Ricou Browning

Ricou Browning (born November 23, 1930) is an American film director, actor, producer, screenwriter, underwater cinematographer and stuntman. He is best known for his underwater stunt work, playing the Gill-man in Creature from the Black Lagoon, Revenge of the Creature and The Creature Walks Among Us. Other actors portrayed the creature on land. He is also the only actor to have portrayed the creature more than once. He is the only surviving Gill-man actor, and the last surviving original Universal Monster.
Browning worked at Wakulla Springs in the 1940s and learned to perform in underwater newsreels conceived by Newton Perry, who later took Browning along when he opened Weeki Wachee.
Browning directed the underwater scenes in Thunderball (1966 Academy Award winner for special visual effects), underwater scenes in Caddyshack (1980) and coordinated marine stunts in an episode of Boardwalk Empire (2010). A Florida native, Browning was inducted into the Florida Artists Hall of Fame in 2012.

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

Browning started a career in water shows, moving on to produce shows. He moved into movies in 1954, playing the underwater role of the Gill-man in Creature from the Black Lagoon (while Ben Chapman played the monster on land), a feat he repeated in two sequels. He continued in movie production and joined Ivan Tors' studios in Florida, where he co-wrote and co-produced the 1963 MGM film Flipper (about an intelligent bottle-nosed dolphin) and continued writing for the subsequent "Flipper" television series that debuted in 1964. He directed the underwater sequences in Hello Down There (1969) and Salty (1973). He also worked as second unit director, stunt coordinator and underwater sequence director on a number of features, including Island of the Lost (1967), Caddyshack (1980), Thunderball (1965) and Never Say Never Again (1983).

He has a son, Ricou Browning, Jr., who is an underwater cinematographer and stuntman.

Appearances in Film

• Creature from the Black Lagoon – Gill-man (In Water) 1954
• 20000 Leagues Under the Sea – Stunt Diver 1954
• Revenge of the Creature – Gill-man (In Water) 1955
• The Creature Walks Among Us – Gill-man (In Water) 1956
• Sea Hunt (TV Series) (One Episode) – Carlos Ep:24 "Pressure Suit" – 1958
• Flipper's New Adventure – Dr. Burton 1964
• Flipper (1964 TV series) (Two Episodes) – Water Skier/The Monster Ep:17 "Lifeguard", Ep:30 "Flipper's Monster" – 1965
• The Horror Show (Documentary) – Archive Footage 1979
• The Heavenly Kid – Stunts/Stunt Coordinator 1985
• Opposing Force – Stunt Coordinator: Miami 1986
• Behind The Scenes With 'Thunderball' (Documentary) – Himself 1995
• Back to the Black Lagoon: A Creature Chronicle (Documentary) – Himself 2000
• The Witch's Dungeon: 40 Years of Chills (Documentary) – Himself 2006
• Paws, Claws & Videotape (Documentary) – Himself 2010
• Blob Town (Documentary) – Himself 2010
• The Legend of Ivan Tors (Documentary) – Himself 2011