rom Ivan Tors Films, via MGM Television, produced the syndicated series, first broadcast on many NBC outlets from September 18, 1964 until April 15, 1967. Flipper, a Bottlenose Dolphin, is the companion animal of Porter Ricks, Chief Warden at fictional Coral Key Park and Marine Preserve in southern Florida, and his two young sons Sandy and Bud. The show was created by Jack Cowden and Ricou Browning, a man with extensive experience in underwater filming and underwater performance, notably as the monster in The Creature from the Black Lagoon. A considerable amount of juvenile merchandise inspired by the show was produced during the first-run. The show has been dubbed an "aquatic Lassie".

Flipper was actually played mainly by a female dolphin named Suzy, and occasionally by other females named Patty, Kathy, Scotty and Squirt. Female dolphins were chosen because they are less aggressive than males and their skins (unlike the skins of male dolphins) are usually free from scars and other disfigurations acquired in altercations with other dolphins. The five dolphins performed all of Flipper's thespian chores except the famous tail walk, a trick they were unable to master completely. A male dolphin named Clown was brought in for scenes involving the tail walk.[1] The dolphins playing Flipper on the show were trained by Ric O'Barry. The famous "voice" of Flipper was actually the doctored song of a Kookaburra bird.

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