Terry L. DuFoe Interview With Ricou Browning:


I understand we celebrated the 42nd Anniversary of the gill man. How do you feel 
about that?

Ricou: Older (laughs)

What age were you when you shot The Creature from The Black Lagoon?

Ricou: Twenty-one.

And do I dare ask how old you are now?

Ricou: Well, you can figure it out.(laughs) No, I'm 63.

You look very well for 63.

Ricou: Well, Thank you.

How did you first get involved with Universal Studios?

Ricou: Uh, with this film?

With the Creature.

Ricou: Yeah, That's the first show I did with them.

Did you go to an open casting call?

Ricou: No, No, No, No, The director and cameraman came to Florida to look for 
locations for the film and a friend of mine who used to manage Wakula Springs 
called me and said he couldn't take these people to show them the area. I was 
going to Florida State University at the time. He said, would you mind doing 
this for me and I said sure I'd be glad to. I used to work at Wakula Springs so 
I took them and showed them the location. They loved it and they asked me if I 
would mind swimming in front of the camera because they needed some perspective 
of the size of the logs and the bottom of the springs and such. I said sure, so 
I did.

So your substitution as a tour guide actually led to the beginning of a career 
as a Universal Monster?

Ricou: That was the beginning. A couple of weeks later I get a phone call from 
Jack Arnold who is the director of the film. He said Hey do you want to be the 
creature? I said yeah why not. He told me he liked my style of swimming because 
it was the natural way I swam and not something I created just for the creature. 
I went to L.A. and Universal Studios started making outfits for the part. They 
made one outfit which wasn't very attractive as far as everyone was concerned so 
they jumped back and started a second finally accepting that one. 

Did Jack Arnold give you any input on how you felt the creature should look in 
the final design?

Ricou: No, The only thing that I added to help my swimming ability in the outfit 
was that I tried to get them to stiffen the feet so that I could use them 
similar to a swim fin. They didn't get it really stiff enough but it did help.

Did you win swimming awards in High school or college?

Ricou: I swam for the Air Force swimming team and have won a few awards but, 
that's the only competitive swimming I have ever done.

Were you apprehensive about swimming in the creature suit which I imagine was 
pretty heavy?

Ricou: No, I wasn't apprehensive. It was heavy when you was on land and when it 
was soaking wet. It was buoyant when you were in the water and you had to wear 
lead weights on the chest,thighs,and feet because you floated you know. It was 
made of rubber and behaved much like a wet suit.

How much movement were you able to have with flexing or bending? Ricou: I had a 
great deal of movement. 

I have often heard people confuse The Creature From The Black Lagoon with Swamp 
Thing. Do you think this is a ignorant comparison? 

Ricou: I have no idea. I never saw the Swamp Thing.

You never saw Swamp Thing?

Ricou: No, So I don't know.

What kind of a man was Jack Arnold?

Ricou: A great guy, I did a number of pictures with him.

What other films did you do with Jack Arnold?

Ricou: One of them was: Hello Down There. I don't know if you recall it but it 
starred Tony Randall and Richard Dreyfuss.

You were the first Creature From The Black Lagoon. Did you portray the monster 
in the other two sequels?

Ricou: Yes.

So, you were the monster in all three films?

Ricou: Yes.

Which creature film was your favorite?

Ricou: The first one.

Why do you consider the original Universal film to be your favorite?

Ricou: The reason is, Because the studio spent more money on it and they did a 
better job. It was a B-Movie.

You said that you consider it a B-Movie of which of course it was but is that 
basically what you have always thought of it as?

Ricou: Yeah, well I put it like this. You go to work in the morning at the bank 
and you do your job as the bank teller. After you have done your job as the bank 
teller you go home and you forget about it. Well, The same thing happens in the 
fame business. You did a movie, you go home and forget about it. It was just 
another job.

I would think portraying the creature could provide drowning hazards. Was there 
any mishaps or close calls during production? Ricou: No. We were very careful 
about safety. I had at least four safety men in every scene I did. Two to look 
out for me to get me to the surface if necessary and, two carrying air hoses so 
that I could get air when I needed it. We had signals between each other as to 
when I needed air and so forth and we never had a problem. There were some 
difficult times when I was a distance away from the safety men but, I was able 
to manage the scene.

How difficult was movies like Hello Down There compared to the Creature? Would 
you say The Creature was the more difficult because of the suit?

Ricou: Well, you're talking about two different things. I was a stunt man when I 
was doing The Creature From The Black Lagoon. That was stunt work and when I did 
Hello Down There I was a director. I did all the second unit directing on that 
film for the under water sequences and so forth. I had other people who were 
doubling for the actors in that show.

What was it like working with Lori Nelson?

Ricou: She was a great gal and very very easy to work with.

How difficult was filming in the process of 3-D which was pretty new back in the 
fifties?

Ricou: It was no difficulty as far as the acting or the swimming part. There was 
no difficulty at all for me. The difficulties came in the camera work as far as 
the cameraman was concerned. They flooded the camera one time at Wakula Springs 
and we were able to fix it within a couple of days. Some of the scenes were 
designed for 3-D because you wanted something coming at the camera and we had to 
work on those particular scenes like shooting a gun so that it was playing to 
the camera and into the audience.

As you were hidden behind layers of latex did you ever have a desire to have 
your face seen in The Creature?

Ricou: I did. It wasn't much of a part but in the first creature I was in the 
lab taking blood out of a shark. I just did it because they needed somebody that 
day.

Did you ever appear in news reels or promo films for Wakula Springs prior to the 
creature? 

Ricou: This is before your time but, we did a number of Grantland Rice sport 
films. All consisting of diving. This included high diving, board diving, and 
under water or water oriented shows. I don't know if you remember sport 
television or not but, they would have news reels and at the end of each news 
reel they would have a little funny thing about monkeys or something. Well, We 
used to do a lot of little episodes for the news reel companies under water or 
on the surface of the water that were funny or cute. You know those kind of 
films.

Modern day horror films are much more graphic then they were in the 50's. Why do 
you think our present day culture demands more blood and guts compared to 
suggested violence in films like the creature?

Ricou: I guess that's what sells and people go to see it. They pay their money 
to see violence. Now if a show like the creature with subtle violence would sell 
today or not I don't know. I guess you would have to make one to see.

Do you think the creature or it's sequels carried a strong message about 
ecology? 

Ricou: No, I don't think it did at all.

A lot of people try to read that into it and some have said that Jack Arnold had 
strong feelings about ecology.

Ricou: No. I don't think it had anything to do with our environment. It was a 
movie that was made to make money. It had nothing to do with ecology.

Have you ever visited the Universal theme parks?

Ricou: I went to Universal Florida when they were getting ready to open here in 
Orlando but they had not completed the park. I met the manager and was shown 
around a bit and I have not been back since they have completed it.

You must admit that The Creature From The Black Lagoon certainly made an impact 
on society as the last of the great Universal Monsters. How do you feel when you 
see children wearing a gill man mask at Halloween some forty two years later? 

Ricou: I really have no feeling one way or the other.

Do you watch your old films on television late at night?

Ricou: I have grandchildren and they enjoy them. I have watched them with my 
grandchildren but I don't just sit and watch them every time their on.

You don't by chance have the old creature suit do you?

Ricou: No. I am sure the suit has rubber rotted years ago. I know they are still 
making the creatures head because someone sent me one. I have one at home so 
someone's making those.

I understand one of the original creature molds is at Universal Studios Florida. 
I've seen it.

Ricou: It could be. They took molds of your entire body in order to build the 
suit and they had those at Universal in L.A.. I have no idea what has happened 
to them since.

There was an appearance of the creature on an old Abbott and Costello t.v. show. 
Was that you? Ricou: No. I remember hearing about that but I wasn't in it. 

We want to discuss your involvement with Flipper but, I want to ask you if your 
concerned that more people seem to connect you with The Creature From The Black 
Lagoon then they do the Flipper series?

Ricou: It doesn't really bother me although I'm surprised because it was a very 
small thing within my career. I got paid very little money at the time and all 
of the attention I get is very interesting you know.

How did you get involved with Flipper?

Ricou: When I was with Silver Springs, I worked in public relations some years 
back and I remembered where I had read about fresh water dolphins in school that 
live in the Amazon and in the Yangtze River in China. As a publicity stunt, we 
decided to catch fresh water dolphins from the Amazon and bring them back to 
Silver Springs Florida where they could live in our fresh waters. So we did and 
that's another story but, we brought back several and I was sort of in charge of 
them. I became quite friendly with the dolphins and they became pets. During 
that time my children where young and they used to watch Lassie. One day, I was 
watching Lassie with them and I got a bright idea from Greek Mythology about a 
boy riding a dolphin. I had thought why not a boy and a dolphin as opposed to a 
boy and a dog? My brother in law Jack Cowden was a radio announcer and together 
we wrote a story called Flipper. We both went to New York and tried to sell the 
project as a book. We had two companies interested in Flipper but, I didn't hear 
from them and I had to go back home to Florida because I wasn't doing to well 
financially at the time. Prior to that I had just finished working with Ivan 
Tors on a show called SeaHunt. I was an underwater director and a second unit 
director for the show. I gave Ivan a phone call and said Ivan will you do me a 
favor and consider doing Flipper as a movie? He said, Yes, I would do that but 
you need to send me a copy of your manuscript. I mailed Ivan the copy and then I 
called the New York book company and said, Hey, what are you guys doing with 
Flipper because I've got a Hollywood producer interested in maybe making this 
into a movie. I was going to try and see if that would yank their chain a bit 
but, about a week later I get a call from Ivan who said, Ricou we want to make a 
movie and were going to do Flipper. I immediately said yes. My brother in law 
and I went to L.A. to meet with Ivan to iron out all of the details. Ivan Tors 
signed a contract with MGM and we did the first Flipper feature, a second 
feature, and four years of network t.v.!

Boy, you must of had a charmed life. You make it sound like it was so easy. 
Ricou: No, no. None of it was easy! 

Are you saying that it resulted in a fairly long period of time from your final 
draft to the movie screen?

Ricou: Oh yes. As an example when we wrote Flipper it was five years before it 
became a movie. Flipper had taken five years and then I did another show called 
Salty about a Sea Lion. I wrote the story Salty with my brother in law Jack and 
we got financing out of New York and made a feature film called Salty which took 
another seven years. So you don't just think of them and do them over night. It 
take a while.

How much preparation or research did you do when you wrote your story? Ricou: 
Before I wrote the story of Salty I took a baby Sea Lion into my home where I 
kept it for three years and had trained her as a pet.

I understand that Universal is remaking Flipper as a feature film in addition to 
a new syndicated series that will be made by another production company. Do you 
know any thing about this?

Ricou: Uh, Yeah but I don't want to talk about it.

Are you involved with these remakes in any way?

Ricou: I don't want to talk about it. 

Oh, o.k.. I believe you were also a director on the Flipper t.v. series that now 
airs on Nickelodeon. Is that right?

Ricou: Oh yeah I was. I directed lots of them. I also directed SeaHunt episodes 
and writing and directing is what I do now.

Do you prefer being an actor, stuntman, writer or director? Ricou: I like it 
all. 

There seems to be new interest in family films and series featuring animals or 
marine life. There has been quite a lapse in this type of entertainment since 
your involvement with Flipper and other productions like Gentle Ben and Salty. 
Why hasn't Hollywood made more shows like this?

Ricou: I have no idea. I guess it doesn't sell and people don't go. Let me give 
you an example. When we did Salty, I think it was as good of a film as Flipper 
was. We went out to promote Salty in Orlando Florida. I had a bright idea that I 
would call all the womens clubs and invite them over to this motel to look at 
the film so that they could promote it as a family movie. We called these 
different places and offered to show them the film for nothing and only five 
people showed up. That next morning we were eating breakfast and the police came 
in and came right up to our table and said, yeah, that looks like him, pointing 
at my son who was working with us. They told us my son fit their description and 
we of course said, What's going on here? The police informed us that some lady 
called them and said that a guy named Ricou had called her yesterday about 
coming to see a movie he had made where shortly after viewing the film she was 
robbed! She had told the police that the boy with the mustache that she saw at 
the motel where she viewed my film looks kind of like the guy who robbed her. I 
said, hey wait a minute! Anyway, it was all straightened out but my point is, 
todays world is different then it was in the sixties. The picture did not make a 
lot of money and it was a G rated film. Kids and adults don't go to G rated 
films. If people would go see them Hollywood would make them but, at this point 
they are not going to make them because they don't make money.

Do you ever see any of the cast of Flipper today?

Ricou: Oh yeah. Luke Halpin lives in Florida and Tommy Norden the other boy 
lives in New York. Brian Kelly is in L.A. and Brian and I are very close 
friends. I talk to him frequently.

I hear he is a great guy.

Ricou: Yeah he is. Some of the other directors and I have become close friends 
also. One of them in particular. The production manager from the series and I 
are very close and he comes down to visit every year. 

One of my favorites was, Cheryl Miller. She was in a lot of the Flipper 
episodes. Ricou: Yeah, she did a lot of other shows like Daktari but I did two 
Flipper episodes with her.

What was it like for you to have Flipper guest stars like Huntz Hall?

Ricou: Oh great. Huntz and I became very good friends and Huntz was a little.... 
well. you know he was worried about the Florida Everglades. His show was done 
and I think we hid his secret quite well.

Not an ocean type guy then huh? 

Ricou: Not really but, he was a professional and he just waded right into the 
swamp with no problem at all even though he was probably scared to death. Huntz 
is a very nice man.

I can imagine that Huntz Hall was happy to have a friend like you who could help 
him feel at home in what he considered a crawling jungle. Have you lived in 
Florida all of your life?

Ricou: Yeah. I was born in Fort Pierce and lived in a little place called Jensen 
Beach where my family is all from. I moved to Tallahassee and went to high 
school and college there. I attended Florida State University for a couple of 
years but, never finished. I then lived in Miami and I now live in FT. 
Lauderdale Florida.

I heard that one of your SeaHunt crew members also lives in Ft. Lauderdale? 
Ricou: Yes, when I directed the show a boy named Courtney Brown doubled for 
Lloyd Bridges and he lives in Ft. Lauderdale. He doubled Lloyd all the way 
through the series and did an excellent job.

Is your son still in the business?

Ricou: Yeah, My oldest son has a marine company of which he furnishes boats and 
equipment and coordinates marine projects for films. He's working on a show now 
in Miami. My other son wants to become an assistant director so he's working 
towards that now.

Have you got anything in the works like maybe a book or a script that you might 
be writing?

Ricou: We have a script that we wrote that someone bought an option on. We 
possibly will have the financing in four or five months and if so I'll be 
directing it. It's called The Vacation. 

Would it be released by a major studio?

Ricou: I'm not sure. At this point I'm just involved in the creative writing end 
and will direct if it comes to light.

Can you say what kind of a movie it is?

Ricou: I don't really want to talk much about it until it is in production 
except to say that the working title is The Vacation.

I thank you for this conversation and needless to say I was both nervous and 
thrilled to meet one of the great Universal Monsters. I unfortunately was born 
to late to meet Lugosi,Karloff, or Chaney and it was a pleasure meeting one of 
that distinguished group.

Ricou: Well, I thank you. It was my pleasure.




Ricou Browning pt. 2 -The Second Interview:


Did Ivan Tors hire you as a second unit director for SeaHunt because of your 
work with Jack Arnold on The Creature From The Black Lagoon?

Ricou: No, I started working for Ivan in SeaHunt as a stunt man and I doubled 
most of the bad guys under water during the series. Towards the end of the show 
he hired me as a second unit director. We had moved the show to the Bahamas 
where we continued production for the next couple of years.

Did you know Ivan Tors before your work on SeaHunt? Ricou: No, thats where I met 
him.

Was Ivan Tors a friend of Jack Arnold's?

Ricou: Not that I know of. They may have been friend's but, I wasn't aware of 
it. In your opinion how would you compare Ivan Tors and Jack Arnold both as a 
movie maker,a man and on a personal level?

Ricou: Uh, this is kind of difficult. They were both very nice people and are 
both very talented in their fields.

Which one did you find easier to work for?

Ricou: They were both easy to work for.

Can you tell us about your first encounter with dolphins.

Ricou: The first time I saw or was around dolphins was when I was in high 
school. A friend of mine who owned and operated Wakula Springs near Tallahassee 
was assigned to do an under water fashion show at Marineland in St. Augustine. I 
had worked for him in the summer as a lifeguard and he asked me if I would 
assist him in putting on this show and so I did. Marineland had dolphins there 
and a guy named Adolph Thong who was their trainer. We saw them going through 
their routines and I was very impressed with them. So thats the first time I 
ever saw dolphins. 

Do you have any marine bioligy in your background?

Ricou: No.

How different in appearance and intelligence is the fresh water dolphins that 
you brought to Silver Springs compared to the Atlantic Bottlenose that you used 
in Flipper?

Ricou: The two are quite different mainly around the head. The nose is much 
longer and has fine hairs growing out of it. Are you describing the Atlantic or 
the freshwater dolphin? Ricou: That would be the freshwater dolphin.

Are there any other differences?

Ricou: The freshwater dolphin has eyes that are more like the eraser on a 
pencil. More like the eyeball we are used to seeing except that they are pinkish 
in color. There was another species in the Amazon that looks more like the 
Atlantic Bottlenose but, we were not able to bring that species back to Florida. 


What about their intelligence?

Ricou: As far as intelligence is concerned I am assuming that it's about the 
same but, I'm not sure of that because I didn't really train the freshwater to 
the extent that we did with the saltwater dolphins. FilmFax: Were you ever 
concerned about being in the water with dolphins or sharks?

Ricou: The answer to sharks is yes! Anytime you work with them your concerned! 
As far as dolphins are concerned, no not really. How ever dolphins are very 
strong and you can get hurt around them so you have to be careful.

Did you ever keep a dolphin at your home like you did Salty?

Ricou: No, I didn't have an adequate place to keep one.

I can imagine it was easier to keep a Sea lion.

Ricou: It was. I built a pool for her. She's smaller and didn't take up much 
space.

Which species do you prefer to work with dolphins or Sea lions?

Ricou: I liked working with both of them.

You did? What did your wife think of you keeping the Sea lion at your home?

Ricou: Well I don't know if she liked it to well but she put up with it. I 
raised it both in my home and in my back yard for 3 or 4 years.

Did the Sea lion cause you any mischief?

Ricou: Well, I do have a funny story. I had Salty in the kitchen and she was 
sitting up on a chair with her flippers up on the back of the chair. I was 
feeding her and putting her through some routines and the phone rang. Salty 
started yelling and she didn't have that normal Sea lion yell, it was kind of a 
scream. Anyway, she was screaming while I was on the phone and someone was 
calling my wife. I told them she wasn't home and I hung up. In about maybe 15 
minutes or so there was a police car circling my house. I had a big house at the 
time and I thought this was strange because they didn't come down my long 
driveway. I opened the back door and I yelled out, Hey, what's going on? They 
told me they were just checking the neighborhood but, I think they thought I was 
killing my wife or something!

Did Salty ever cause any damage to your home? 

Ricou: Well, she would sleep with her tail in the toilet propped up on the 
toilet seat. She would also lay in the shower if we left it running for her and 
she would lay over the drain flooding the bedroom, the hall, and the house. 
There was quite a few little episodes.

Was Salty both a t.v. series and a feature film like Flipper was?

Ricou: Yes, it was. It was a film first and then a Canadian company did the 
series.

Was Jack Arnold involved with the Salty feature or was it your own production? 

Ricou: It was my own production. I produced it with a company out of New York.

When was the Salty film and series released?

Ricou: I don't remember. Several years ago.

Can you remember what network the t.v series of Salty aired on?

Ricou: I don't remember.

How different was the MGM film Flipper from your original story?

Ricou: It was a little different. We didn't have the girl in our story. Quite a 
few things were different but the main story- line was basically the same.

Did you and your brother Jack write the story for the second MGM feature called 
Flipper Returns?

Ricou: We didn't write the second feature but, we wrote quite a few of the 
television episodes.

In addition to writing the original story did you also do screenplay rewrites 
for the feature film Flipper?

Ricou: No.

Did you serve as under water photographer or director for Flipper?

Ricou: yes, I was second unit director.

Oh, did you ever serve as a stunt man on Flipper?

Ricou: Yes, and I also served as an associate producer and sometimes an actor.

Was this for the movies or the series?

Ricou: All.

Could you comment on your role as Doctor Clark Burton in Flippers New Adventure?

Ricou: Well, you saw it on the screen. That's it. What you see is what you get.

What other roles did you portray in Flipper?

Ricou: Well, not many acting wise. I just filled in when somebody was short 
handed.

So, you basically filled in for the movies and series when ever needed.

Ricou: That and when we had some complicated stunts with the bad guys fighting 
the dolphin or something and I filled in there because I was used to working 
with the dolphin and could get a little more out of her. 

Were there more than one dolphin used for the two films and series?

Ricou: For the first feature, we used an animal named Mitzy. It was owned by a 
man and wife in the Florida Keys and they had kept the animal in a little lagoon 
so that when they captured other animals they would see this one eat out of 
their hands and that would get them feeding quicker. They sold animals to 
aquariums at that time and we were looking for an animal to play Flipper. We 
couldn't find any animals that would be friendly with people and all of the 
shows in those days were top side where a person would hold a fish up and the 
dolphin would jump out and go through various routines but, none of the animals 
were tame. We passed by the place where the man and wife kept Mitzy and asked 
them if they had any dolphins that were tamed and they said, Well, we have this 
one and we keep her around and I can touch her. I climbed into the water with 
her and Mitzy swam right up to me and put her head right under my arm. I looked 
up at Ivan Tors and I said, We have our animal! We then spent another three 
months training Mitzy to portray Flipper. I used my son because he was about the 
same age as the boy would be in my story and we went through various types of 
training. We weren't really dolphin trainers so we had to learn right along with 
the dolphin.

It sounds as if you were able to maintain a unique relationship with these 
mammals way before theme parks like Sea World came along.

Ricou: As far as I know no one had ever ridden a dolphin before Flipper except a 
guy named Neil Mccoy. I couldn't figure out how to get the boy to ride the 
dolphin like in the Greek legend so, I was having Mitzy retrieve some balls and 
this bright idea went ding dong in my head. I had thought why not get the 
dolphin to retrieve my son Ricky so, I told Ricky that when I throw the ball in, 
you jump in the water. So, I faked throwing the ball and the dolphin took off. 
Ricky jumped in the water making a splash like a ball would make and Mitzy swam 
over and tried to retrieve him grabbing his blue jean shorts by the loops. She 
tried to pull him and my son reached over and grabbed her fin and the dolphin 
towed him right up to me and before long we had a boy riding a dolphin! So, we 
kind of lucked into that.

Did you ever use male dolphins throughout the series?

Ricou: We used females only because I had always heard that female animals are 
easier to work with then males. There's no other reason.

Did the dolphin always perform on cue or can you tell us of any difficult scenes 
that required numerous retakes.

Ricou: Very few because they got fish. It's like people perform for money.

Was the SPCA required to be on the set at all times as they are today when 
animals are involved with film or television?

Ricou: Well, It wasn't as critical but, or course we were very animal conscious 
because, we all loved animals but, no it was not as strict as it is today.

During the series there was often a strange mix of land and marine life 
including elephants, chimps, and even alligators. Was there ever a problem that 
occurred between the animals?

Ricou: No, Not at all. They either got along or didn't get along. In other words 
they would be separated quickly or they would play.

Which animal do you feel was the most uncooperative?

Ricou: Uncooperative bears. If you didn't watch them they'd take off and it 
would take you three days to catch them again!

Did you have any input as to the choice of Chuck Conners to play the original 
Porter Ricks? 

Ricou: No, That was the writers.

Do you know why Chuck Conners didn't repeat the role for the second film?

Ricou: He probably wasn't even asked.

Why wasn't he asked?

Ricou: I don't know. 

Did your original story include the character of Porter Ricks?

Ricou: Yes. 

Which actor portrayed Porter Ricks closer to your original concept?

Ricou: For my original story Chuck Conners did of course but, the second feature 
was very different and they wanted to change the character of Porter Ricks 
somewhat to mold with the series. I think it was two days after we finished the 
second feature that we started the series.

Do you think Brian Kelly could have portrayed the original Porter Ricks as well 
as Chuck Conners did in the MGM feature Flipper?

Ricou: If it would have been written knowing that Brian Kelly would play Porter 
Ricks then I am sure he could have been as good. An actor is an actor. In other 
words, Brian's character as Porter Ricks in the series was all together 
different then Porter Ricks in the first feature and of course, the sequel gave 
Brian very little to do. Do you feel the character of Porter Ricks has any of 
Ricou browning in him?

Ricou: Huh, I never thought of it that way.

Did you have a desire to be a marine park ranger like Porter Ricks was?

Ricou: No. 

Was your son Ricky involved with the production of Flipper?

Ricou: He was. He was with me during training for the first feature and then he 
doubled for Luke Halpin in the under water sequences. 

Were you friends on a personal basis with Chuck Conners or Brian Kelly?

Ricou: I was more friendly with Brian Kelly then Chuck Conners because I got to 
know Brian better. The series ran for four years you know, and with Chuck it was 
one shot and I didn't get a chance to get to know him. Brian and I became very 
close friends and we still are.

I heard that Brian Kelly had a good sense of humor. Can you remember any 
practical jokes or bloopers that occurred on the set?

Ricou: Well, Not really. You would have little things like the actors behaving 
like a ninny or something. 

Were the cast members of Flipper good swimmers?

Ricou: They became good swimmers.

Did any of them know how to swim before the series began?

Ricou: Luke Halpin and Tommy Norden had to become real good swimmers and Brian 
Kelly was a good swimmer to begin with. 

How was Luke Halpin found for the role of Sandy?

Ricou: I'm not sure. I was busy casting out of New York at the time. I do know 
however, that Tommy was cast out of New York.

Do you remember how old Luke Halpin and Tommy Norden was when they received 
their roles?

Ricou: Let's see, for the original feature I think Luke was nine. I'm not sure 
of Tommys age. Maybe he was three or four.

Did Luke fit the image of the original character of Sandy that you and your 
brother-in-law had wrote?

Ricou: Pretty much. 

You said that they became real good swimmers but, did they have to be taught for 
the role?

Ricou: No, They could swim but, they became excellent under water swimmers and 
divers as time went on.

Had they ever worked with dolphins before Flipper?

Ricou: No, they had not and they became comfortable with it.

How did you feel about Ivan Tors changing your original concept by adding 
another son for Porter Ricks who was Bud as played by Tommy Norden?

Ricou: I don't think it made any difference... It was fine. It gives you more 
places to have dialogue or what ever. That way you don't just have a dolphin or 
a pelican to talk to. (Laughs)

Would you say that everyone on the cast became comfortable with the animals?

Ricou: Yeah.

Can you tell us of any disagreements that might have occurred between Luke and 
Tommy?

Ricou: I wasn't aware of any.

Did Luke and Tommy get along well with Brian?

Ricou: Yep, they got along with Brian very well.

Was there a real attraction between Luke and Cheryl Miller?

Ricou: I don't think so.

Do you think Luke and Tommy thought of Brian as a second father.

Ricou: They might have. I couldn't say yes or no. I think they respected Brian 
very deeply.

The on screen relationship between Porter Ricks and his sons seem to be much 
more realistic than other shows of that era. Could you please comment on this?

Ricou: I always thought the relationship between the father and the boys in 
Flipper was more like the 1941 United States, not today. I don't think kids and 
parents are that naive anymore.

What was the shooting schedule like for Flipper?

Ricou: We got to where we could shoot a show in two and a half days not counting 
the under water sequences. It was only a half hour show.

What was the budget like compared to the features?

Ricou: Much lower of course.

With the smaller budget do you think the series was as good as the two feature 
films?

Ricou: Well, in their own way they were. I mean they were not features of 
course.

Was there any talk of giving Porter a wife in the series as there was in the 
original MGM movie?

Ricou: No.

Television shows of that era often used the widower with kids theme throughout 
the sixties. Do you think Flipper the series was a better format following that 
popular formula?

Ricou: Well I don't know if it played well or not. I can't say if it was better 
or worse. Was the series shot in a water tank or on location in open ocean?

Ricou: Well a lot of the dolphin stuff around the Ricks home was shot in a 
sea-aquarium and all of the under water and some of the top side sequences was 
shot in open water but, there was an exception to that. In the first feature 
Flipper we did a dolphin shark-fight and did part of it in the main water tank 
at he Miami Sea-Aquarium.

Living in Florida myself I am very aware of the threat of hurricanes. Did 
tropical conditions ever delay production?

Ricou: Oh yeah, delays with hurricanes! A particular one caused us some 
problems. Rico Feldman was my head trainer at the time and we were shooting at 
the sea-aquarium and this hurricane was coming! We shot film as long as we could 
and then we ran so everyone could go home and take care of their houses and 
their families. Rico and I stayed back and we decided to leave Susie who was 
Flipper in the lagoon at the sea-aquarium. As the storm seemed to grow stronger 
and the radio predictions warned of what the storm might do including flooding 
we decided we had to move Susie. There was only he and I there and Susie weighed 
quite a bit you know. Rico and I caught her, put her on a hammock, and carried 
her to a tank. How we did it I don't know but, we were able to do it and put her 
in the tank where she would be safe!

How many dolphins were used in Flipper?

Ricou: A couple of years back Mitzy was used in the first feature and when we 
started the second feature and the series we made a deal with the Miami 
Sea-Aquarium. They would furnish the dolphins and we would train them and put 
them in Flipper. However they owned them and we trained them. I trained the 
first one which was Susie and we used her in the series for several years and 
then we switched her for another animal which was Cathy. So there were actually 
three Flippers in all between two feature films and the t.v. series. Rico 
Feldman used to work for the Miami Sea-Aquarium and I hired him after we started 
the series and he helped train the rest of the animals and then we got two other 
trainers.

So you had a number of trainers?

Ricou: Well it's time consuming you know. Everybody goes home and the dolphins 
are still there. Somebody has to stay with them and take care of them. 

Between the original Flipper feature and it's sequel do you have a favorite?

Ricou: Yes, the first one of course!

Do you have a favorite Flipper television episode?

Ricou: I like the ones I wrote. (Laughs)

Which ones did you write?

Ricou: It's hard to list them off of the top of my head. Every other week or so 
I'd do one. 

You said that guest star Huntz Hall was scared to death of the Everglades. Can 
you tell us more? 

Ricou: It would be a concern to anybody that would have come from New York and 
was thrown in the middle of the Everglades! (Laughs)-He would always think that 
a snake or a alligator was waiting for him around the corner! He had a funny 
feeling about this but then after the first day he was a good ole swamp rat and 
he did everything he was supposed to do and did it well.

Was he comical?

Ricou: Yeah, he was very humorous.

Were you a fan of the Bowery Boys?

Ricou: I remember them. I enjoyed them when I was younger, when I was a kid. I 
remembered him from the show.

Tell us about working with Burt Reynolds?

Ricou: I knew Burt for a lot of years and Burt's easy to work with. I don't know 
how he is to work with today but when I knew him he was very easy to work with. 
He worked in our Gentle Ben show and I did another show with him years later. I 
did the battle sequences for a movie he starred in called Lucky Lady and that's 
the last time I worked with him. 

Did you ever have ill feelings between you and any of your guest stars?

Ricou: I never had a problem with any actors. I always got along with all of 
them. 

Were there any topics that you would have liked to have seen done on Flipper?

Ricou: Well, yeah. There was a lot of scripts that were never shot.

So, there was a lot of unseen episodes?

Ricou: No, no I never said they were unseen episodes. They were never shot for 
the screen. There were scripts that had never been shot, produced, or filmed but 
all of the shows that were shot are being shown.

Why did the show end?

Ricou: I think it had to do with financing. I had been shooting the show for a 
small amount of money compared to other shows that we was competing with like 
Jackie Gleason and so forth and we tried to up the money. They wouldn't up the 
money so we just quit making it. I think that was the reason why the series of 
Flipper came to an end.

If the show would have continued how would it have changed?

Ricou: Well of course the boys would become adults.

Would the children of Bud and Sandy have taken their place on the show?

Ricou: Well, you know they're doing a feature film now. They are filming in the 
Bahamas now and they are going to do a t.v. series that I think will be shot in 
Australia.

Will any of the original cast members have a cameo role in this film?

Ricou: I don't know.

Were you and Ivan Tors trail blazers for movies like Andre or Free Willy?

Ricou: Possible. We did a killer whale show years ago called Namu down in 
Seattle. I think it was the first killer whale in captivity. 

Have you seen the films Free Willy or Andre?

Ricou: Yeah.

Did you like them?

Ricou: Well....they're all right.

What do you think about the current wave of protest against the captivity of sea 
life and their use in the motion picture industry?

Ricou: Well, I agree and I disagree. Where I agree is if they want to protect 
the dolphins. They should protect them in areas where they really need 
protection such as when they go tuna fishing. The nets catch thousands of 
dolphins along with the tuna and they all die! Most of the aquariums have 
adequate places for dolphins and there is no need to capture many more because 
the dolphins in captivity give birth and they replace their own stock. The 
aquariums give people from all over the United States a chance to see dolphins. 
Most people don't go out to the ocean to look at dolphins to learn about them. 
In addition to educating the public the aquariums study the dolphins so they can 
help the wild dolphin when it is necessary or when they have to recover a 
dolphin that needs help from beaching them selves. So, I'm not opposed to 
aquariums if they're well taken care of and they have adequate space for the 
animals. I'm opposed to road side shows where they take people in and let them 
ride dolphins because somebody is going to get hurt and also I don't know that 
the dolphins are adequately taken care of. 

Do you still swim with dolphins?

Ricou: Oh now and then but not recently. I used to go to the sea aquarium and 
swim with them now and then. Salty is still there and I have visited her.

What happened to the dolphins who portrayed Flipper?

Ricou: They used them in shows and some of them died a natural death. I haven't 
seen them in years and I don't know if any of them is still alive now or not.

Do you keep any props or memorabilia from the shows you were involved with to 
remember your long career by?

Ricou: Not really. I keep some autographed photos. I have sheets of photos from 
Flipper that are called contacts or in other words proofs.

I understand there has been some delay on your new movie The Vacation due to a 
tragedy. Can you comment on this?

Ricou: The lady who was producing it was a very close friend of mine and she 
passed away. Her name was LInda McGowen and her death shocked all of us so we 
have now had a delay on this project

Will you ever write a book about your involvement with film and television or 
your association with legends like Ivan Tors and Jack Arnold? 

Ricou: I was asked a couple of times years ago about doing something and I've 
just never done it.

What is in store for the future of the man who came from the Black Lagoon and 
allowed Flipper to swim into our hearts?

Ricou: I can always create projects and do them.

-END-