Richard (Mad Dog) Buek (November 4, 1929 – November 3, 1957) was an

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

alpine ski racer and later a daredevil stunt pilot. A fiancé of champion ski racer

Jill Kinmont Jill Kinmont Boothe (February 16, 1936 – February 9, 2012) was a notable American alpine ski racer. Her life story was turned into two major Hollywood movies ''The Other Side of the Mountain'' and its sequel ''The Other Side of the Mountain Part ...

, whose tragic life story was made into the inspirational hit Hollywood motion picture ''

The Other Side of the Mountain ''The Other Side of the Mountain'' is a 1975 American drama romance film based on the true story of ski racing champion Jill Kinmont. The UK title of the film was ''A Window to the Sky''. In early 1955, Kinmont was the national champion in sla ...

'' (

1975 It was also declared the ''International Women's Year'' by the United Nations and the European Architectural Heritage Year by the Council of Europe. Events January * January 1 - Watergate scandal (United States): John N. Mitchell, H. R. ...

), Buek died in a plane crash at the age of 27.

Life

Born in

Oakland Oakland is the largest city and the county seat of Alameda County, California, United States. A major West Coast port, Oakland is the largest city in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area, the third largest city overall in the Bay A ...

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

, as a youth, Buek was coached by ski champion

Hannes Schroll Hannes Schroll (June 13, 1909 – April 5, 1985) was an Austrians, Austrian Alpine skiing, Alpine ski racer and founder of the Sugar Bowl Ski Resort in Norden, California. Early years Schroll grew up in an Austrian village near Salzburg, call ...

and trained at

Sugar Bowl The Sugar Bowl is an annual American college football bowl game played in New Orleans, Louisiana. Played annually since January 1, 1935, it is tied with the Orange Bowl and Sun Bowl as the second-oldest bowl games in the country, surpassed onl ...

ski area. Known as "The Madman of Donner Summit," Buek exhibited a "go for broke" attitude that brought him success and pain in many

downhill Downhill may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Downhill'' (1927 film), a British film by Alfred Hitchcock * ''Downhill'' (2014 film), a British comedy directed by James Rouse * ''Downhill'' (2016 film), a Chilean thriller directed by Patrici ...

competitions. A serious racer by the age of 18, he did a straight schuss at the Inferno Race on

Mount Lassen Mount is often used as part of the name of specific mountains, e.g. Mount Everest. Mount or Mounts may also refer to: Places * Mount, Cornwall, a village in Warleggan parish, England * Mount, Perranzabuloe, a hamlet in Perranzabuloe parish, C ...

in 1948. In 1949, he won the Silver Dollar Derby and the Far West Ski Association's downhill title. A member of the 1952 Olympic team, Buek was twelfth in the

Norefjell Norefjell is a mountain range in the Scandes Mountains system in Norway. It stretches between the valleys of Eggedal (west) and Hallingdal (east). It covers parts of the municipalities Flå, Sigdal, and Krødsherad, all in the county Busker ...

. That year, he was the national champion in downhill, and won a second national downhill title in 1954. His record included two runner-up efforts, a third and a fourth at the national championships. Buek seemed to be fearless and paid a heavy price for it. He suffered two broken backs, one from a motorcycle accident in 1953 which crushed his leg, pelvis, and shoulder. At the national championships at

Aspen Aspen is a common name for certain tree species; some, but not all, are classified by botanists in the section ''Populus'', of the ''Populus'' genus. Species These species are called aspens: *'' Populus adenopoda'' – Chinese aspen (China ...

the following winter, he could still only bend his right knee sixty degrees. Pins in his left shoulder hampered his stance. Though he won the race, he was not selected to compete at the 1954 World Championships in

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic country located on ...

. In 1974, Buek was inducted into the

National Ski Hall of Fame The U.S. Ski and Snowboard Hall of Fame and Museum is located in Ishpeming, Michigan, the birthplace of organized skiing in the United States. Located in the state's Upper Peninsula, the building includes the hall of fame and museum, as well as a t ...

Death

Buek died at age 27 while flying over

Donner Lake Donner Lake is a freshwater lake in Northeast California on the eastern slope of the Sierra Nevada and about northwest of the much larger Lake Tahoe. A moraine serves as a natural dam for the lake. The lake is located in the town of Truckee, be ...

in early November. According to close friend Mary Ann Haswell, who survived an earlier crash into the lake with Buek, "Dick used to say he'd never make it to 28 years old." Buek and Haswell were reportedly towing water skiers at the time of the first crash. At the time of the second crash, Haswell remembered, "Dick died a few days short of his birthday." Buek was not at the controls of the airplane in which he was killed. It was a friend's plane and Buek was giving the friend a piloting lesson. The wings iced up and the plane dived straight into the icy waters. "Dick was a dynamic person and ahead of his time in pushing the limits of extremism," recalled Haswell. "It was great being around him, if only for such a short period of time." Buek is buried at Mountain View Cemetery in

Oakland, California Oakland is the largest city and the county seat of Alameda County, California, United States. A major West Coast of the United States, West Coast port, Oakland is the largest city in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area, the third ...

. He was characterized by

Oakley Hall Oakley Maxwell Hall (July 1, 1920 – May 12, 2008) was an American novelist. He was born in San Diego, California, graduated from the University of California, Berkeley, and served in the Marines during World War II. Some of his mysteries were ...

in Hall's 1963 novel, '' The Downhill Racers'', and portrayed by

Beau Bridges Lloyd Vernet "Beau" Bridges III (born December 9, 1941) is an American actor and director. He is a three-time Emmy, two-time Golden Globe and one-time Grammy Award winner, as well as a two-time Screen Actors Guild Award nominee. Bridges was a ...

in the

movie, ''

''.

Life

Death

References

External links