February 07

Clarence Linden Crabbe's  Birthday
 

Larry "Buster" Crabbe as Flash Gordon grabbing the evil emperor Ming as he attempts to escape.

   

 

February 7 is the birthday of one of the few personalities who was named, or rather nicknamed, after food. Larry "Buster" Crabbe was named after the once popular buster crabs which are crabs halfway between hard shell and soft shell. He was a top athlete, an Olympic gold medal winner, film star, and the grandfather of Nick Holt, defensive coordinator of the University of Southern California Trojans football team and former head coach of the University of Idaho.

Buster Crabbe, the celebrity, was best known as the popular Adonis sci-fi film star of the 1930' s and 40' s with his "Flash Gordon" and "Buck Rogers" pictures. Buster Crabbe' s film career was launched by his success in two Olympic Games: 1928, where he won the bronze medal for the 1,500 meter freestyle, and 1932, where he won the gold medal for the 400 meter freestyle.

Larry attended the University of Southern California, where he was the school's first All-American swimmer (1931) and a 1931 NCAA freestyle titlist. Time magazine wrote on April 11, 1932: "Clarence (Buster) Crabbe, 22, of Los Angeles, ablest distance swimmer in the United States: the 1,500-metre race in the A.A.U. championships, at New Haven, lowering his own American record by 20.9 seconds to 19:45.6.  Later he won two other championships: the 300 yard medley and 500 yard free style. Los Angeles won the team championship with 45 points to New York's 37."

At graduation, Larry gave himself one year to either make it as an actor or start law school at USC. He changed his first name to Larry and won the lead  in the 1933  Tarzan the Fearless  and thereby launched a successful career in which he starred in over one hundred movies, including the  Flash Gordon series. the Buck Rogers series, several westerns,  and even in a musical film, The Sweetheart of Sigma Chi.  He is the only actor who has played Tarzan, Flash Gordon, and Buck Rogers — the top three pulp fiction heroes of the 1930s and 40s.

Larry starred in the  NBC television series, Captain Gallant of the Foreign Legion (1955 to 1957). After the series, his career began to wane, he became a stockbroker and purchased owned a Southern California swimming pool building company.

A recipe for Buster crabs is only one way to celebrate Larry's birthday. Buster crabs are generally served fried. In New Orleans, buster crab sandwiches are a staple throughout the city. Most people prefer them fried  with a béarnaise sauce and these are a perennial favorite at the Brennan's restaurants in New Orleans. We suggest pairing these delicious darlings with a DVD of
Flash Gordon's Trip to Mars (1938) to complete the celebration.

Buster Crabs Béarnaise

 

Ingredients
 
8 busters, cleaned and dried
1 egg, beaten
1 cup milk
1/2 cup butter
16 buttered toast triangles
1&1/2 cups
Béarnaise sauce*
1 TB chopped parsley
 

Instructions
 
  1. Dip busters in batter of 1 beaten egg and 1 cup milk. Drain.
  2. Dredge busters in flour and fry in butter until golden brown.
  3. Mount on toast triangles am cover with Béarnaise sauce. Sprinkle with parsley.

*See Appendix A

Makes 4 servings

© 2011 Gordon Nary and Tyler Stokes