Richard Downing Pope Sr. (April 19, 1900 – January 28, 1988), better known as Dick Pope, was the founder of

Cypress Gardens Cypress Gardens was a botanical garden and theme park near Winter Haven, Florida that operated from 1936 to 2009. As of 2011, the botanical garden portion had been preserved inside the newly formed Legoland Florida. History Billed as Florida' ...

Winter Haven, Florida Winter Haven is a city in Polk County, Florida, United States. It is fifty-one miles east of Tampa. The population was 49,219 at the 2020 census. According to the U.S. Census Bureau's 2019 estimates, this city had a population of 44,955, making ...

. He was also known as "Mr. Florida" and "Mr. Water Skiing." He played a key role in the development of tourism in the state of Florida, and in the growth of

theme parks An amusement park is a park that features various attractions, such as rides and games, as well as other events for entertainment purposes. A theme park is a type of amusement park that bases its structures and attractions around a central ...

as tourist destinations. He was a highly accomplished athlete, and helped to popularize the sport of

water skiing Water skiing (also waterskiing or water-skiing) is a surface water sport in which an individual is pulled behind a boat or a cable ski installation over a body of water, skimming the surface on two skis or one ski. The sport requires suffici ...

Personal life

Dick Pope Sr. was born in

Des Moines, Iowa Des Moines () is the capital and the most populous city in the U.S. state of Iowa. It is also the county seat of Polk County. A small part of the city extends into Warren County. It was incorporated on September 22, 1851, as Fort Des Moine ...

, according to legend during the middle of a

tornado A tornado is a violently rotating column of air that is in contact with both the surface of the Earth and a cumulonimbus cloud or, in rare cases, the base of a cumulus cloud. It is often referred to as a twister, whirlwind or cyclone, alt ...

, from where he was said to have derived his whirlwind personality and energy for life. At the age of 7, in 1908, his family moved to

Lake Wales, Florida Lake Wales is a city in Polk County, Florida. The population was 14,225 at the 2010 census. , the population estimated by the U.S. Census Bureau is 16,759. It is part of the Lakeland– Winter Haven Metropolitan Statistical Area. Lake Wales ...

. For a while, he lived and worked in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the U ...

. In 1926, while in North Carolina, he met his future wife, Julie Pope. Together they spent most of their lives in and around

. They were active members of St. Matthew's Catholic Church in Winter Haven. They had two children,

Dick Pope Jr. Richard Downing Pope Jr. (December 12, 1930 – November 8, 2007), better known as Dick Pope Jr., was a World Champion water skier and an important business leader in Central Florida. Pope was an important innovator in the sport of water skiing, ...

and Adrienne Pope Watkins. During World War II, he served in the U.S. Army Signal Corps. Pope was known for his lively personality and his flamboyant clothing, including a turquoise suit, trimmed in pink, worn with bright white shoes.

Business career

Pope started working in his father's real estate business at an early age. He was a natural promoter and salesman. He is said to have closed his first real estate deal when he was just 12 years old. During the Great Depression, he took different jobs working as a promoter and salesman. He and his brother had some success promoting speedboats and aquaplanes on lakes throughout Florida. 0105CypressGardens17

In the early 1930s, his wife Julie showed him an article in

Good Housekeeping ''Good Housekeeping'' is an American women's magazine featuring articles about women's interests, product testing by The Good Housekeeping Institute, recipes, diet, and health, as well as literary articles. It is well known for the "Good Hous ...

about a man charging visitors money to see the manicured gardens around his mansion home. From this, they hatched the idea of

, and over the next few years they worked to convert a section of swamp land on the shores of

Lake Eloise Lake Eloise is a large natural freshwater lake on the south side of Winter Haven, Florida. It is part of the southern Chain of Lakes. With a surface area, it is one of the larger lakes in Polk County, Florida. Lake Eloise has a somewhat oval ...

into a

theme park An amusement park is a park that features various attractions, such as rides and games, as well as other events for entertainment purposes. A theme park is a type of amusement park that bases its structures and attractions around a central ...

garden. On January 2, 1936, Dick and Julie Pope officially opened their famed theme park, charging visitors 25 cents each to visit. Cypress Gardens was an immediate success. Cypress Gardens would eventually grow to over 200 acres of land, and host more than a million visitors annually. The theme park provided visitors with an escape from the everyday world, and originally featured idyllic

botanical gardens A botanical garden or botanic gardenThe terms ''botanic'' and ''botanical'' and ''garden'' or ''gardens'' are used more-or-less interchangeably, although the word ''botanic'' is generally reserved for the earlier, more traditional gardens, an ...

and

southern belles ''Southern Belles'' is a 2005 comedy film directed by Paul S. Myers and Brennan Shroff. This is a story of two best friends who live in the fictitious small town of Johnson's Mark, Georgia. Dreaming of a fresh start in Atlanta they soon learn i ...

working as hostesses. During World War II, a group of soldiers waiting to deploy to war from

Tampa, Florida Tampa () is a city on the Gulf Coast of the U.S. state of Florida. The city's borders include the north shore of Tampa Bay and the east shore of Old Tampa Bay. Tampa is the largest city in the Tampa Bay area and the seat of Hillsborough C ...

saw photographs of water skiers on the lake at the park, and they mistakenly believed that water ski shows were part of the entertainment offered there. When a small group soldiers arrived at the park, ready to pay the entrance fee to watch the water ski show, Julie Pope rounded up her children, Dick Jr. and Adrienne, and their friends, and staged an impromptu water skiing exhibition. It was a success, and the next weekend, 800 more soldiers arrived to see the show. From that point on, water ski shows were a staple of the Cypress Gardens brand. Pope worked tirelessly to promote his theme park. He produced over 500 news reels and 75 short films to promote the park. In the 1970s, Cypress Gardens purchased Magnolia Mansion, the New Orleans style mansion, built on Lake Eloise by citrus magnate,

John A. Snively John Andrew Snively (1889 – January 22, 1958) was an American farmer, businessman, and pioneering citrus grower in Florida and Georgia. At his height, his companies were responsible for one-third of the Florida citrus crop. Biography Snively ...

. At its height, Cypress Gardens was nationally famous. It was used as a set location for a variety of films, including Moon Over Miami (film). An episode of the Tonight Show with

Johnny Carson John William Carson (October 23, 1925 – January 23, 2005) was an American television host, comedian, writer and producer. He is best known as the host of '' The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson'' (1962–1992). Carson received six P ...

was filmed there. The park features prominently in the first Cinerama film "This is Cinerama" from 1952, with dramatic water-skiing stunts showing off the immersive widescreen capabilities of the new format. The park attracted such celebrity guests as

Elvis Presley Elvis Aaron Presley (January 8, 1935 – August 16, 1977), or simply Elvis, was an American singer and actor. Dubbed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, King of Rock and Roll", he is regarded as Cultural impact of Elvis Presley, one ...

Betty Grable Elizabeth Ruth Grable (December 18, 1916 – July 2, 1973) was an American actress, pin-up girl, dancer, model, and singer. Her 42 films during the 1930s and 1940s grossed more than $100 million; for 10 consecutive years (1942–1951) she reig ...

, and

King Hussein Hussein bin Talal ( ar, الحسين بن طلال, ''Al-Ḥusayn ibn Ṭalāl''; 14 November 1935 – 7 February 1999) was King of Jordan from 11 August 1952 until his death in 1999. As a member of the Hashemite dynasty, the royal family o ...

of Jordan.

Impact on Florida tourism

Pope referred to himself as the "Grand Poobah of Publicity", and through his efforts, the image of Florida as playground for sun and fun spread around the world. He is credited with single-handedly re-vitalizing Florida tourism after the difficult times of the Great Depression and World War II. Cypress Gardens helped to establish central Florida as the dominant area in the world for theme parks. The Florida Public Relations Association (FPRA) annually gives out the Dick Pope All-Florida Grand Golden Image Award for best PR program in the state. Recent winners of the award include RB Oppenheim Associates; Jason Mudd & Associates (now

Axia Public Relations Axia may refer to: * Axia (gens), an ancient Roman family * Axia, a division of Telos Systems * Axia, a Japanese market brand of cassette tapes and optical media by Fujifilm * ''Axia'' (album), the 1985 debut album from Japanese singer Yuki Saito ...

); and Herrle Communications Group. The Polk County Chapter of FPRA is named after Dick Pope. The Dick Pope Sr. Institute For Tourism Studies operates in conjunction with the

Rosen College of Hospitality Management The Rosen College of Hospitality Management is an academic college of the University of Central Florida located in Orlando, Florida, United States. History UCF offered its first program in Hospitality Management in 1983. The program was the outg ...

at the

University of Central Florida The University of Central Florida (UCF) is a public research university whose main campus is in unincorporated Orange County, Florida. UCF also has nine smaller regional campuses throughout central Florida. It is part of the State University ...

, conducting research into the tourism and hospitality industries. In 2013 the Dick Pope Legacy Hall of Fame Awards were established in his name recognizing Leadership in Hospitality Tourism for the State of Florida. A plaque honoring Dick Pope and memorializing his early development of Florida's tourism was revealed on June 11, 2014, in the lobby of the Orange County Convention Center. All Dick Pope Legacy Hall of Fame Honorees join the wall and are celebrated at an annual hospitality scholarship fundraiser in Orlando, The Grand Tour Gala.

Water skiing

Pope was an avid outdoorsman and accomplished athlete. He was a member of the first class of inductees into the

Water Ski Hall of Fame The Water Ski Hall of Fame and Museum is the hall of fame, museum, and archive of the sport of water skiing. Founded in 1980 and currently located in Davenport, Florida, the organization is administered by the USA Water Ski Foundation. History an ...

. He is also a member of the Florida Sports Hall of Fame. Pope became interested in

during the 1920s, while working with his brother promoting and selling speed boats in Florida. He began skiing behind the boats as a way to increase excitement during the sales demonstrations. Soon, he began trying different moves and tricks to increase the excitement. In 1928, he became the first person to successfully complete a jump on water skis, jumping a wooden ramp, and going a distance of 25 ft. After water skiing became part of the Cypress Gardens' shows, he helped develop different formations and tricks, including the water ski human pyramid. Despite his prowess as a water skier, his real importance to the sport was promoting it. Pope produced newsreels, films, and magazine articles about the water skiing featured at Cypress Gardens. He promoted the sport in media outlets around the world. His efforts brought the sport international attention for the first time. In 1950, he hosted the second

World Water Ski Championship In its most general sense, the term "world" refers to the totality of entities, to the whole of reality or to everything that is. The nature of the world has been conceptualized differently in different fields. Some conceptions see the worl ...

. Pope hosted the event again in 1958. For many years, his Dixie Water Ski tournament was one of the most important annual water ski competitions. At the

1964 New York World's Fair The 1964–1965 New York World's Fair was a world's fair that held over 140 pavilions and 110 restaurants, representing 80 nations (hosted by 37), 24 US states, and over 45 corporations with the goal and the final result of building exhibits or ...

, he staged a series of highly successful water skiing exhibitions. He also staged a water skiing exhibition for a segment on the

Ed Sullivan Show ''The Ed Sullivan Show'' is an American television variety show that ran on CBS from June 20, 1948, to March 28, 1971, and was hosted by New York entertainment columnist Ed Sullivan. It was replaced in September 1971 by the '' CBS Sunday Night ...

. Pope worked hard to organize water skiing as a sport. He served as the American Water Ski Association vice-president for many years, and was eventually elected to the position for life. He also helped form the World Water Ski Federation, a rival organization to the International Water Ski Union. His son,

, was one of the first persons to successfully barefoot water ski, and is a member of the Water Ski Hall of Fame. They are the only father–son pair in the Water Ski Hall of Fame.

References

External links