Harold Kruger

{{Short description|American swimmer, actor and stuntman}}

{{Use mdy dates|date=October 2024}}

{{Infobox swimmer

| name = Harold Kruger

| image = "Stubby" Kruger.jpg

| image_size =

| alt =

| caption =

| fullname = Harold Herman Kruger

| nicknames = "Stubby"

| national_team = United States

| strokes = Backstroke

| club = Healani Club

| collegeteam =

| birth_date = {{Birth date|1897|9|21|mf=y}}

| birth_place = Honolulu, Hawaii, US

| death_date = {{Death date and age|1965|10|7|1897|9|21|mf=y}}

| death_place = Burbank, California, US

| height = {{convert|5|ft|10|in|m|abbr=on}}

| weight =

| medaltemplates =

}}

File:John_Kelii,_George_Cunha,_Duke_Kahanamoku,_Harold_Kruger,_and_Clarence_Lane,_1916.jpg

Harold Herman "Stubby" Kruger (September 21, 1897 – October 7, 1965) was an American competition swimmer who represented the United States at the 1920 Summer Olympics in Antwerp, Belgium.{{cite web|url=https://www.olympedia.org/athletes/51451 |title=Harold Kruger |work=Olympedia |access-date=3 September 2021}}{{cite Sports-Reference |url=https://www.sports-reference.com/olympics/athletes/kr/stubby-kruger-1.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200418081526/https://www.sports-reference.com/olympics/athletes/kr/stubby-kruger-1.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=April 18, 2020 |title=Stubby Kruger |accessdate=November 27, 2012}} Kruger swam in the event final of the men's 100-meter backstroke and finished fifth overall.{{cite Sports-Reference |url=https://www.sports-reference.com/olympics/summer/1920/SWI/mens-100-metres-backstroke-final.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200417165743/https://www.sports-reference.com/olympics/summer/1920/SWI/mens-100-metres-backstroke-final.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=April 17, 2020 |title=Swimming at the 1920 Antwerp Summer Games: Men's 100 metres Backstroke Final |accessdate=November 27, 2012}}

Kruger married dancer and actress Evan-Burrows Fontaine in 1928 or 29.[https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=d0sbAAAAIBAJ&sjid=AUsEAAAAIBAJ&pg=5004,2796808&dq=fontaine+stubby-kruger&hl=en To Try Fontaine Suit Third Time-The Pittsburgh Press - Jan 22, 1929] accessed June 13, 2012 A son Bobby was born to this union before their divorce in 1935.The Canandaigua Times December 3, 1935 Kruger was a colleague of Johnny Weissmuller's and performed at carnivals and fairs billed as the Incomparable Water Comedian. He also had a career in Hollywood as an actor and stunt double that began in the silent era and lasted well into the 1950s. His last film credit was as Spencer Tracy's double in The Old Man and the Sea. In 1986, Kruger was inducted into the International Swimming Hall of Fame as a "pioneer swimmer."Stubby Kruger 68, Stunt Man Dies-The Gettysburg Times, October 8, 1965, pg. 5, Ancestry.com

Sometime after his divorce, he married Annie Young. They are buried together at Diamond Head Memorial Park in Honolulu, Hawaii.

Filmography

class="wikitable"
Year

! Title

! Role

! Notes

1927The Beloved RogueMinor RoleUncredited
1932Down to EarthSwimmerUncredited
1935Mutiny on the BountyAble-Bodied SeamanUncredited
1936Under Two FlagsSoldier of the 17th CompanyUncredited
1937Captains CourageousCrewmanUncredited
1942Duke of the NavyCookie
1942Broadway Big ShotDynamite
1942Reap the Wild WindPatUncredited
1942The Talk of the TownBaseball PlayerUncredited
1943The Masked MarvelJ.D. StoneSerial, Uncredited
1944Atlantic CityLifeguardUncredited
1945They Were ExpendableBoat CrewmanUncredited
1946Till the End of TimeLifeguardUncredited
1946Gentleman Joe PalookaFighterUncredited
1950The Flame and the ArrowGuardUncredited
1952Blackbeard the PiratePirateUncredited
1953Devil's CanyonPrisonerUncredited
1955Mister RobertsSchlemmer
1960SpartacusPirateUncredited

See also

References

{{Reflist}}