In addition to winning two Olympic gold medals and five consecutive world championships, he helped transform a niche sport into the showpiece of every Winter Olympics.

Dick Button, the two-time Olympic champion who revolutionized figure skating by completing the first triple jump in competition, then spun TV ratings gold with his pithy, Emmy-winning commentary, died Thursday. He was 95. Button died in North Salem, New York, his daughter, actress Emily Button, told The Washington Post .

Dick Button, America's first Olympic gold medalist in figure skating, is dead, and the legend's passing comes on what was already a dark day for the sport.