Ricou Browning, The Gill Man From ‘Creature From The Black Lagoon,’ Has Died

Ricou Browning, the stuntman turned filmmaker who played the infamous “Gill Man” in Creature from the Black Lagoon and its two sequels, has passed away. Browning, who had just celebrated his 93rd birthday earlier this month, was the last living actor to portray one of the original Universal Monsters. His daughter Kim posted the news of his passing on Monday in a Facebook fan group dedicated to the actor’s career.

While working as a lifeguard in Florida, Browning was hired Universal Pictures to help scout for their latest monster film. Impressed with his swimming ability, he was hired to wear the Gill Man suit for underwater scenes in 1954’s Creature in the Black Lagoon, according to Classic-Monsters.com. Even though the suit was heavy and difficult to move around in, Browning was able to swim underwater naturally, which helped sell the look of the Creature.

Ricou Browning was also hired to wear the Gill Man suit for Revenge of the Creature (1955) and The Creature Walks Among Us (1956), and would later parlay his work into a career in Hollywood. He created and wrote the 1963 film Flipper, and worked on the underwater sequences in a number of films, including the Bond films Thunderball and Never Say Never Again and the series Sea Hunt. He directed multiple episodes of the series Flipper and Gentle Ben.

His passing comes after the 2019 death of Julie Adams, who also starred in Creature from the Black Lagoon.

Our condolences to Browning’s family, friends, and fans.