U.S. determine skating legend Dick Button, who gained back-to-back Olympic gold medals earlier than changing into the long-lasting voice of the game on American tv, has died. He was 95.
Button’s passing was first reported by The Related Press, citing his son Edward. His daughter, actress Emily Button, later confirmed that he died in North Salem, New York, on Thursday, January 30. The official U.S. Determine Skating X account revealed the reason for loss of life as pure causes.
“U.S. Determine Skating mourns the lack of the legendary Dick Button,” it stated in an announcement. “The 2-time Olympic champion’s pioneering fashion & award-winning tv commentary revolutionized determine skating. His legacy will dwell on ceaselessly. We prolong our deepest condolences to his household & family members.”
U.S. Determine Skating mourns the lack of the legendary Dick Button. The 2-time Olympic champion’s pioneering fashion & award-winning tv commentary revolutionized determine skating. His legacy will dwell on ceaselessly. We prolong our deepest condolences to his household & family members.
— U.S. Determine Skating (@USFigureSkating) January 31, 2025
Born on July 18, 1929, in Englewood, New Jersey, Button started skating from a younger age however didn’t start coaching critically till the age of 12, after his father despatched him to Lake Placid, New York, to coach with coach Gus Lussi. Inside six years, he’d made the U.S. Olympic workforce, profitable the gold medal on the 1948 Winter Olympics in St. Moritz, Switzerland, the place he grew to become the primary skater to land a double axel in competitors.
He repeated his success 4 years later on the 1952 Winter Olympics in Oslo, Norway, the place he once more gained the gold by sticking the first-ever triple loop and inventing the flying camel spin. Button would maintain the excellence of being the one man to carry back-to-back particular person gold medals within the sport till 2018 when Japan’s Yuzuru Hanyu repeated his 2014 success.
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Off the ice, Button graduated from Harvard College in 1952 and earned his legislation diploma there in 1955. He then transitioned into commentary, changing into the voice of determine skating within the U.S., offering protection for CBS for the 1960 Winter Olympics in Squaw Valley, California. This may be the beginning of a decades-long profession in broadcasting.
Along with his work for CBS, Button additionally labored as a determine skating analyst for ABC Sports activities after the community acquired the rights to the US Determine Skating Championships and the 1962 World Determine Skating Championships. His protection for ABC all through the Nineteen Sixties, ’70s, and ’80s, together with his witty and sincere appraisal of performances, made Button the long-lasting voice of the game.
He gained an Emmy Award in 1981 for Excellent Sports activities Persona – Analyst and continued to supply commentary on skating occasions up till 2010.
As well as, Button appeared as a lead choose on CBC’s Battle of the Blades actuality present and on the short-lived Dancing with the Stars spin-off, Skating with the Stars.
Button was inducted into the Sports activities Broadcasting Corridor of Fame in 2015. Former Olympic gold medalist Tara Lipinksi stated, “No different determine skater embodies the game as a lot as Dick Button. He’s, and at all times will likely be, the godfather of this sport.”
He’s survived by his longtime companion and partner, Dennis Grimaldi, and two kids, Edward Button and Emily Button.