Born in Fort Pierce, Florida, Ricou Browning grew up in nearby Jensen
Beach and went on to study physical education at Florida State university. He got a career start diving and springboard diving in local
water shows. By the time he was in his early 20s, he was producing
underwater shows at Weeki Wachee Springs and topside water shows at
Rainbow Springs and other locations. After playing the Gill Men in the
underwater scenes of Universal's Der Schrecken vom Amazonas (1954) and
its sequels (Die Rache des Ungeheuers (1955) and Das Ungeheuer ist unter uns (1956)),
he got into the swim of film and TV production as a result of an
encounter with producer Ivan Tors; Browning ended up president of Tors'
Florida studios (he was involved on Tors' Abenteuer unter Wasser (1958), The Aquanauts (1960) and Flipper (1963) movies and TV series, etc.) He has also
worked as a second unit director (above and below water), producer,
writer, stunt man and stunt coordinator.
