Ricou Browning
American film director
Died when: 93 years 11 days (1116 months)Star Sign: Aquarius
Ricou Browning (born February 16, 1930) was 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.Browning also co-created Flipper with Jack Cowden, and directed a number of episodes of the 1960s television series.
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, Browning was inducted into the Florida Artists Hall of Fame in 2012.
In 2019, he was inducted into the Rondo Hatton Classic Horror Awards' Monster Kid Hall of Fame.