Ben Chapman

Uh, and, and, um, he was so beautiful in the water.

And then, uh, Ben Chapman played him on land when he was walking around.

So, uh, I, I'm not sure why they broke that up between two people, but I met both of them in their, in their old age.

Um, When I, now that I do the convention circuit, um, I, uh, I've met, I met, I mean, I've met a lot of actors that I've, I've, they make me gaga stupid when I, you know, when I'm meeting them, I met Ben Chapman, uh, but you know, a couple of years before he died and I met Rico Browning a couple of years before he died.

Rico was the, was the last remaining universal monster.

Uh, when he, when he passed, that was quite a legacy legacy he, he carried with him.

Now, the creature itself was played by two different performers.

Ben Chapman wore the suit during the land scenes, and Ricou Browning handled the underwater sequences.

Now, Browning's swimming performance is what gives the Gill-Man much of his eerie quality, 'cause he was moving through the water with this slow, graceful motion that makes him feel less like a man in a costume and more like something that actually belongs there.

The movie was also released in 3D because, [laughs] well, let's face it.

Two performers played the Gill-Man.

Ben Chapman was the Gill-Man on land, and Ricou Browning performed the underwater sequences.

Browning could reportedly hold his breath for several minutes, which was needed at the time because the costume was not equipped at all with scuba gear.

The beautiful underwater sequences were filmed in Florida, including Wakulla Springs, and it was just a great monster creature that they added to the Universal lineup, and it became a big deal.

Now, this came out in 1954, and it was originally released in 3D because it was a big Hollywood 3D thing.

Two performers played the Gill-Man.

Ben Chapman was the Gill-Man on land, and Ricou Browning performed the underwater sequences.

Browning could reportedly hold his breath for several minutes, which was needed at the time because the costume was not equipped at all with scuba gear.

We had Antonio Mourinho playing Dr. Carl Maia.

And of course, two actors playing the Gill Man, Ben Chapman played him on land and the amazing Rico Browning, who I've gotten to meet many years ago at Monster Bash.

He's deceased now.

Rico Browning did all of the swimming scenes, which arguably are some of the most important iconic scenes for the Gill Man.

Do we know why they chose to have two different people play the Gill Man?

I used to know the story.

I believe it was that the suits were slightly different and Ben Chapman...

God, I could be wrong about this.