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Kurt Yaeger (born January 3, 1977) is an American actor, director and professional athlete, who is also a below-the-knee amputee.
Kurt Yaeger was born in San Francisco, California, United States (US), and was raised in South San Francisco. He currently resides in the Los Angeles area.
As a BMX rider, Yaeger gained the nickname “Crowbar” and acquired sponsors for his BMX riding, participating in tours and competing in events.
After experiencing many BMX-related injuries, he decided to go back to college to pursue a Masters degree in hydrogeology. In 2006, while attending school in San Francisco, he was in a motorcycle crash that resulted in multiple injuries. He hit a pole and went over a 40-foot embankment, crashing on the side of the freeway.
His left leg was amputated, his right anterior cruciate ligament and medial collateral ligament were torn, his pelvis was torn in half along with his bladder, seven vertebra were broken, his lungs collapsed, multiple ribs were broken, and he suffered a severe concussion. One year later, Yaeger made a full recovery, returning to his acting career.
Yaeger is involved with the Screen Actors Guild (SAG), American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (AFTRA), and the Actors’ Equity Association (AEA) Tri-Union global disability rights campaign called IAMPWD – Inclusion in the Arts & Media of People with Disabilities. He sits as the Chairperson on the AFTRA Los Angeles Local Performers with Disabilities Committee.
In 2012, the US Paralympics Bobsled & Skeleton Team invited him to train with them in Park City in early January. They asked him back to train with them in Innsbruck, Austria in early March.
He is currently the number one Adaptive BMXer in the world[16] and participated in X Games 16 and X Games 17. Yaeger was showcased along with other adaptive athletes thanks to Adaptive Action Sports, a non-profit organization promoting Action Sports camps, events and programs for youth and young adults living with permanent physical disabilities.
His recent work includes roles on the CBS hit showNCIS and the much anticipated HBO/Cinemax series Quarry.