Ricou Ren Browning was an American stunt performer, filmmaker and actor. A skilled swimmer, he was known for his innovative underwater stunt work, notably in the 1954 film Creature from the Black Lagoon, in which he portrayed the titular Gill-man during the film's underwater scenes, and in the 1965 James Bond film Thunderball, where he was the underwater sequences director. He was also the co-creator of the Flipper media franchise.
Bottlenose dolphins are aquatic mammals in the genus Tursiops. They are common, cosmopolitan members of the family Delphinidae, the family of oceanic dolphins. Molecular studies show the genus definitively contains three species: the common bottlenose dolphin, the Indo-Pacific bottlenose dolphin, and Tamanend's bottlenose dolphin. Others, like the Burrunan dolphin, may be alternately considered their own species or be subspecies of T. aduncus. Bottlenose dolphins inhabit warm and temperate seas worldwide, being found everywhere except for the Arctic and Antarctic Circle regions. Their name derives from the Latin tursio (dolphin) and truncatus for their characteristic truncated teeth.
Flipper is a 1996 American adventure film and a remake of the 1963 film of the same name. Written and directed by Alan Shapiro, the film stars Elijah Wood as a boy who has to spend the summer with his uncle, who lives on the Florida Gold Coast. Although he expects to have a boring summer, he encounters a dolphin whom he names Flipper and with whom he forms a friendship.
Flipper is an American television program broadcast on NBC from September 19, 1964, until April 15, 1967. Flipper, a bottlenose dolphin, is the pet of Porter Ricks, chief warden at Coral Key Park and Marine Preserve, and his two young sons, Sandy and Bud. The show has been dubbed an "aquatic Lassie", and a considerable amount of children's merchandise inspired by the show was produced during its first run.
Luke Austin Halpin is a former American actor, stuntman, marine coordinator, diver and pilot. He became a child actor at the age of eight and is widely known for his role as Sandy Ricks in the feature films Flipper and Flipper's New Adventure, as well as for reprising his role for the NBC television series adaptation, Flipper.
Ivan Tors was a Hungarian playwright, film director, screenwriter, and film and television producer with an emphasis on non-violent but exciting science fiction, underwater sequences, and stories involving animals. He started a Miami-based film studio now known as Greenwich Studios, and later a music company.
Flipper's New Adventure is a 1964 American feature film released on June 24, 1964 by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, written by Art Arthur, and directed by Leon Benson. It was a sequel to the 1963 film, Flipper and was based on characters created by Ricou Browning and Jack Cowden.
Brian Kelly was an American actor widely known for his role as Porter Ricks, the widowed father of two sons on the NBC television series Flipper.
Flipper is an American revival television series of the original 1964 Flipper television series. The first two seasons aired in first-run syndication; seasons three and four aired on the PAX network.
The Dolphin Research Center (DRC) is a dolphinarium on Grassy Key, Florida. The 90,000-square-foot (8,400 m2) series of saltwater lagoons is home to several dolphins and California sea lions.
Hello Down There is a 1969 American comedy-adventure film starring Tony Randall and Janet Leigh that was released by Paramount Pictures. It was produced by George Sherman and Ivan Tors and directed by Jack Arnold and Ricou Browning. The screenplay was written by John McGreevey and Frank Telford.
Dolphin Tale is a 2011 American 3D family drama film directed by Charles Martin Smith, from a screenplay by Karen Janszen and Noam Dromi and a book of the same name. It stars Harry Connick Jr., Ashley Judd, Nathan Gamble, Kris Kristofferson, Cozi Zuehlsdorff in her film debut, and Morgan Freeman. The book and film are inspired by the true story of Winter, a bottlenose dolphin that was rescued in December 2005 off the Florida coast and taken in by the Clearwater Marine Aquarium. In the film, Winter loses her tail after becoming entangled with a rope attached to a crab trap, and must be fitted with a prosthetic one in order to swim naturally again.
Grassy Key, Florida, is an island in the middle Florida Keys. It is located on U.S. 1, near mile markers 57—60, below the Conch Keys. It has an area of 3.65 km², with a population of 974 as of the census 2000.
Zebra in the Kitchen is a 1965 American children's film produced and directed by Ivan Tors and starring Jay North in his first feature-film leading role. It also stars Martin Milner and Andy Devine, with costars Joyce Meadows and Jim Davis. The film tells the story of a boy, who when forced to give his pet mountain lion to the local zoo, becomes upset at the living conditions of the animals there and attempts to free them. Originally released by MGM as a children's matinee feature, the film has subsequently been released on home video by Warner Bros.' family-entertainment division.
Gentle Giant is a 1967 American drama film about a young boy's friendship with an American black bear, based on the 1965 book Gentle Ben by Walt Morey. It was produced by Ivan Tors, directed by James Neilson and written by Edward J. Lakso and Andy White. The film stars Clint Howard, Dennis Weaver, Vera Miles, Ralph Meeker, Huntz Hall, and Bruno the Bear. The film was released on November 15, 1967, by Paramount Pictures.
Lamar Boren was an underwater photography cinematographer renown for his work on films and television series for Ivan Tors and for underwater cinematography on several James Bond films.
Mr. No Legs is a 1978 American action drama exploitation film directed by Ricou Browning and written by Jack Cowden.
The Flipper franchise consists of American family-adventure installments including three theatrical films, and two television shows. Based on original an original story created by Arthur Weiss, Ricou Browning and Jack Cowden, the plot centers around a family who becomes friends with a notably intelligent bottlenose dolphin they rescued from injuries, which they name Flipper. Through the events of the franchise, Flipper regularly gives aid to his human friends and selflessly comes to their rescue to return the favor.
