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Raised in Hawaii, he excelled as a swimmer and participated 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. Ironically, at that Olympics, he broke the record held by Johnny Weissmuller, whose role as TarzanTarzan a character created by Edgar Rice Burroughs, first appeared in the 1914 novel Tarzan of the Apes and then in twenty-three sequels. The Tarzan story Tarzan is the orphaned son of aristocratic English parents marooned in Africa in the late 1800s. he would later assume.

Crabbe's role in a 1933 Tarzan serial, also issued as a full length movie Tarzan the Fearless , launched a successful career in which he starred in over one hundred movies. Other than a 1964 remake of the same movie, it would be the only movie in which he starred as Tarzan. In the 1933 movie, King of the JungleKing of the Jungle is an American reality television program, that appears on the Animal Planet cable television network. Hosted by Madison Michele, it debuted in July 2004. the 1941's Jungle Man , and the 1952 serial, King of the Congo he played similar roles...but that's not Tarzan. His next major role was as Flash GordonFlash Gordon is a science fiction comic strip originally drawn by Alex Raymond, first published on January 7, 1934. Although created to compete with Buck Rogers Flash Gordon had much more sophisticated art and outlasted its inspiration. Synopsis The comic in the popular Flash Gordon serialFlash Gordon is a 1936 film serial which tells the story of three people from Earth who travel to the planet Mongo to fight the evil Emperor Ming the Merciless. It stars Buster Crabbe, Jean Rogers, Charles Middleton, Priscilla Lawson, Frank Shannon and Ri (a role he reprised in two sequels). Other characters he portrayed included Western hero Billy the KidHenry McCarty ( November 23, 1860 July 14, 1881) better known as Billy the Kid but also known by the alias William Henry Bonney was a 19th century American frontier outlaw and murderer who was a participant in the Lincoln County War. He is reputed to have and Buck RogersBuck Rogers is the central character of Philip Francis Nowlan's story Armageddon 2419 A. which appeared in the August 1928 issue of the pulp magazine Amazing Stories''. The full title of most of his appearances in various media is Buck Rogers in the 25th.

Crabbe starred in the television series, Captain Gallant of the Foreign Legion (1955 to 1957) as Captain Michael Gallant; the adventure series aired on NBC.

Crabbe's career waned somewhat in the 1950s, though he did make regular television appearances including one on an episode of the 1979 series Buck Rogers in the 25th Century where he plays a retired warrior named "Brigadier Gordon" in honor of Flash Gordon. Nevertheless, he is best remembered today as one of the original action heroes of the cinema.