STARRING Elijah Wood and Paul Hogan, Flipper was a 90s feel-good classic film.
This week the co-creator of the original story, Ricou Browning – who infamously played monster Gill-man in Creature from the Black Lagoon – passed away aged 93.
Ricou Browning co-created the original story of Flipper with Jack Cowden
The original 1963 film was re-made in 1996
The original Flipper film, which tells the story of a 12-year-old boy who befriends an injured dolphin, was released in 1963.
It inspired a subsequent TV series and film sequels, including the 1996 remake starring Elijah Wood and Paul Hogan.
The film was shot in the Bahamas, with the title role played by three bottlenose dolphins – Jake, Fat Man and McGuyver – and a life-sized animatronic mammal dubbed ‘Robo-Flipper’.
Here we take a look at what the (human) cast have been up to since.
Elijah Wood – Sandy Ricks
Elijah found worldwide fame in his role as Frodo in the Lord of the Rings
The American actor, 42, is best known for his role as Frodo in The Lord of the Rings trilogy, but Flipper helped launch his career.
Other film credits include Spy Kids 3D: Game Over, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, Sing City and Green Street.
Elijah founded a record label – Simian Records – in 2005 but it was dissolved 10 years later after only bagging two bands for its roster.
He dated the drummer of punk band Gogol Bordello, Pamela Racine, for five years but allegedly broke it off in 2010 because he “didn’t want to settle down”.
In 2016, Elijah became embroiled in a row over claims that Hollywood has been plagued by cases of sexual abuse similar to the Jimmy Savile scandal in the UK.
“You all grew up with Savile,” he told The Celeb Reportday Times. “Jesus, it must have been devastating. Clearly something major was going on in Hollywood. It was all organised. There are a lot of vipers in this industry – people who only have their own interests in mind.”
He later clarified he has “no first hand experience or observation of the topic” and claimed his comments came after seeing a documentary on the subject.
In 2019 Elijah welcomed his first child, a boy, with Danish film producer Mette-Marie Kongsved.
Paul Hogan – Porter Ricks
Paul once invited Queen Elizabeth for dinner but she declined his offer
Australian actor Paul, 83, has only done 11 films, including Flipper, but has still bagged a Best Actor Golden Globe for his performance in Crocodile Dundee.
Paul sparked controversy in 1980 when he wore tiny shorts and a cut-off sleeve flannel shirt to meet the late Queen after he performed at a concert at the Sydney Opera House.
During the show he jokingly picked her and Prince Phillip’s name out of a hat and said they’d won dinner at his house.
Recalling the moment, he said: “When I met her, she then leaned over and said, ‘I’m sorry dear, I don’t think we’ll be able to make dinner’, which is great, she’s got a sense of humour.”
These days Paul is rarely seen outside of his £2.8million Los Angeles mansion, preferring to keep a low profile.
It recently emerged he’s suffering from retroperitoneal fibrosis, an inflammatory disorder that’s caused him to lose all his body fat.
Paul said all his muscles have “shrank” and it’s left him feeling “feeble”.
The 82-year-old has been married three times – twice to Nolene Edwards, mother of five of his children. When they split it was described as Australia’s ugliest celebrity divorce.
His second wife was Crocodile Dundee co-star Linda Kozlowski, but they divorced in 2014 after 23 years together.
For seven years from 2003, he was investigated for tax evasion and fraud in Australia and America before being finally cleared.
Jonathan Banks – Dirk Moran
Jonathan appeared in Flipper before starring in Breaking Bad
Jonathan, 76, is best known for playing brutish men – and in Flipper it was no different as he played the baddie.
He went on to land the role of Mike Ehrmantraut in Breaking Bad – once again playing a hardened thug.
He also appeared in the spin-off show Better Call Saul from 2015.
That same year a bizarre sex education video he acted in resurfaced, leaving fans in hysterics. The clip showed him aged 23, going bowling with a girl who had just got her first period.
In 2018 Jonathan was left devastated when his home was destroyed in the Woolsey Fire, a wildfire that burned through areas of California.
Jonathan escaped the blaze with just a few photo albums.
He has been married twice; first to Marnie Fausch, and then Gennera Cebian in 1990. He has three daughters – one of whom is from his first marriage.
Chelsea Field as Cathy
Chelsea is now best known for her role in TV detective shows
Since appearing in Flipper, Chelsea has gone on to find fame as TV attorney Rita Devereaux on NCIS New Orleans.
The 65-year-old co-stars with her husband Scott Bakula, with whom she has two children.
The actress appeared in her last film in 2008.
Chelsea is now a proud grandma and regularly posts photos of her grandson on social media.
During lockdown she ran jazz dance classes for her fans on Instagram.
Isaac Hayes – Sheriff Buck Cowan
Isaac went on to be a founding cast member of South Park after Flipper
Singer-turned-actor Isaac appeared in Flipper after deciding to take a break from music due to poor sales of his latest album.
After the film be became one of the original members of South Park, playing Chef until 2006.
He quit the show after an episode poked fun at Scientology – of which he is a follower.
In a statement, Isaac said: “There is a place in this world for satire, but there is a time when satire ends and intolerance and bigotry towards religious beliefs of others begins.”
It was later claimed, by Isaac’s son, that the decision was made by his father’s entourage as the actor had suffered a stroke and was unable to make his own decisions.
Isaac had 14 children from four wives.
On August 10th 2008, he was found unresponsive at his home. He later died, aged 65, with the cause found to be a recurrence of stroke.
Jess Wesson – Kim Parker
Jess only appeared in four full-length films and five TV series
Jess, 41, retired from acting in 2001, five years after appearing in Flipper.
Her final film was Longshot and her last TV series was Judging Amy.
In 2010 she worked on two short films as a script supervisor and then stepped away from the world of films all together.
She was last seen at an event in 2002, and now stays out of a the limelight.
Jess is best known for her role as Jennifer Sudarsk on Home Improvement – the girlfriend of main character Brad.
Jason Fuchs – Marvin
Jason is now a successful screenwriter alongside his acting career
The actor and screenwriter, 36, has enjoyed huge success in the film industry.
He penned Wonder Woman and Ice Age: Continental Drift. To date, the films he’s written have netted $1.85billion.
In January 2015 he appeared on the Forbes 30 Under 30 list – highlighting his impact on the film industry.
But his film Pan, which took two years to be made into a film, was a box office failure in 2015 and was panned by critics.
Outside of writing, he had a recurring role as Lawrence Grey on Fox series The Passage. He also appeared in La La Land and It Chapter Two.
Luke Halpin – Bounty Fisherman #3
Luke decided to become a stuntman after his acting career of three decades
Child actor Luke, 75, appeared in the original series of Flipper as Sandy and made a cameo in the 1996 flick – having given up acting following three decades on screen in the 1980s.
He became a stuntman, marine coordinator, speedboat pilot and a driver using skills he had learnt while playing Sandy.
Luke was involved in films and TV programmes including Miami Vice, Porky’s Revenge! and Speed 2: Cruise Control.
He has three sons with wife Deborah and lives on the West Coast of Florida.
In 2015 it was reported he was suffering from stage four head and neck cancer.
The same year a fundraiser was set up, and in an update posted by the organiser in October 2015, it was revealed Luke was also battling Alzheimer’s disease.
By June 2016, the former actor was in remission from cancer.
