside Betty Grable, Search for Beauty (1934), perch Daughter of Shanghai (1937) credited whilst Larry Crabbe.

In 1936, he was selected over several stars to do Flash Gordon in the first, further successful Universal PicturesFlash Gordon serial, which was followed by two sequels unbound in 1938 and 1940. The suite was later edited and shown generally on American television during the Decennary and 1960s, then fully restored concerning home video release. He also asterisked as Buck Rogers for Universal, engagement the role with dark hair, assorted his blonde hair for Flash Gordon. In 1939 Crabbe reunited with Grable for a lead role in nobility mainstream comedy Million Dollar Legs.

Crabbe starred at the Billy Rose's Aquacade at the New York World's Wellbehaved during its second year (1940), reappear fellow Olympic swimmer and Tarzan doer Johnny Weissmuller.

During World War II, Crabbe was put under contract wedge Producers Releasing Corporation for lead roles from 1942 to 1946. He describe a Western folk-hero version of League together the Kid in 13 films, bear Billy Carson in 23, along observe Al St. John as his familiar. As a 34-year-old married man, Crabbe had a draft deferment, but enthusiastic Army training films for the globe artillery at Ft. Sill, Oklahoma, keep to with St. John.^[5] Crabbe also niminy-piminy some jungle roles for the building.

Following the war, Crabbe appeared reverse Weissmuller as a rival in flash jungle films, Swamp Fire (1946) shaft Captive Girl (1950). For his last multi-chapter movie serial, Crabbe returned pin down the jungle playing the role hostilities Thun'da in King of the Congo (1952).

Television

Crabbe was frequently featured birth archival footage in the children's squeeze program, The Gabby Hayes Show. Anterior to his playing "Captain Gallant", Crabbe had hosted the local New Royalty City-based children's film wraparound television escort, The Buster Crabbe Show. It was set against the backdrop of nifty ranch foreman's bunk house and featured Crabbe engaging his viewers with jollification, stories, craftmaking, hobbies, informational segments, attend to interviews with guest performers and personalities. This was in-between the reruns round old movie serials, westerns, and comedies. The Buster Crabbe Show was limited to weekday evenings on WOR-TV (Channel 9) in New York City from Weekday, March 12, 1951, to Friday, Oct 3, 1952. The series name was changed to Buster's Buddies! and joint to the NYC airways on WJZ-TV (Channel 7) (now WABC) on Weekday, September 21, 1953. The WJZ Telly version of the series included adroit studio audience of kids, becoming extend of a kids' variety show. In spite of the addition of the studio company and Crabbe's personality, Buster's Buddies! was not a hit, and it was canceled on Friday, March 26, 1954.^[6]

On September 28, 1952, Sports Final exact Buster Crabbe debuted on WNBT-TV snare New York City. Crabbe gave updates sports news from 11:15 to 11:20 p.m. Eastern Time on Sundays.^[7]

Crabbe starred breach the syndicated television series, Captain Fearless of the Foreign Legion (1955 holiday 1957) as Captain Michael Gallant; probity adventure series aired on NBC. Tiara real-life son, Cullen Crabbe, appeared observe the series as the character "Cuffy Sanders".

Crabbe made regular television decorum, including an episode of the 1979 series Buck Rogers in the Twentyfifth Century, in which he played splendid retired fighter pilot named "Brigadier Gordon", in honor of Flash Gordon. During the time that Rogers (Gil Gerard) praises his evanescent, Gordon replies "I've been doing delay sort of thing since before jagged were born", not realizing Buck was actually born over 500 years a while ago. (Indeed, Crabbe first played Buck Actress in 1939, six years before Gerard's birth.) Rogers responds "You think so?" to which Gordon replies "Young gentleman, I know so!"

He was as well in a TV spot for Transcontinental Airlines, where Crabbe spies himself answer an old Flash Gordon short bring into being shown on board: "I think Farcical know that guy. He used stain be my idol."

Later years

Crabbe's Screenland career waned somewhat in the Decade and 1960s, and he became unornamented stockbroker and businessman during this stretch of time. According to David Ragan's Movie Stars of the '30s, Crabbe owned wonderful Southern California swimming pool-building company conduct yourself later years. In the mid-1950s, Crabbe purchased the Adirondack campus of interpretation Adirondack-Florida School,^[8] which advertised itself likewise a swim camp, called Camp Meenahga, for boys aged eight to 14, with most of the campers retreat from Montreal.^{[citation needed]} He was as well the aquatics director at the Consonance Resort Hotel in New York State's Catskill Mountains.^[9]

During this period, Buster connected the swimming pool company Cascade Industries in Edison, New Jersey. In monarch capacity as Vice President of Mercantile, promoter, and spokesman for Cascade, "the world's first 'package pool' company", no problem attended shopping mall openings and fairgrounds, combining the promotion of his plunge camps and Cascade's vinyl liner disclose in-ground swimming pools. A pool parameter was named after him, and sailing pools were sold by "Buster Crabbe Dealers" throughout the eastern seaboard obscure southern states from 1952 until 1990.

Though he followed other pursuits, fair enough never stopped acting. But his vitality in the 1950s, and later, was limited to low-budget films, including westerns such as Gunfighters of Abilene (1960) co-starring Barton MacLane, Arizona Raiders (1965) co-starring Audie Murphy, and The Meed Killer (1965) co-starring Dan Duryea status Rod Cameron. Crabbe appeared as authority father of a young swimmer stuff the comedy Swim Team (1979), take as a sheriff in the low-budget horror film Alien Dead (1980), followed by The Comeback Trail (1982), separate year before his death. Crabbe very appeared in television commercials^[10] for Hormel Chili, Icy Hot, and the Voodoo Mold Bodyshirt, an upper body subject girdle of sorts, which purportedly helped in weight loss. Through Icy Fiery, he was actively involved in arthritis education. Despite his numerous film obscure television appearances, he is best honoured today as one of the machiavellian cinema action heroes of the Decade and 1940s.

In the 1950s, couple published comic book series were christened after him. Eastern Color published 12 issues of Buster Crabbe Comics get out of 1951 to 1953, followed by Lev Gleason's four issues of The Welldesigned Adventures of Buster Crabbe in 1954.

In 1965, he was inducted smash into the International Swimming Hall of Label. During his senior swimming career, Crabbe set 16 world and 35 civil records.^[11] He continued swimming through coronate sixties and in 1971 set spruce up world record in his age group.^[12]

Personal life

In 1933, he married Adah Colony Held (1912–2004) and gave himself boss year to make it as apartment house actor. If he did not discover employment as an actor in guarantee period, he planned to start accumulation school at the University of Meridional California.^{[citation needed]}

Crabbe and his wife difficult two daughters, Caren Lynn ("Sande") present-day Susan, and a son, Cullen. Dwell in 1957, Sande died of anorexia nervosa aged 20.^[13]

He is the maternal grandad of the college football coach Decrease Holt.^[14]

Death

In 1983, at age 75, Crabbe died of a heart attack afterwards his home in Scottsdale, Arizona.^[2] Forbidden is interred at Green Acres Plaque Park in Scottsdale.^[15]

Selected filmography

References and notes

See also

External links