Flipper
 Porter
Ricks was the chief ranger of Coral Key Park, Florida. He was
responsible for protecting the game fish in the park. A widower, he
lived with his two boys, Sandy (15) and Bud (10), in a cottage near
the beach.
The star of the series was the boys pet dolphin, Flipper, who
(like Skippy) took the lead in their weekly adventures.
The stories
revolved around Flipper and his two young companions as they went
from adventure to adventure.
Also regularly seen during the first season was Hap Gorman, an
old marine carpenter with endless stories about sea life and
adventures.
During the second season, Ulla Norstrand, an attractive
oceanographer, was a regular character.
Flipper was played by a dolphin (obviously!) named Mitzi,
although a male stunt dolphin, Mr. Gipper, did all of Flipper's
tail-walking (Mitzi never could master that trick). She was
transported from location to location in a crate filled with foam
and water.
The series was filmed in Florida and the Bahamas and the animal
trainer on the series was Ricou Browning who had previously played
the title role in the film The Creature from the Black Lagoon.
A follow-on 1995-1997 series had Keith Ricks - who had been the
10-year-ild Bud in the original series - now running the Bal Harbor
Research Institute in Florida. The new series was filmed on location
in Queensland, Australia.
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