Buster Crabbe

Buster Crabbe. Mention his name, and chances are that there will be a question like "Buster Crabbe: Didn't he play Tarzan?" Of course, Crabbe did portray that celebrated jungle hero, but he only did so once. This athlete-turned-actor went on to create a lengthy and successful career in several areas of show business.Crabbe's chief claim to fame, aside from his Olympic gold medal (for the 400-meter freestyle event in 1932), rests in the trio of movie serials in which he played the popular science-fiction hero Flash Gordon. In fact, Crabbe was the only actor to play the roles of Tarzan, Flash Gordon, and Buck Rogers, the top three pulp action heroes of the 1930s. Crabbe carved out a career that would also include more than 100 B-movies and program Westerns, a TV adventure series, and a successful physical fitness enterprise. All of this and more is detailed in this work, which includes a complete filmography providing cast and crew information for each of his 103 feature films and serials.