The bottlenose dolphin star of two 1960s feature films, a television series from 1964 to 1968, and a 1996 film revival, Flipper educated Americans about the intelligence, loyalty, and compassion toward humans that characterizes the several dolphin species. Flipper rescued people from perilous situations, fought sharks, and warned individuals about impending dangers. Through Flipper, viewers were entertained by an unusual animal friend with a built-in smile, and were made aware of a dolphin's ability to communicate with and respond to people.

Flipper was born of the vision of movie and television underwater stuntman Ricou Browning. While watching Lassie on television with his children, Browning was inspired to invent an underwater counterpart to the courageous collie and wrote a story about a boy and a dolphin named Flipper. He offered the property to Ivan Tors, the producer of the successful television series Sea Hunt (1957-1961). Tors was fascinated by the idea and...