Ricou Browning, the underwater stuntman who portrayed the Gill-man in the 1954 horror classic Creature trom the Black Lagoon and its sequels and went on to co-produce the dolphin tale Flipper for both the big screen and television, died quietly Sunday of natural causes at his home in Southwest Ranches, FL.
He was 93. His son Ricou Browning Jr, who works as a marine coordinator for film and TV productions, confirmed his father’s death to Deadline.
Considered to be the last surviving original actor to portray any of the Universal Classic Monsters, Florida native Browning studied physical education at Florida State University before landing a job in the 1940s at Wakulla Springs, a scenic park that had been used since the 1930s for underwater locations on various Tarzan movies.
Working at Wakulla Springs, Browning began performing in the underwater shows and newsreels conceived by fellow swimmer and promoter Newt Perry.
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