Ricou Browning
Ricou Browning pictured with his memorabilia of the Creature from the Black Lagoon.
Photo by Candace West
In the mid 1950s, a grotesque costume turned Ricou Browning from a soft-spoken family man into an ugly “gill man,” also known as the “Creature from the Black Lagoon.” Now remembered along with King Kong and Godzilla as one of the most horrific monsters of the silver screen, Browning had the underwater role of the amphibious monster in Universal Studios’ black-and-white horror flick, originally shot in 3-D. Browning then continued filling that role in two sequels, “Revenge of the Creature” and “The Creature Walks Among Us.” According to Browning, the underwater portions of the film were shot at Silver Springs, Wakulla Springs and in a tank at Marineland in St. Augustine. While professional actors played the creature on land, Browning donned the full-body suit for the underwater scenes.
