The cast and crew of Flipper, the original TV series, can be found on Amazon.com.
NBC broadcasted Flipper from September 19, 1964 to April 15, 1967.Porter Ricks, chief warden at Coral Key Park and Marine Preserve, and his two sons, Sandy and Bud, have a pet dolphin named Flipper.A lot of children's merchandise inspired by the show was produced during its first run.
The 1964 sequel, Flipper's New Adventure, was an extension of the 1963 film, which starred Chuck Connors and Luke Halpin as Porter and Sandy Ricks.The producers scripted that Mrs. Ricks had died, making Porter a single parent, with Brian Kelly taking over the role of Porter, but now as a park Ranger.In adapting the films to a television series, the producers gave Porter a second, younger son, Bud, and the TV series has Porter returning permanently to the Florida Keys as the park ranger of the Coral Key Marine Preserve.The producers left the films and gave Flipper an unnatural degree of intelligence and an extraordinary understanding of human motives, behavior, and vocabulary.[3]
The first film was created by Jack Cowden and Ricou Browning, who had experience in underwater filming and underwater performance, notably as the monster in Creature from the Black Lagoon.In Browning's second film, Revenge of the Creature, there is a scene where "Flippy, the educated porpoise" performs stunts at Marineland of Florida.The ancient legend of Taras, the founder of the Spartan city-state of Taranto, who was saved from the ocean by a dolphin, was the inspiration for the book Flipper.
The film was filmed in Miami and Key Biscayne, Florida.For underwater footage, Nassau was an occasional location.The Miami Seaquarium is an aquarium located on Key Biscayne in Miami.
Miami Seaquarium still presents the Flipper Show, a dolphin show in the lagoon that served as the film location for the show.[4]
The house where the Ricks family lived was used for Gentle Ben, as was the Miami Seaquarium set where Flipper was filmed.Jimbo's Shrimp is located across from Miami Seaquarium and is owned by James "Jimbo" Luznar, Sr.
At first, Flipper was portrayed by a female dolphin named Susie, but later by another female, Kathy, and occasionally by other females named Patty, Scotty and Squirt.Female dolphins were chosen because they are less aggressive than males and their skins are usually free from scars and other disfigurations acquired in altercations with other dolphins, making their passing for the identical "Flipper" easier.The five dolphins performed all of Flipper's scenes except the famous tail walk, a trick they were unable to master completely.A dolphin named Clown was brought in for a scene.The voice of Flipper was actually a doctored song of a kookaburra bird.[5]
The show's theme song was written by Henry Vars.The love song of Paris was known as "La Romance de Paris" in France.There was a different version of the theme in the first five episodes.The original style of the theme was brought back after those episodes.The background music for the underwater sequence was inspired by a song.
The first episode of season one was broadcast on September 19, 1964, and the last episode was aired on April 15, 1967, making 88 episodes in total.NBC aired repeats from season three until September 1967.After the filming of Flipper's New Adventure, the third episode of the first season was filmed as a pilot.Brian Kelly appeared in all of the episodes.NBC aired reruns of the first two seasons on Sundays.
The first season of Flipper was a ratings success, rating in the top 25 and going up against a popular show on CBS.The second season of the United States network television schedule was affected by NBC's new Saturday night shows I Dream of Jeannie and Get Smart.In the third season, ratings fell against a rise in ratings for the show.
Several of the guest actors who were cast in Flipper went on to star in later years or had already had a stellar acting career.
Porter Ricks and his sons, Sandy and Bud, own a bottlenose dolphin named Flipper that is a wild pet.There is a lagoon near the Ricks cottage at Coral Key Park.The park and its wild inhabitants are protected by the Ricks family.He was instrumental in arresting criminals in the park.The characters in the show recognize Flipper as a particularly intelligent and capable dolphin.Bud is the youngest member of the Ricks family, and several episodes feature Flipper saving him from danger.Flipper is able to communicate through different chatter-like tones, head nod and shakes, and other attention-seeking antics with Sandy and Bud and draw their attention to danger or in the direction of people needing help.Sandy falls for the girl operator of a floating zoo in four episodes of the first season of Ricks, but Porter has a date with her.A female oceanographer enters the series in the second season to add a feminine touch to the proceedings, but little more than mild flirtations and fondness between Porter and her ensues.Sandy has a new girlfriend in the third season, although she only appeared in one episode, and he has an innocently flirtatious scene with another girl.The photography of Florida is lush and colorful.
On April 15, 1967, the last first-run episode of Flipper aired.In the end of the show, the characters of Sandy and Bud are written out, as they plan to leave Coral Key, with Sandy accepted to the Coast.A widowed mother and her young son and daughter are moving to the area with a new family.After Sandy and Bud leave, the two new children befriend Flipper and promise to be his friends.The fourth season of the show would have the children taking the role of Flipper's guardian/playmates and their mother becoming involved in a serious relationship with Porter.Sandy and Bud would be in an episode or two.All this was for nothing, however, as NBC decided not to make a fourth season of the show.[6]
Since the cancellation of NBC, Flipper has been syndicated.The show can be seen on cable's Family Channel, and in high-definition on the Family Room channel.Most of the images of Flipper jumping against a skyline were not in the originally aired version, as the filming took place in an enclosed lagoon.They were filmed at the end of the show.[6]
The rights to Flipper were later acquired by MGM Television, the company that originally produced the series.The series copyright is held by MGM's subsidiary, which also owns the Goldwyn library.
Flipper is one of a few classic TV series that airs on This TV, a mostly movie-oriented digital channel.Sea Hunt and Flipper were airing on Light TV.
The show was well received by the Soviet people, both old and young, and it was broadcast in the early 1970s.It was broadcasted in Romania.