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Flipper!
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Died 1972 Grassy
Key, Florida
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South of
Miami on US 1 is Grassy Key, one of the islands of the
Florida Keys, At mile marker 59, on the Gulf side, stands
a 30-foot concrete statue of a mother and baby dolphin.
This marks the entrance to the Dolphin Research Center (DRC)
http://www.dolphins.org, a facility devoted to education and
public awareness. It is also the final resting place of
the most famous dolphin ever -- Mitzi, better known to
the world by her stage name, Flipper.
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You will probably
be surprised to learn that Flipper was a female.
A male stunt dolphin, Mr. Gipper, did all of
Flipper's tail-walking. But the dolphin who
nudged wayward boats to safety, knocked guns out
of poachers' hands with well-timed leaps, and
warned Bud and Sandy whenever danger lurked, was
a lady. |
Back
in the early sixties, the DRC was known as Santini's
Porpoise School. Milton Santini, a pioneer in dolphin
husbandry and training, ran it. Mitzi, who was Santini's
first pupil, was picked to star as Flipper in the
original movie (with "Branded star" Chuck
Connors), which was filmed at the School.
Mitzi made the film and the TV series a hit, and she
became a big celebrity at Grassy Key. When she died of a
heart attack, she was buried beneath a dolphin statue in
the School's courtyard. The DRC maintains the grave, and
in her honor they always make it the first stop on the
tour. A small plaque reads:
Dedicated to the memory of Mitzi
The original Flipper
1958 -1972
Mitzi left no
children but Mr. Gipper did. His daughter, Tursi, is also
a fine tail-walker.
Zipper, Flipper's evil twin will be a subject of another
article.
Best respects to: http://www.roadsideamerica.com/pet/flipper.html
Most of the info here came from
their site. Thanks! ~ Capt. John
(F.Y.I. Flipper's Laugh was done by Mel Blanc)
Post Script:
Capt.
John (17 yrs.)
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In
the late 60's I went to school in Miami, (Miami
Military Academy) and up the street from the
school was Ivan Tors Studio on Biscayne Blvd.
Ivan Tors (6/12/16 to 6/4/83) was the man that
brought us Sea Hunt, with Lloyd Brigdes as Mike
Nelson (free lance underwater investigator) and
the Flipper series. Ivan Tors was also the camera
man in the mid-fifties for the popular sci-fi TV
Show, "Science Fiction Theatre". |
If you
can remember that program, you are older than dirt like
me. See my tribute to Mike Nelson at: http://www.scubatampa.com/fla.html and http://www.scubatampa.com/nl.09.03.html. Some of the best tributes on the net
to Sea Hunt can be found at:
http://www.diverlink.com/seahunt and http://www.mnsi.net/~bjackson/page2.htm
Don't
Drink it, Dive it!
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