Jacques Cousteau (43 page)

Authors: Brad Matsen

BOOK: Jacques Cousteau

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—David Wolper’s story of his breakthrough with
The Race for Space
is from videotaped interviews with him for the Archive of American Television, a division of the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences. Wolper and fellow television producer Grant Tinker are the founding cochairs of the archive. Two hundred of the five hundred interviews with major figures in the history of television are available in full online at
http://tvinterviewsarchive.blogspot.com/
. Wolper also tells the story in his autobiography,
Producer
, 29—39.

—In a career that continues in 2008, David Wolper has produced more than seven hundred documentaries, feature films, and television series, which have won two Oscars, fifty Emmys, seven Golden Globes, and five Peabodys. His credits include
Funny Bunnies; Hollywood, the Golden Years; The Rafer Johnson Story; The Making of the President, 1960;
the National Geographic Society Specials, 1965—75;
Highlights of the Ice Capades; The Bridge at Remagen; I Love My Wife;
the George Plimpton Specials, 1971—72;
Willie Wonka and the Chocolate Factory; I Will Fight No More Forever; Victory at Entebbe; Roots; This Is Elvis; L.A. Confidential;
and
Celebrate the Century
. His several companies have trained a flood of his protégés whose work has dominated film and television documentary production for fifty years. A complete list of Wolper’s films is available at
http://www.davidlwolper.com/
.

—Cousteau’s statement about the truth in poetry is from Wolper,
Producer
, 115.

—Jean-Michel Cousteau’s recollection of the fortunate coincidences involved in the deal making for
The Undersea World
is from an interview in April 2008.

—Cousteau’s strained but productive relationship with his sons, Philippe and Jean-Michel, is confirmed in interviews with Fabien Cousteau in February 2006 and Jean-Michel in April 2008, as well as in Madsen,
Cousteau
, 144—46.

—Cousteau recounts
Calypso’s
departure from Monaco in February 1967 in
Jacques Cousteau’s “Calypso,”
90—92.

—Philippe Cousteau’s presence aboard
Calypso
during the filming of the first episodes of the series and the inventory of camera equipment are confirmed in
The Shark: Splendid Savage of the Sea
, which he coauthored with his father, 1—19.

16: An Honest Witness

—Cousteau’s hopes for
The Undersea World
are from reports in the
New York Times
and the
Washington Post
, January 1968.

—The reviews quoted from
Time, Saturday Review
, and
Variety
are from a promotional brochure published by Metromedia, the successor to David Wolper Productions as the producer of
The Undersea World of Jacques Cousteau
after the first four episodes, as cited in Munson,
Cousteau
, 115 n.

—Eugenie Clark’s critical comments about Cousteau are from the
Washington Post Magazine
, January 11, 1981. Cousteau’s statement about his intentions as an honest witness are from an article he wrote for the
New York Times Magazine
, September 1o, 1972.

—The chronology of
Calypso’s
voyage from South Africa to the Caribbean with the sea lions is from Cousteau and Sivirine,
Jacques Cousteau’s “Calypso,”
92—119.

—Christopher Palmer’s comments about Cousteau’s contribution as a pioneer natural history filmmaker are quoted in a
New York Times
article after Cousteau’s death in 1997.

—Jean-Michel Cousteau’s assessment of his father as a storyteller is from an interview in January 2009.

—Cousteau’s comment about his father’s death is from an interview in the
Seattle Weekly
, November 1977.

—Cousteau’s pronouncement that the oceans are in danger of dying is from an interview published in
Time
, September 28, 1970.

17:
Oasis in Space

—The details of the foundation of the Cousteau Society are from an interview with Jean-Michel Cousteau in July 2008.

—Biographical information on ARCO chairman Robert Anderson is from Yergin,
The Prize
, 570—71.

—Cousteau’s powerful attraction to women and theirs to him were well known among his intimates and associates, including his grandson Fabien Cousteau and
Calypso
crewmen André Laban and Marc Blessington, who shared their observations with me in interviews. Public knowledge of Cousteau’s womanizing was limited, but some articles have appeared in European newspapers that treated his indiscretions with the disrespect that is usually the fare of tabloids, though together they serve to confirm it.

—Cousteau and Francine diving together in Houston when Cousteau suffered an earache is confirmed in an interview with Jean-Michel Cousteau in May 2008, and dated by coverage of Involvement Day in the
Houston Chronicle
in September 1977.

18:
Odyssey

—The details of the sinking of the cargo ship
Cavtat
are from a paper by G. Tiravanti and G. Boari, “Potential Pollution of a Marine Environment by Lead Alkyls: The
Cavtat
Incident,”
Environmental Science & Technology
13 no. 7 (1979), 849—54.

—The description of “Time Bomb at Fifty Fathoms” is from the DVD of the episode released in 2005 by the Cousteau Society and Warner Video.

—The details of the PBY-6A are from Roscoe Creed,
PBY: The Catalina Flying Boat
(Annapolis, Md.: U.S. Naval Institute Press, 1986).

—The account of the crash of
Flying Calypso
and the death of Philippe Cousteau are from several newspaper reports and an obituary in the
New York Times
on July
1,
1979.

—The negative reaction of some of
Calypso
’s crew to Cousteau’s remarks to the press after Philippe’s funeral is confirmed in an interview with André Laban in February 2006. Laban himself was also offended that Cousteau had filmed the service aboard the Portuguese corvette, and from then on did not consider Cousteau to be a friend.

19: Moving On

—The accounts of life in the Cousteau family after the death of Philippe are from interviews with Fabien Cousteau in February—May 2005 and Jean-Michel Cousteau in April and July 2008.

—Jean-Michel Cousteau’s reaction to the death of his brother and subsequent willingness to become his father’s second in command are from an interview in July 2008. Quotes from Jean-Michel and Jacques Cousteau about Jean-Michel’s assumption of duties at the Cousteau Society are from Madsen,
Cousteau
, 205—7, cited from newspaper reports in 1979—80.

—Calypso’s
voyage on charter to survey the waters at the mouth of the Orinoco River off Venezuela are from Cousteau and Sivirine,
Jacques Cousteau’s “Calypso,”
166—68.

—The account of the Canadian Film Board grant and subsequent voyage of
Calypso
through the St. Lawrence Waterway is from Cousteau and Sivirine,
Jacques Cousteau’s “Calypso,”
169—79.

—The account of the voyage of
Moulin à Vent
and Cousteau’s reaction to its failure are from a United Press International item, November 17, 1983, and a story in
Sail
magazine in February 1984.

20: Captain Outrageous

—Calypso’s
damage from the St. Lawrence expedition is described in Cousteau and Sivirine,
Jacques Cousteau’s “Calypso,”
181.

—The $5.1 million debt of the Cousteau Society in 1980 was confirmed in an interview with Jean-Michel Cousteau in July 2008.

—The details of the grim meeting in New York, John Denver’s suggestion that Cousteau meet Ted Turner, their introduction, and the deal for the Amazon expedition and the rights to the
Odyssey
series are from an interview with Jean-Michel Cousteau, July 2008.

—The details of preparation for the Amazon expedition and repairs to
Calypso
are from Cousteau and Sivirine,
Jacques Cousteau’s “Calypso,”
181—84.

—The details of the Mississippi expedition are from interviews with Jean-Michel Cousteau in July 2008, Fabien Cousteau in February—May 2006, and
Calypso/Alcyone
crew member Marc Blessington in December 2005.

—The facts and details about the arrival of
Alcyone
and
Calypso
in New York in June 1985 are from many newspaper accounts that week.

—President Ronald Reagan’s awarding of the Medal of Freedom to Cousteau was reported in the
Washington Post
, April 8, 1985, and June 20, 1985.

—The details of Cousteau’s seventy-fifth birthday celebration at Mount Vernon are from a DVD of the WTBS television special
Cousteau: The First Seventy-five Years
, November 1985.

—Ted Turner’s remark that Cousteau is the father of the environmental movement is from his autobiography,
Call Me Ted
(New York: Grand Central Publishing, 2008), 210—11.

21: Rediscovering the World

—The story about Ted Turner appearing to fall asleep during the pitch for the
Rediscovery of the World
series was told to me by Fabien Cousteau in February 2006.

—Details of the visit to Haiti are from Munson,
Cousteau: The Captain and His World
, 212—14.

—The details of life aboard
Alcyone
and
Calypso
during
The Rediscovery of the World
series are from conversations with former crewman Marc Blessington in December 2005, Fabien Cousteau between February and May 2006, and Jean-Michel Cousteau in April and July 2008.

—Turner’s extension of Cousteau’s contract through 1992 and the appointment of Tom Beers as producer were confirmed in an interview with Beers in September 2008.

—Jean-Michel Cousteau’s hearing of his mother’s death in a phone call while he was in Bangkok is from an interview in July 2008.

22: Chaos

—The accounts of the lunch at which Cousteau broke the news about Francine Triplet to Jean-Michel, and Jean-Michel’s subsequent reaction, which led to his quitting work with his father, are from interviews with Jean-Michel Cousteau in April and July 2008, as well as Jacques Cousteau’s obituary in the
New York Times
, June 26, 1997.

—Cousteau’s musings on his own death and other pronouncements on humanity and the environment are quoted in Madsen,
Cousteau
, 235—39.

—Jean-Michel’s observations on his father’s last years are from interviews with him in April 2008 and January 2009.

—The account of Cousteau’s funeral at Notre Dame is from an article in the
New York Times
by Marlise Simmons, July 1, 1997.

—The account of the dispute over ownership of
Calypso
is from interviews with Fabien Cousteau, February—May 2006, and Jean-Michel Cousteau, April and July 2008. Francine Cousteau’s statements about the dispute and its resolution are from the Cousteau Society announcements and an article in the London
Sunday Times
, January 27, 2008.

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