Image: Wikimedia Commons

Dick Button

American figure skater, sports personality, actor, lawyer (1929–2025)

PersonDied aged 95humanQ572177

Also known as Richard Totten "Dick" Button · Richard Totten Button

Born: July 18, 1929
4
Sources
1.Stated in SNACRetrieved 2017-10-09
2.Stated in Internet Broadway DatabaseRetrieved 2017-10-09
3.Stated in Encyclopædia Britannica OnlineRetrieved 2017-10-09
4.Stated in Oldest Living Olympians
View statement on Wikidata ↗
Died: January 30, 2025
1
Sources
1.“Dick Button, 95, Figure Skating Champion and TV Commentator, Dies”nytimes.com/2025/01/30/sports/dick-button-dead.htmlRetrieved 2025-02-01
View statement on Wikidata ↗
Birthplace: Englewood
Place of death: North Salem
Citizenship: United States
1
Sources
1.Stated in Oldest Living Olympians
View statement on Wikidata ↗
Occupation: actor
, television actor
, figure skater
+1 more
Education: Harvard Law School
, Harvard College
, Dwight-Englewood School
Spouse: Slavka Kohout

Overview

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia · Read full article · Text CC BY-SA 4.0

Richard Totten Button was an American figure skater and skating analyst. He was a two-time Olympic champion and five-time consecutive world champion (1948–1952). He was also the only non-European man to have become European champion. Button is credited as having been the first skater to successfully land the double Axel jump in competition in 1948, as well as the first triple jump of any kind – a triple loop – in 1952. He also invented the flying camel spin, which was originally known as the "Button camel". He "brought increased athleticism" to figure skating in the years following World War II. According to figure skating historian James R. Hines, Button represented the "American School" of figure skating, which was a more athletic style than skaters from Europe.

Overview

Created

3 linked to Dick Button in Wikidata

Discovered

1 linked to Dick Button in Wikidata

fflying camel spin

All data

72 statements · 14% with external sources · numbers in brackets are citations

Sex or gender: male
Given name: Richard
Participant in: figure skating at the 1952 Winter Olympics – men's singles ranking: 1 · awards: Olympic gold medal
figure skating at the 1948 Winter Olympics – men's singles ranking: 1 · awards: Olympic gold medal
1948 Winter Olympics
1
Sources
1.Stated in Oldest Living Olympians
View statement on Wikidata ↗
Sport: figure skating
1
Sources
1.Stated in Oldest Living Olympians
View statement on Wikidata ↗
Sports discipline competed in: men's singles
Country for sport: United States
Family name: Button
Competition won: figure skating at the 1952 Winter Olympics – men's singles
figure skating at the 1948 Winter Olympics – men's singles
Website: dickbutton.com language: English
Social media followers: 11,798(January 3, 2021) x (twitter) numeric user id: 2194874828
12,095(April 26, 2020) x (twitter) numeric user id: 2194874828
Native language: English
Writing language: English
Trained by: Gustave Lussi
Birth name: Richard Totten Button
Awards: New Jersey Hall of Fame(2024)
1
Sources
1.njhalloffame.org/2024-inductees/2024-dick-button/
View statement on Wikidata ↗

On other databases

39 identifiers linking Dick Button across the web's reference databases

Data quality

statements

14%

externally sourced

Source last edited August 11, 2026. AIDB refreshes this page daily.

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AIDB. (2026). Dick Button (Q572177). Retrieved from https://aidb.si/e/dick-button-Q572177