BUSTER CRABBE (DECEASED) PLAYED FLASH GORDON & BUCK RODGERS SIGNED JSA #N44620

(Deceased) ORIGINAL Autograph EXCELLENT SIGNATURE QUALITY AUTHENTICATED BY JSA (JAMES SPENCE AUTHENTICATION) Clarence Linden Crabbe II February 7, 1908 April 23, 1983), commonly known by his stage name Buster Crabbe, was an American competitive swimmer and movie actor. He won the 1932 Olympic gold medal for 400-meter freestyle swimming event before breaking into acting. He starred in a number of popular films in the 1930s and 1940s. He also played the title role in the serials Flash Gordon and Buck Rogers. Crabbe's role in the Tarzan serial, Tarzan the Fearless (1933), began a career in which he starred in more than one hundred movies. In King of the Jungle (1933), Jungle Man (1941), and the serial King of the Congo (1952), he played typical "jungle man" roles. He starred in several popular films at this time, including The Sweetheart of Sigma Chi alongside Betty Grable (1933) and Search for Beauty (1934), and in 1936, he was Flash Gordon in the very successful Flash Gordon serial, followed by two sequels, released by Universal in 1938 and 1940. The series was shown later extensively on American television in the 1950s and 1960s, then edited for release on home video. He also portrayed a Western folk-hero version of Billy the Kid, in 36 films, and starred as Buck Rogers. In some movies he is credited as "Larry Crabbe" or "Larry (Buster) Crabbe". His sidekick in most of his westerns was actor Al St. John. In 1939, Crabbe reunited with Betty Grable for a lead role in the mainstream comedy Million Dollar Legs. Crabbe is the only actor to play Tarzan, Flash Gordon and Buck Rogers the top three syndicated comic strip heroes of the 1930s. Crabbe starred at the Billy Rose's Aquacade at the New York World's Fair in its second year of 1940, replacing a fellow Olympic swimmer Johnny Weissmuller. Crabbe starred On the television series, Captain Gallant of the Foreign Legion (1955 to 1957) as Captain Michael Gallant; the adventure series aired on NBC. His real-life son, Cullen Crabbe, appeared in this show as the character "Cuffy Sanders". He was featured frequently in archival footage in the children's television program, The Gabby Hayes Show. Prior to his playing "Captain Michael Gallant" Crabbe had hosted a local NYC based children's film wraparound television series The Buster Crabbe Show. The series, which was set against the backdrop of a ranch foreman's bunk house featured Crabbe engaging his viewers in games, stories, craftmaking, hobbies, informational segments, and interviews with guest performers and personalities in between reruns of old movie serials, westerns and comedies. The Buster Crabbe Show was seen weekday evenings on WOR-TV (Channel 9) in New York City from Monday March 12, 1951, to Friday October 3, 1952. The series returned to the NYC airways on WJZ-TV (Channel 7) (now WABC) on Monday September 21, 1953, and was retitled Buster's Buddies!. The WJZ TV version of the series included a studio audience of kids and became more of a kids' variety show. Despite the addition of the studio audience and Crabbe's personality, Buster's Buddies! was not a hit and it was canceled on Friday March 26, 1954. Crabbe made regular television appearances, including one on 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. When Rogers (Gil Gerard) praises his flying, Gordon replies "I've been doing that sort of thing since before you were born." Rogers (who was born over 500 years earlier) responds "You think so, old timer?" to which Gordon replies "Young man, I know so." In fact, Crabbe had been playing "Buck Rogers" since long before Gerard was born.