R.I.P. Bud Greenspan, by Walt Murphy

Bud Greenspan died on December 25, 2010, at the age of 84. From his first film on Olympic weightlifter John Davis, produced in 1952, Greenspan understood the power and beauty of the Olympic ideal. It was that ideal that he choose to focus the next fifty-six years of his life. Here is a short anecdote by Walt Murphy on the iconic status Greenspan held in the modern Olympic world…(picture is of 1896 Olympics in Athens, Greece, the first of the modern era).

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Bud Greenspan, the creator of unforgettable images in his many Olympic documentaries, passed away on Saturday at the age of 84.

Known as much for wearing his trademark glasses on top of his head,
Greenspan once showed up at an Olympic media center to get his
credential. As the volunteer worker prepared to take his picture,
Greenspan was asked to remove his glasses. Protesting mildy, Greenspan
said, “But you don’t understand, my glasses are part of who I am”(I’m
paraphrasing here). The worker relented and Greenspan’s true image was
portrayed on his credential.

Cappy Productions (Greenspan’s company)
http://www.budgreenspan.com/ (includes Alan Abrahamson’s tribute)

CNN (includes a video interview with Greenspan)
http://www.cnn.com/2010/US/12/26/greenspan.olympics.obit/index.html

NY Times
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/12/26/sports/olympics/26greenspan.html

L.A. Times
http://www.latimes.com/news/obituaries/la-me-bud-greenspan-20101227,0,1178619.story

Washington Post
http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/washingtonpost/obituary.aspx?n=bud-greenspan&pid=147439587

Universal Sports
http://www.universalsports.com/news/article/newsid=507318.html#filmmaker+bud+greenspan+dies

Yahoo Sports
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20101227/ap_en_ot/us_obit_greenspan

http://track-superfan.blogspot.com/2010/12/sunday-evening-decathlete_26.html

His films
http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0339175/

Author

Larry Eder
Larry Eder has had a 52-year involvement in the sport of athletics. Larry has experienced the sport as an athlete, coach, magazine publisher, and now, journalist and blogger. His first article, on Don Bowden, America's first sub-4 minute miler, was published in RW in 1983. Larry has published several magazines on athletics, from American Athletics to the U.S. version of Spikes magazine. He currently manages the content and marketing development of the RunningNetwork, The Shoe Addicts, and RunBlogRun. Of RunBlogRun, his daily pilgrimage with the sport, Larry says: "I have to admit, I love traveling to far away meets, writing about the sport I love, and the athletes I respect, for my readers at runblogrun.com, the most of anything I have ever done, except, maybe running itself." Also does some updates for BBC Sports at key events, which he truly enjoys. Theme song: Greg Allman, " I'm no Angel."
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