He made his mark playing a classic movie monster in the 1954 cult horror film “Creature From the Black Lagoon.”

Not only did Ricou Browning play the monster, he made a career out of directing and acting in aquatic film sequences and also came up with the idea for the family film “Flipper.”

He was a 23 year old lifeguard in Florida when he landed the part of the lagoon monster, although only for the aquatic scenes.  Another actor played the creature in the scenes shot on land.

Browning went on to swim in film sequences with the likes of Esther Williams, Lloyd Bridges on the TV show “Sea Hunt’ and Sean Connery, guiding him through an undersea fight scene for the 1965 James Bond movie “Thunderball.”

Ricou Browning has died at the age of 93. No cause was given.