Dick Button - # 340

Dick Button, Olympic great and voice of skating, dies at 95

 

He was number 340 on the list.

Dick Button was more than the most accomplished men’s figure skater in history. He was one of his sport’s great innovators and promoters, the man responsible not only for inventing the flying camel spin but describing it to generations of fans.

He was an athlete and actor, a broadcaster and entrepreneur.

“Dick was one of the most important figures in our sport,” said Scott Hamilton, the 1984 Olympic champion. “There wasn’t a skater after Dick who wasn’t helped by him in some way.”

The winner of two Olympic gold medals and five consecutive world championships, Button died Thursday in North Salem, New York, at age 95. His death was confirmed by his son, Edward, who did not provide a cause, though Button had been in declining health.

“The two-time Olympic champion’s pioneering style and award-winning television commentary revolutionized figure skating,” U.S. Figure Skating said. “His legacy will live on forever. We extend our deepest condolences to his family and loved ones.

His death further shook a tight-knit figure skating community already reeling from Wednesday night’s crash of an American Airlines flight and an Army helicopter outside Washington, D.C., that killed everyone on board. Two teenage skaters, their mothers and two former world champions who were coaching at the Skating Club of Boston — where Button also skated and which he remained close to the rest of his life — were among the 14 people killed from the skating community.

The trophy room at the Skating Club of Boston is named in Button’s honor, and the club has hosted the Dick Button Artistic Figure Skating Showcase, which is designed to promote the beauty and innovation of skating as an art form.

Button’s impact on figure skating began after World War II. He was the first U.S. men’s champion — and his country’s youngest at the time at age 16 — when the competition returned in 1946. Two years later, he took gold at the St. Moritz Olympics, back when the competitions were staged outdoors. He performed the first double axel in any competition and became the first American to win the men’s event, paving the way for future champions such as Hamilton, Brian Boitano and Nathan Chen.

“By the way, that jump had a cheat on it,” Button once said. “But listen, I did it and that was what counted.”

That first Olympic title began his dominance of international skating, and U.S. amateur sports in general. He was the first figure skater to win the prestigious Sullivan Award in 1949 — no other figure skater won it until Michelle Kwan in 2001.

In 1952, while still a student at Harvard, Button won a second gold at the Oslo Games, making more history with the first triple jump (a loop) in competition. Soon after, he won a fifth world title, then gave up his eligibility as an amateur to perform in shows; all Olympic sports were subject to an amateur-professional division at the time.

“I had achieved everything I could have dreamed of doing as a skater,” said Button, who had earned a law degree from Harvard in 1956. “I was able to enjoy the Ice Capades and keep my hand in skating, and that was very important to me.”

With a frank and often brutally honest style, Button became an Emmy Award-winning TV analyst, helping viewers learn not only the basics but also the nuances of a sport unfamiliar to most casual fans. He became as much a fixture on ABC’s “Wide World of Sports” as Jim McKay and the hapless ski jumper that went tumbling down the slope.

“Dick Button is the custodian of the history of figure skating and its quintessential voice,” Boitano, the 1988 Olympic champion, said in Button’s autobiography. “He made the words ‘lutz’ and ‘salchow’ part of our everyday vocabulary.”

After the 1961 plane crash that killed the entire U.S. figure skating team on the way to the world championships, which then were canceled, Button persuaded ABC Sports executive Roone Arledge to televise the 1962 event on “Wide World.” That’s when he joined the network as a commentator, and took figure skating to a mainstream television audience.

Button later ran professional events that provided skaters an avenue to profit from their ability once their competitive careers were over. The World Professional Figure Skating Championships, the Challenge of Champions and others provided Hamilton, the dance team of Jayne Torvill and Christopher Dean, Kurt Browning, Katarina Witt and others a new platform to perform.

Button even tried his hand at acting, performing in such shows and films as “The Young Doctors” and “The Bad New Bears Go to Japan.” His studio, Candid Productions, helped to produce made-for-TV programs such as “Battle of the Network Stars.”

“Dick Button created an open and honest space in figure skating broadcasting where no topic or moment was off-limits,” said Johnny Weir, the three-time U.S. champion and current NBC Sports figure skating analyst. “He told it like it was, even when his opinion wasn’t a popular one. His zingers were always in my mind when I would perform for him, and I wanted to make him as happy and proud as I would my coaches.

“That is something very special about commentating figure skating,” Weir said. “As an athlete, we rarely have an opportunity to speak, and we rely on the TV voices to tell our story for us. Nobody could do it like Mr. Button."  He was trained in Lake Placid by Gus Lussi.

Button's television skating debut came on We the People on April 11, 1952, when he skated on the rink at Rockefeller Center. He was a guest on the TV show I've Got A Secret as one of five former Olympic champions which aired October 13, 1954. In 1975, Button married figure skating coach Slavka Kohout; the couple later divorced. Button was a resident of North Salem, New York. He was inducted into the World Figure Skating Hall of Fame in 1976, the same year it was founded.

 

Button suffered a serious head injury on July 5, 1978, when he was one of several men assaulted in Central Park by a gang of youths armed with baseball bats. Three persons were subsequently convicted of assault for the attacks. News accounts and trial testimony indicated the assailants were intending to target gay people, but the victims were attacked at random, and that because of the random nature of the attacks "... the police said there was no reason to believe the victims were homosexual."

On December 31, 2000, Button was skating at a public rink in Westchester County, New York, when he fell, fracturing his skull and causing a serious brain injury. He recovered and became a national spokesman for the Brain Injury Association of America, as well as continuing his Emmy Award–winning commentary on broadcasts of the Olympic Games and on various figure-skating television shows.

On January 30, 2025, Button died in North Salem at the age of 95. He was survived by his longtime partner, Dennis Grimaldi, and his children Edward and Emily.

Button decided to enter Harvard Law School in the fall of 1952. Because of the time commitments, Button retired from amateur skating that year to focus on law school. He completed a Bachelor of Laws (LL.B.) degree in 1956 and was admitted to the bar in Washington, D.C.

Following his retirement from competition, Button had a short career performing in ice shows. He signed on to skate with the Ice Capades during his law school vacations. He toured with Holiday on Ice. He co-produced "Dick Button's Ice-Travaganza" for the 1964 New York World's Fair, starring 1963 World Champion Donald McPherson, but the ice show lost money and closed after a few months.

As founder of Candid Productions, he created a variety of made-for-television sports events, including the World Professional Figure Skating Championships, Challenge of Champions, Dorothy Hamill specials for HBO. As an actor, Button performed in such films as The Young Doctors and The Bad News Bears Go to Japan starring Tony Curtis. He appeared in television roles, including Hans Brinker and Mr. Broadway,

In 1949, Button won the Sullivan Award as the outstanding amateur athlete in the United States. He is one of only two male figure skaters to win this award. Evan Lysacek is the other.

At the 1947 World Championships, Button was second behind rival Hans Gerschwiler following the compulsory figures part of the competition, with 34.9 points separating them. He won the free skating portion, but Gerschwiler had the majority of first places from the judges, three to Button's two. Button won the silver medal at his first World Championships. It was the last time he placed lower than first in competition. At the competition, Button was befriended by Ulrich Salchow. Salchow, who was disappointed when Button did not win, presented him with the first International Cup Salchow had won in 1901. Button later passed on this trophy to John Misha Petkevich following the 1972 Olympics and World Championships. Acknowledging that Gerschwiler had a better understanding of outdoor ice, Button decided to spend some time training outdoors on the Lake Placid club tennis courts.

According to Button, this was the first time anyone had won the men's novice, junior, and senior titles in three consecutive years. Button went on to win six more national championships (1947–1951), tying the record set by Roger Turner, who won seven U.S. Nationals between 1928 and 1934. This win earned Button a spot at the 1947 World Championships.

At the 1952 Winter Olympics, Button had the lead after figures, with nine first places, over Helmut Seibt. Button's point total was 1,000.2 to Seibt's 957.7. During his free skate program, Button successfully landed the triple loop, becoming the first person to complete a triple jump in competition  He became the third male figure skater to win two Olympic gold medals after Gillis Grafström and Karl Schäfer. He was the last man to defend his Olympic title in figure skating until Yuzuru Hanyu won his second Olympic gold in 2018. He repeated as Gold medalist, then went on to defend his titles at the 1952 World Figure Skating Championships and U.S. Championships.

Button is survived by his longtime partner, Dennis Grimaldi, and his two children, Edward and Emily.

Filmography

Writer

    The Superstars (1973)

    The Superstars

 

7.3

TV Series

 

    devised by

 

    1973

 

Actor

 

    Jess Harnell, Tress MacNeille, and Rob Paulsen in Animaniacs (1993)

    Animaniacs

 

7.9

TV Series

 

    Dick Button (voice)

 

    1995

 

Luke Perry, Jason Priestley, Shannen Doherty, Jennie Garth, Tori Spelling, Brian Austin Green, Ian Ziering, and Gabrielle Carteris in Beverly Hills, 90210 (1990)

Beverly Hills, 90210

6.5

TV Series

 

    Announcer

 

    1992

 

The Bad News Bears Go to Japan (1978)

The Bad News Bears Go to Japan

3.7

 

    Dick Button

 

    1978

 

Eddie Albert, Ina Balin, Ben Gazzara, Dick Clark, and Fredric March in The Young Doctors (1961)

The Young Doctors

6.7

 

    Operating Intern

 

    1961

 

A Christmas Festival

TV Movie

 

    The Prince

 

    1959

 

Ed Sullivan in The Ed Sullivan Show (1948)

The Ed Sullivan Show

7.9

TV Series

 

    Skater

 

    1958

 

Hans Brinker and the Silver Skates (1958)

Hans Brinker and the Silver Skates

7.5

TV Movie

 

    Peter Van Gleck

 

    1958

 

Producer

 

    The Superstars (1973)

    The Superstars

 

7.3

TV Series

 

    series creator

 

    1975

 

Thanks

 

    Sports Illustrated: 1996 the Year in Sports (1996)

    Sports Illustrated: 1996 the Year in Sports

 

6.8

Video

 

    special thanks

 

    1996