Clarence Linden Crabbe II (1908 - 1983)

Born 7 Feb 1908 in Oakland, Alameda, California, United States

Ancestors

Husband of Adah Virginia (Held) Crabbe — married 13 Apr 1933 in Yuma, Arizona, United States

Died 23 Apr 1983 at age 75 in Scottsdale, Maricopa, Arizona, United States

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Buster Crabbe II is Notable.

Biography

Buster represented the United States in Swimming in the Amsterdam Olympics of 1928 - Bronze medal.

Buster represented the United States in Swimming in the Los Angeles Olympics of 1932 - Gold medal.

"Hollywood looked down on the serials. They pigeonholed me as a lifeguard or something. You know, 'The guy strips well, but . . .' "--Buster Crabbe

Clarence Linden Crabbe II, 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.^[1] 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."^[2]

He was born 7 February 1908 in Oakland, California, the son of Edward Clinton Crabbe, a real estate broker, and Lucy Agnes McNamara.^[3]

He was married to Adah Virginia Held 13 April 1933 in Yuma, Arizona. They were the parents of three children, two daughters and one son. "Adah Virginia Held, 20, of Beverly Hills, Cal., and Clarence L. (Buster) Crabbe, Olympic swimming champion and screen actor, were married at Yuma, Ariz., recently after a romance of more than a year. Crabbe is a contract player for a major Hollywood studio. His bride is the daughter of Thomas Held, film editor."^[4]

Buster died of a heart attack at his home in Scottsdale, Arizona, 23 April 1983 at the age of 75. His remains were buried at Green Acres Memorial Park in Scottsdale.^[5]

Obituary:^[6]

Buster Crabbe, the handsome Olympic gold medal swimmer who played Flash Gordon and Buck Rogers in serial movies of the 1930s and 1940s, died Saturday of a heart attack. He was 75.

Crabbe's wife, Virginia, said the star of more than 170 movies had had some heart problems over the years but seemed to be in excellent health just five minutes before he collapsed.

Mrs. Crabbe said yesterday that she has established a memorial fund for athletes headed for the Olympics. Donations may be sent to The Buster Crabbe Olympic Memorial Fund, Valley National Bank, Box 71, Phoenix, Ariz. 85001.

Crabbe, who often claimed "one-tenth of a second" made him an actor instead of a lawyer, was annoyed at Hollywood's he-man image of him.

He became a hero to American youth as Flash Gordon, Buck Rogers, Billy the Kid, Tarzan, Kaspa the Lion Man, Thunda the Jungle Man, Captain Gallant and several other adventure characters. But, he said "Hollywood looked down on the serials. They pigeonholed me as a lifeguard or something. You know, 'The guy strips well, but . . .' "

Crabbe placed third in the 1,500-meter freestyle in the 1928 Olympics. Four years later, he won a gold medal in the 400-meter freestyle. He held five world swimming records and captured 35 national and 16 international titles.

Born Clarence Linden Crabbe in Oakland, Calif., Crabbe attended law school at the University of Southern California for a time and never intended to become an actor.

"I was never interested in acting . . . I was set to be an attorney . . . There was a good spot waiting for me in corporation law in Honolulu," he said years later, adding, "But I got waylaid."

"That one-tenth of a second," his margin of victory, "changed my life," he said. "They immediately discovered latent histrionic talents in me."

Sources

1. ↑ OLYMPIC GAMES: 1928 bronze (1500m freestyle), 4th (400m freestyle); 1932 gold (400m freestyle), 5th (1500m freestyle); WORLD RECORDS: 16; NATIONAL RECORDS: 35. ISHOF Honorees at the International Swimming Hall of Fame.
2. ↑ Wikipedia article
3. ↑ "California Birth Index, 1905-1995," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:V259-TWG : 27 November 2014), Clarence L Crabbe, 07 Feb 1908; citing Alameda, California, United States, Department of Health Services, Vital Statistics Department, Sacramento.
4. ↑ California Girl Bride of Olympic Swimming Champ and Film Actor, Dallas Morning News, Saturday, Apr 22, 1933, Dallas, TX, Page: One.
5. ↑ Find A Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com : accessed 11 April 2019), memorial page for Buster Crabbe (2 Feb 1908–23 Apr 1983), Find A Grave: Memorial #21280, citing Green Acres Memorial Park, Scottsdale, Maricopa County, Arizona, USA ; Maintained by Find A Grave Cremated.
6. ↑ Philadelphia Daily News (Pennsylvania) 25 April 1983, obit for HEART ATTACK FELLS BUSTER CRABBE, GenealogyBank.com (https://www.genealogybank.com/doc/obituaries/obit/0FD86CAF22234FA3-0FD86CAF22234FA3 : accessed 4 May 2020)

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