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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.

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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...

Ricou Browning, who is best known for his playing the underwater version of Gill-man in Creature From the Black Lagoon, has died at the age of 93. Released in 1954, Creature from the Black Lagoon is directed by Jack Arnold and tells the story of a group of scientists who discover an amphibious humanoid in the depths of the Amazon jungle. The success of the film ultimately spawned two sequels, including Revenge of the Creature in 1955 and The Creature Walks Among Us in 1956, both of which also featured Browning as Gill-man during underwater sequences.

As reported by Bloody Disgusting, Browning, who was the last surviving actor to have portrayed any of the classic Universal Monsters, has sadly passed away at the age of 93. In addition to his work in Creature of the Black Lagoon, Browning also served as a marine action coordinator on Thunderball (1965) and Never Say Never Again (1983). Throughout his career,...

The Universal monsters are arguably the most classic and iconic of all horror cinema's spooky creations. Whether you're a fan of Bela Lugosi's Dracula or Lon Chaney Jr.'s Wolfman, there is a monster for everyone. If you're the kind of person who enjoys a good beach day, then there's a decent chance that the monster that suits your fancy is none other than the highly misunderstood Gill-Man who makes his first appearance in Jack Arnold's 1954 flick, "Creature from the Black Lagoon." The movie tells the story of a group of scientists trying to locate the rest of a mysterious fossilized skeleton that has been discovered in the Amazon. As they make their way down the river towards the Black Lagoon, they are unaware that an amphibious creature is stalking their every move. The Creature, often known to the film's many fans as the Gill-Man, develops a fascination (or love?...

Throughout the 1930s, Hollywood studios made multiple acclaimed films about American and British colonists trekking into the wilds of faraway countries in order to hunt the land's game, steal the country's resources, and abuse the locals for their own gain. Films like W.S. Van Dyke's 1931 film "Trader Horn" and Henry Hathaway's 1935 opus "The Lives of a Bengal Lancer" were even nominated for Best Picture at the Academy Awards. The prevailing attitude in Hollywood appeared to be that distant "exotic" countries were there to be conquered. Even "King Kong" was about attempted mastery over the wild world.

By 1954, however, attitudes had changed, as reflected in Jack Arnold's excellent monster movie "Creature from the Black Lagoon." By then, the jungles of the Amazon had become a forbidding place, a place that was beyond mastery. When trekking deep up the river to the titular Black Lagoon, a team of explorers...