On this day, February 7, 1908, Buster Crabbe was born.

[mahatmakanejeeves]

Buster Crabbe


Circa early 1940s

Born: Clarence Linden Crabbe II; February 7, 1908; Oakland, California, U.S.
Died: April 23, 1983 (aged 75); Scottsdale, Arizona, U.S.

Clarence Linden Crabbe II (/ˈkræb/; February 7, 1908 – April 23, 1983), known professionally as Buster Crabbe, was an American two-time Olympic swimmer and film and television actor. He won the 1932 Olympic gold medal for 400-meter freestyle swimming event, which launched his career on the silver screen and later television. He 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.

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Olympic Games


Crabbe at age 20 at the 1928 Olympics in Amsterdam

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'Flash Gordon' (1936) Serial clip
474,214 views•May 28, 2007


Ken Horan
495 subscribers

Emperor Ming lusts after the blond Dale Arden. Ming to Dale: "..your eyes, your hair, your skin...I've never seen one like you before...you're beautiful.." Featuring Buster Crabbe, Jean Rogers and Charles Middleton as Ming. This is the only serial that has been selected for preservation in the Library of Congress National Film Registry.

[3Hotdogs]

1. Fuck, Emperor Ming, The Merciless."

But I agree with him, Dale Arden was a hottie.

[dhill926]

2. used to rush home from Sunday school...

to watch Flash Gordon. He actually came to my college and gave a talk in the early 70's. Of course all of us who had grown up on Flash were ripped to the gills for the talk, along with Flash Gordon excerpts. Really fun night...he was very gracious...

[Staph]

3. In my university days,

West Virginia University showed a somewhat new film in the student union every Wednesday evening, preceded by a cartoon or other short film.

The semester that they decided to precede the film with episodes of Flash Gordon, they had to move the films from the student union's theater to the ballroom. Hundreds of students would come to the show to watch Flash Gordon and then leave when the movie started!

[Montauk6]

4. When I was a kid...

I just knew him from those commercials for Icy Hot. And then one of our local UHFs started showing the Flash Gordon serial (wait, that's the ointment guy???). Then again, I just knew Joe DiMaggio as that old guy in the turtleneck and blazer selling Mr. Coffee.