Stanton Arthur Waterman (April 5, 1923 – August 10, 2023) was an American cinematographer and underwater film producer who was a five-time

Emmy Award The Emmy Awards, or Emmys, are an extensive range of awards for artistic and technical merit for the television industry. A number of annual Emmy Award ceremonies are held throughout the year, each with their own set of rules and award categor ...

winner.Stan Waterman: Toward the Edge of Extinction ( ocean sharks ) video clip

Life and career

After returning home from service in the

US Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the naval warfare, maritime military branch, service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest Displacement (ship), displacement, at 4.5 millio ...

during World War II, he became the first resident of

Maine Maine ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the United States, and the northeasternmost state in the Contiguous United States. It borders New Hampshire to the west, the Gulf of Maine to the southeast, and the Provinces and ...

to purchase an aqualung, designed by

Jacques Cousteau Jacques-Yves Cousteau, (, also , ; 11 June 191025 June 1997) was a French naval officer, oceanographer, filmmaker and author. He co-invented the first successful open-circuit self-contained underwater breathing apparatus (SCUBA), called the ...

. Waterman graduated from

Dartmouth College Dartmouth College ( ) is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Hanover, New Hampshire, United States. Established in 1769 by Eleazar Wheelock, Dartmouth is one of the nine colonial colleges chartered before the America ...

, where he studied with Robert Frost, in 1946 with a degree in English. He began his SCUBA diving career in the Bahamas where he owned and operated a diving charter business from 1954 until 1958. His big break came in 1965 when he filmed a year-long family trip to

Tahiti Tahiti (; Tahitian language, Tahitian , ; ) is the largest island of the Windward Islands (Society Islands), Windward group of the Society Islands in French Polynesia, an overseas collectivity of France. It is located in the central part of t ...

. ''

National Geographic ''National Geographic'' (formerly ''The National Geographic Magazine'', sometimes branded as ''Nat Geo'') is an American monthly magazine published by National Geographic Partners. The magazine was founded in 1888 as a scholarly journal, nine ...

'' purchased the rights to the work and showed it on television. He was a producer and photographer on the 1971 film '' Blue Water, White Death'' which was the first cinematic filming of the great white shark. Waterman was the subject of a

Discovery Channel Discovery Channel, known as The Discovery Channel from 1985 to 1995, and often referred to as simply Discovery, is an American cable channel that is best known for its ongoing reality television shows and promotion of pseudoscience. It init ...

biographical special titled ''The Man Who Loves Sharks''. Working with his son, he won the first father and son Emmy for the

National Geographic Explorer ''National Geographic Explorer'' (or simply ''Explorer'') is an American documentary television series that originally premiered on Nickelodeon on April 7, 1985, after having been produced as a less costly and intensive alternative to PBS's '' ...

production ''Dancing With Stingrays''. His television credits include ''The American Sportsman'' (1965), ''The Bermuda Depths'' (1978), and ''The Explorers'' (1973) and film credits include '' The Deep'' (1977) and ''Jaws of Death'' (1977). Waterman won five

Emmy Awards The Emmy Awards, or Emmys, are an extensive range of awards for artistic and technical merit for the television industry. A number of annual Emmy Award ceremonies are held throughout the year, each with their own set of rules and award categor ...

for his work on underwater films and TV programs. In 2005, Waterman published ''Sea Salt: Memories and Essays'', with forewords by Peter Benchley and Howard Hall. He also wrote essays for

Ocean Realm ''Ocean Realm'' was a quarterly magazine dedicated to scuba diving, underwater photography and marine life. The magazine was established in 1988. It was published in San Antonio, San Antonio, Texas and was globally distributed to subscribers. The ...

magazine. In 2013, Waterman took his last dive in the

Cayman Islands The Cayman Islands () is a self-governing British Overseas Territories, British Overseas Territory, and the largest by population. The territory comprises the three islands of Grand Cayman, Cayman Brac and Little Cayman, which are located so ...

at the age of 90. He died on August 10, 2023, at the age of 100.

References

External links

* * interview in *Gilliam, Bret C (2007). Diving Pioneers and Innovators. New World Publications. . {{DEFAULTSORT:Waterman, Stan 1923 births 2023 deaths American men centenarians American underwater divers Dartmouth College alumni Place of birth missing Place of death missing American underwater photographers Daytime Emmy Award winners Underwater filmmakers United States Navy personnel of World War II

Life and career

See also

References

External links