As Google reminds us today is the anniversary of the very first Olympic games way back in 1896. What better time than now then for a beauty break featuring actors (this is the Film Experience after all) with Olympic history. Know this going in: Hollywood was OBSESSED with swimmers for a long time.
Let's kick it off with the original Flash Gordon Buster Crabbe. Here are eight Olympic Beauties with acting careers after the jump...
Buster Crabbe, gold medalist in 1932
Buster Crabbe, bronze medalist at 20 at the 1928 games
Buster Crabbe (1908-1983)
Born in California and raised in Hawaii, this blonde Adonis is best remembered today as the original Flash Gordon from the classic movie serials of the 1930s. He started as an Olympic swimmer, though, winning a Bronze at age 20 in 1928 and then a Gold Medal four years later in 1932 which he immediately followed with big screen serial stardom as Tarzan and then his signature role Flash Gordon.
His statue still stands in Oahu, Hawaii
with fellow Olympic swimmer turned actor Johnny Weismuller
With Henry Fonda in the 50s for his last picture "Mister Roberts"
Duke Kahanamoku (1890-1968)
This Hawaiian, known as "the father of modern surfing" was a 5 time Olympic medalist in swimming (via four different Olympics from 1912 onward) then an actor and later became a sheriff! Due to Hollywood's near total whiteness in the golden age, he was relegated to bit parts or minor ethnic roles. But given that there were several of them - his film appearances stretch all the way from silents to the 1955 classic Mister Roberts -- imagine what could have been if Hollywood were more diverse back then?!? Perhaps he's one of the great 'What If' Hollywood stories since he certainly had the movie-ready beauty.
image source. Jim Thorpe and his screen altar ego Burt Lancaster
Jim Thorpe (1887-1953)
What If Part Two. Jim Thorpe was a Native American and they still don't get breaks in Hollywood of 2016 so the fact that he appeared in 64 features, often uncredited, and usually in bit "native" parts from 1931-1950 is not surprising. But like Duke Kahanakmoku this two type gold medalist (decathlon and pentathlon) deserved better. Unlike Duke he got his own biopic Jim Thorpe: All American (1951). Naturally [/sarcasm] he was played by white guy, Burt Lancaster. Not that we don't love Burt but, you know...
a famous glamour shot of Weissmuller
Esther Williams, Hollywood's biggest swimming star (though she was not an Olympian), in a screen test with Johnny
promotional photo from his early days as Tarzan
Johnny Weismuller (1904-1984)
Like Crabbe, Weismuller was an American Olympic gold and bronze medalist swimmer (though he won more medals than Crabbe) who parlayed his then ideal physique into Tarzan stardom. Weismuller though was born abroad (in what is now present day Romania) before immigrating to the States with his parents as an infant. He was raised in Pennsylvania. Though Weismuller played Tarzan after Crabbe, and many actors followed him in the role, he's the actor with whom the character is most closely associated due to a long feature film run (12 motion pictures as the Lord of the Apes from 1932's Tarzan The Ape Man through 1948's Tarzan and the Mermaids) with his frequent Jane Maureen O'Sullivan (Mia Farrow's mother).
image source
with frequent screen partner and real life boyfriend (at least for a time) Tyrone Power
Sonja Henie (1912-1969)
This Norwegian legend, who won three consecutive Olympic gold medals in female figure skating (1928, 1932, 1936) -- a feat which no one has accomplished sense -- parlayed her global athetic fame into Hollywood stardom in musicals like One in a Million (1936) and comedies like Second Fiddle (with Tyrone Power) wherein she was always a skater, much like Esther Williams pictures were built around her swimming.
Current Norwegian film star Ine Marie Wilmann is planning to play her in an Old Hollywood biopic as we previously discussed. We hope that picture gets made since her Hollywood history, international fame, and political divisiveness could make great cinema. But while we're on the subject why do we STILL have no Tyrone Power biopic (especially w/ Zac Efron such an ideal candidate for the job) whom Sonia co-starred with and reportedly fell madly in (somewhat unrequited) love with. He was her Man that Got Away though her love life (and subsequent marriages) was also storied.
Caitlyn Jenner (1949-)
Caitlyn Jenner, our currently most famous and super problematic trans woman (those anti-LGBT politics. argh!) started life as William Bruce Jenner. As Bruce, Caitlyn won the decathlon Gold Medal in 1976 in Montreal. Superstardom followed by a famous Wheatie Box cover and a very short film career (Hello bad movie we love Can't Stop the Music!) but the fame stuck and Jenner kept acting, at least on television.
a popular poster of Mitch Gaylord from the mid 80s
Mitch Gaylord was IT in 1984.
Mitchell Gaylord (1961-)
Mitch Gaylord attempted big screen stardom right after his gymnastics superstardom as the leader of the US team at the 1984 games (Team Gold plus individual silver and bronze medals). He was, according to my possibly faulty memory, the male celebrity who led to the popularization of the term "washboard abs". Though his film debut didn't exactly win great reviews, he acted and did stunts in a few movies before and after American Anthem (1986), his would be star-making vehicle, as well as hawking fitness videos.
Ronda Rousey (1981-)
This Californian self-professed tomboy was a swimmer first but became famous with a storied run in Judo from a very young age culminating in a Bronze Medal at the 2008 games in Beijing. Since then she's been testing the waters of silver screen action in The Expendables and Fast & Furious franchises. Next up is a supposed remake of bad movie classic Road House and a comedy with Tina Fey called Do Nothing Bitches.
Did I forget anyone?
Didn't Qualify for this list
• Arnold Schwarzenegger won "Mr Olympia" seven times, not Mr Olympics. But he's definitely the most successful actor to have ever emerged from the bodybuilding world.
• Jason Statham attempted to become an Olympic diver, but was said to have started too late in the sport to make it all the way. He later went on to action movie stardom and is now showing formidable comedy chops (so funny in Spy!)
• Geena Davis is the only Oscar winning actor we're aware of that attempted to become an Olympian AFTER her Oscar. She placed 24th out of 300 in US Archery Team trials for the 2000 summer Olympics so she didn't make the team. But it's still awesome.
• John Cena is currently killing it in comic roles (see Trainwreck/Sisters) but despite a lot of championships on the WWE circuit and those oversized muscles he was never an Olympian
• Esther Williams (1921-2013) the swimming screen beauty, recently sent-up in a way in Hail Caesar! was a champion athlete but unfortunately not an Olympian. She was intended to be just that in 1940, just after graduating high school, but then World War II happened and it was not to be. Still that didn't stop her from achieving movie stardom.