fiction.wikisort.org - Actor

Ricou Browning (born February 16, 1930[1]) is an American film director, actor, producer, screenwriter, underwater cinematographer and stuntman. He is best known for his underwater stunt work, especially in the 1954 film Creature from the Black Lagoon, in which he portrayed the titular Gill-man during the film's underwater scenes (actor Ben Chapman played the Creature on land). Browning reprised the role for the underwater scenes in the film's sequels Revenge of the Creature and The Creature Walks Among Us. He is the last surviving original actor to portray any of the Universal Classic Monsters.[2][3] Browning also co-created Flipper with Jack Cowden, and directed a number of episodes of the 1960s television series.[4]

Ricou Browning
Browning in 2019
Born	(1930-02-16) February 16, 1930 (age 92)[1] Fort Pierce, Florida, U.S.
Occupation	Film director actor producer screenwriter underwater cinematographer stuntman
Years active	1945–1986

Browning made his feature film directorial debut with Salty (1973), which he also co-wrote with Cowden, and went on to direct Mr. No Legs (1978). Browning directed the underwater sequences in 1965's Thunderball, the fourth James Bond film by Eon Productions, as well as the Bond film Never Say Never Again (1983). He also directed the underwater scenes in the comedy films Hello Down There (1969) and Caddyshack (1980). A Florida native,[5] Browning was inducted into the Florida Artists Hall of Fame in 2012.[6] In 2019, he was inducted into the Rondo Hatton Classic Horror Awards' Monster Kid Hall of Fame.[7]

Early life

Browning was born in Fort Pierce, Florida.[8] He was a major in physical education at Florida State University.[9]

Career

Browning started a career in water shows, moving on to produce shows. Browning worked at Wakulla Springs in the 1940s and learned to perform in underwater newsreels conceived by Newt Perry, who later took Browning along when he opened Weeki Wachee Springs.[6]

While working at Wakulla Springs in 1953, Browning was asked to show around a film crew scouting for shooting locations.[10] According to Browning, "Their cameraman asked if I could swim in front of the cameras so they could get the perspective of the size of a human being against the fish and the grass. So I did."[10] Days later, the crew offered Browning the role of the titular Gill-man in the film Creature from the Black Lagoon (1954).[10] Browning accepted, and played the Gill-man in the film's underwater scenes, while actor Ben Chapman played the monster on land.[11][12] During filming, Browning reportedly held his breath underwater for up to four minutes at a time.[1][13] Browning reprised his role as the underwater Gill-man in two sequels, Revenge of the Creature (1955) and The Creature Walks Among Us (1956).

He continued in movie production and joined Ivan Tors' studios in Florida, where he co-wrote and co-produced the 1963 film Flipper (about an intelligent bottlenose dolphin); Browning also directed the second unit underwater scenes for the film.[14] Browning continued writing for the subsequent Flipper television series that debuted in 1964. He directed the underwater sequences in Hello Down There (1969), and directed the family film Salty (1973)[10] and the cult film Mr. No Legs (1978). He also worked as second unit director, stunt coordinator and underwater sequence director on a number of features, including Thunderball (1965), Around the World Under the Sea (1966), Island of the Lost (1967), Caddyshack (1980), and Never Say Never Again (1983).[6]

Personal life

He has a son, Ricou Browning, Jr., who is also a marine coordinator, actor, and stuntman.[10][15][16]

Selected filmography

Film

As actor/stuntman

Year	Title	Role	Notes	Ref(s)
1954	Creature from the Black Lagoon	Gill-man	Underwater scenes	[11]
1954	20,000 Leagues Under the Sea	—	Stunt diver	[8][17]
1955	Revenge of the Creature	Gill-man	Underwater scenes	[8]
1956	The Creature Walks Among Us	Gill-man	Underwater scenes	[8]
1964	Flipper's New Adventure	Dr. Burton		[18]

As director/writer/stunt coordinator

Year	Title	Director	Writer	Stunt coordinator	Notes	Ref(s)
1963	Flipper	Second unit	Co-writer	Yes	Underwater scenes; co-wrote story with Jack Cowden; also associate producer	[14]
1965	Thunderball	Second unit		Yes	Underwater scenes	[8]
1966	Around the World Under the Sea	Second unit			Diving sequences	[19]
1967	Island of the Lost	Second unit			Underwater scenes	[20]
1969	Hello Down There	Second unit			Underwater scenes	[21][22]
1973	Salty	Yes	Co-writer		Co-wrote with Jack Cowden	[23]
1978	Mr. No Legs	Yes				[24]
1979	Hot Stuff	Second unit				[25]
1980	Caddyshack	Second unit				[23][26]
1980	Raise the Titanic	Second unit				[23][25]
1980	Island Claws		Co-writer		Co-wrote with Jack Cowden	[23][27]
1981	Nobody's Perfekt	Second unit				[23]
1983	Never Say Never Again	Second unit			Underwater scenes	[8]
1985	The Heavenly Kid			Yes		[25]
1986	Opposing Force			Miami unit		[23]
1988	Police Academy 5: Assignment Miami Beach	Second unit				[25]

Television

As actor/stuntman

Year	Title	Role	Notes	Ref(s)
1958–1961	Sea Hunt	—	Second unit stunt double; 30 episodes	[1][28]
1960–1961	The Aquanauts[lower-alpha 1]	—	Stunt double	[25]
1964–1967	Flipper	Water Skier/The Monster	2 episodes: "Lifeguard" and "Flipper's Monster"	[19]

As director

Year	Title	Notes	Ref(s)
1958–1961	Sea Hunt	Underwater scenes; multiple episodes	[14]
1964–1967	Flipper	37 episodes	[19]

Notes

References

Bibliography

• Freese, Gene Scott (2014). Hollywood Stunt Performers, 1910s–1970s: A Biographical Dictionary (second ed.). McFarland & Company. ISBN 978-0786476435.

External links

• Ricou Browning at IMDb
• Ricou Browning at the TCM Movie Database
• Ricou Browning at AllMovie

На других языках

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[de] Ricou Browning

Ricou Browning (* 16. Februar 1930 in Fort Pierce, Florida) ist ein US-amerikanischer Regisseur, Drehbuchautor, Schauspieler, Filmproduzent, Stuntman und Kameramann.

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- [en] Ricou Browning

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