"... as if he were a critic covering the opera or ballet. He saw figure skating as a rare blend of athleticism and artistry. 'It has music, it has choreography, it has personality,' he said. 'You watch it not to see only who wins, but to see how they win.' Over time, he acquired a reputation for sometimes withering remarks about skaters, their costumes and program. 'That was an angry tango,' he said of one less-than-sublime Olympic ice dancing routine. He described another performance as 'slapped together without very much thought or intelligence.' Mr. Button had 'a candor and critical objectivity that make the gee-whiz, smiling-toothed reportage of video’s full-time sportscasters seem hopelessly out of date,' New York Times television critic Jack Gould wrote of Mr. Button at the 1968 Winter Olympics in Grenoble, France."
I loved watching Olympic figure skating when Dick Button was the announcer. It was never the same without him. For me, personally, he was the most important sports commentator.
You watch it not to see only who wins, but to see how they win.
That actually describes all sports. If you just wanted to know who won, you could check the morning paper.
All the announcers were better back then, before sports started catering to the non-fan, wasting our time with "human interest stories" instead of talking about the game being played.
I recall one instance in which Jim McKay was hosting some skating event on Wide World of Sports with Button. At one point, they showed a split screen of 2 skaters (Dorothy Hamill was one, maybe) with Button in the middle, on the mic.
Over which McKay said "look at those figure skating queens!" That hung there for a couple of seconds before they moved on.
I also loved Button as a commentator, my intro to figure skating as a viewer. Incredible that Yale would not let him compete as a student, so he went to Harvard College instead.
I do like Tara Lipinksi and Johnny Weir. I think they play off each other very well -- 'tho I confess I don't even know if they're still the play-by-play announcers!
He was the best! He and Peggy Fleming were great together. I always think about his comments on layback spins when I watch ice skating. Thank you for posting the video.
Not that it matters, but we did find out today that in spite of having been married at one point and having two kids, Dick was survived by his longtime partner Dennis Grimaldi. I wouldn't have guessed, but I suppose you have to go back a long way to find a wholly straight male US figure skater. Not that there's anything wrong with that.
He was a great announcer and a credit to his sport. Another great one was Gordon Maddux who did Gymnastics for ABC News. I'll never forget seeing the Russian Gymnastic do something incredible and Gordon going "Oh my, wow".
Huh. I never knew Dick Buttons was the "inventor" of the flying camel. Amazing. One of the older (60 something) coaches pulled one of these off a few weeks ago at the rink while teaching. The applause was deafening.
Bad week for the ice skating world. I'll admit, I've quit watching it over the past decade, because it just isn't as interesting to me as it was. As it was when Dick Button was explaining it to me.
I heard his announcing for years but only saw him as a talking head. The very first time I saw a video of his personal skating career...ummm, yeah...he's gay. He was graceful and even dainty. Being firmly in the closet or seeking redemption from God (i.e., to become straight) was the norm back then.
"I'll admit, I've quit watching it over the past decade, because it just isn't as interesting to me as it was. As it was when Dick Button was explaining it to me."
Yes, that's what happened to me. I was never able to remain engaged after he left. His explaining what I was seeing was crucial. The replacements didn't try to do the same thing he did.
A great moments in TV figure skating commentary years ago, as a male figure skater was speeding down the ice. The commentator, whoever it was, said out of nowhere "And Bobby Hull crosses the blue line for the second time".
The passing of Dick Button, specifically its media treatment, has reminded me that we have come as close as we probably ever will to treating gay people as regular human beings entitled to as much or as little dignity as the rest of us. The whole trans thing feels like an effort to move gay away from the stodgy old folks and give it a new edgy crazy flair. Novelty! So exciting! Little do they appreciate that they have veered toward making gayness merely an aesthetic choice.
Think back to the Wide World of Sports. It was before techonology became a driving force for specialization and narrowing of the field. You used to see a lot of different competitive events and the commentary kept it interesting. Failure was a lot more visible, too. We just don't really get the broadcast coverage anymore, or maybe I just don't take the time to seek it out. It seems like it's all sports ball, all the time, unless it's racing. But it seems to be more about the expertise and perfection that technology has brought to sports, than it is sweat and personality.
The Olympics was a "must see" when I was younger. Back then it was sports coverage Now? Human "interest' (not of "interest" to me) rules the day. The ABC to NBC hand off was fumbled and the ball remains on the ground. I recall a winter Olympics where we were pounded day after day about some competitor whose wife had been killed in a car wreck. Over and over I heard about this tragedy. Over and over I heard about hos this guy overcame that tragedy to earn a slot and became a favorite to medal. Come the event he didn't come close to the podium. In the mean time many events I would have watched were reduced to a medal count blurb. Dick Button even got me interested in skating.... He'd never fit in today.
I remember seeing William Shatner bow hunting grizzly bears in Alaska, and Bing Crosby and Phil Harris walking up pheasants in eastern Oregon. Those days are long gone.
"Glib, opinionated, and extemporaneously eloquent." Is that the new "thin, neat, and single?"
Growing up, I really liked Jim McKay's "And so we bid farewell to Innsbruck ..." features. They summed up the whole Olympic experience pretty well. Sometimes I thought they were better than the actual competitions. Possibly they were kitschy, but they encapsulated what took many hours and brought some of the flavor of those foreign places home to the viewers. I guess NBC tried to make the whole Olympics about the "human interest" angle and it didn't work.
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32 comments:
You watch it not to see only who wins, but to see how they win.
That actually describes all sports. If you just wanted to know who won, you could check the morning paper.
All the announcers were better back then, before sports started catering to the non-fan, wasting our time with "human interest stories" instead of talking about the game being played.
I recall one instance in which Jim McKay was hosting some skating event on Wide World of Sports with Button. At one point, they showed a split screen of 2 skaters (Dorothy Hamill was one, maybe) with Button in the middle, on the mic.
Over which McKay said "look at those figure skating queens!" That hung there for a couple of seconds before they moved on.
I also loved Button as a commentator, my intro to figure skating as a viewer. Incredible that Yale would not let him compete as a student, so he went to Harvard College instead.
Sports catering to the non-fans? I'm a non-fan, and honestly, I haven't noticed.
I recall being disappointed in NPR years ago, when they started covering sports--as if there weren't enough sports coverage in the USA.
That said, I'd rather watch figure-skating more than most of the other stuff.
I do like Tara Lipinksi and Johnny Weir. I think they play off each other very well -- 'tho I confess I don't even know if they're still the play-by-play announcers!
After the video intro the idea he might’ve been gay came to mind.
He was the best! He and Peggy Fleming were great together. I always think about his comments on layback spins when I watch ice skating. Thank you for posting the video.
It's all about conservation of angular momentum and not falling over in the meantime.
All the more reason not to cater to non-fans. It annoys the fans and the non-fans still aren't interested.
Not that it matters, but we did find out today that in spite of having been married at one point and having two kids, Dick was survived by his longtime partner Dennis Grimaldi. I wouldn't have guessed, but I suppose you have to go back a long way to find a wholly straight male US figure skater. Not that there's anything wrong with that.
Agreed 100%.
"That was an angry tango" = the best.
Button was crazy in love with Peggy Fleming.
He was a great announcer and a credit to his sport. Another great one was Gordon Maddux who did Gymnastics for ABC News. I'll never forget seeing the Russian Gymnastic do something incredible and Gordon going "Oh my, wow".
ABC was so good at covering the Olympics. The liberal/leftists at NBC took it over in 1988 and ruined it.
Huh. I never knew Dick Buttons was the "inventor" of the flying camel. Amazing. One of the older (60 something) coaches pulled one of these off a few weeks ago at the rink while teaching. The applause was deafening.
Bad week for the ice skating world. I'll admit, I've quit watching it over the past decade, because it just isn't as interesting to me as it was. As it was when Dick Button was explaining it to me.
I heard his announcing for years but only saw him as a talking head. The very first time I saw a video of his personal skating career...ummm, yeah...he's gay. He was graceful and even dainty. Being firmly in the closet or seeking redemption from God (i.e., to become straight) was the norm back then.
Those were the days. RIP
Button, Jim McKay and Bud Collins will always be my favorites…
"I'll admit, I've quit watching it over the past decade, because it just isn't as interesting to me as it was. As it was when Dick Button was explaining it to me."
Yes, that's what happened to me. I was never able to remain engaged after he left. His explaining what I was seeing was crucial. The replacements didn't try to do the same thing he did.
A great moments in TV figure skating commentary years ago, as a male figure skater was speeding down the ice. The commentator, whoever it was, said out of nowhere "And Bobby Hull crosses the blue line for the second time".
The passing of Dick Button, specifically its media treatment, has reminded me that we have come as close as we probably ever will to treating gay people as regular human beings entitled to as much or as little dignity as the rest of us. The whole trans thing feels like an effort to move gay away from the stodgy old folks and give it a new edgy crazy flair. Novelty! So exciting! Little do they appreciate that they have veered toward making gayness merely an aesthetic choice.
I lost interest in figure skating after Katerina Witt stopped showing up at competitions.
It's funny. I knew Button was gay before I was old enough to know what gay was. It was nothing overt. Just something.
Think back to the Wide World of Sports. It was before techonology became a driving force for specialization and narrowing of the field. You used to see a lot of different competitive events and the commentary kept it interesting. Failure was a lot more visible, too. We just don't really get the broadcast coverage anymore, or maybe I just don't take the time to seek it out. It seems like it's all sports ball, all the time, unless it's racing. But it seems to be more about the expertise and perfection that technology has brought to sports, than it is sweat and personality.
The Vin Scully of skating
The name Dick Button later reminded me of an old joke about congressman Dick Armey waging war on the Dems. You and who's army? Dick's army.
Nailed it...
The Olympics was a "must see" when I was younger. Back then it was sports coverage Now? Human "interest' (not of "interest" to me) rules the day. The ABC to NBC hand off was fumbled and the ball remains on the ground. I recall a winter Olympics where we were pounded day after day about some competitor whose wife had been killed in a car wreck. Over and over I heard about this tragedy. Over and over I heard about hos this guy overcame that tragedy to earn a slot and became a favorite to medal. Come the event he didn't come close to the podium. In the mean time many events I would have watched were reduced to a medal count blurb.
Dick Button even got me interested in skating.... He'd never fit in today.
I remember seeing William Shatner bow hunting grizzly bears in Alaska, and Bing Crosby and Phil Harris walking up pheasants in eastern Oregon. Those days are long gone.
"Glib, opinionated, and extemporaneously eloquent." Is that the new "thin, neat, and single?"
Growing up, I really liked Jim McKay's "And so we bid farewell to Innsbruck ..." features. They summed up the whole Olympic experience pretty well. Sometimes I thought they were better than the actual competitions. Possibly they were kitschy, but they encapsulated what took many hours and brought some of the flavor of those foreign places home to the viewers. I guess NBC tried to make the whole Olympics about the "human interest" angle and it didn't work.
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Comments older than 2 days are always moderated. Newer comments may be unmoderated, but are still subject to a spam filter and may take a few hours to get released. Thanks for your contributions and your patience.