John D. Craig (1903â€"1997) was an American businessman, writer,
soldier, diver, Hollywood stunt man, film producer, and television
host. He worked in the commercial surface-supplied diving industry
from the 1930s on, and filmed aerial combat over Europe during World
War II. He is best known for using film and television to show the
United States public the beauties and dangers of Earth's underwater
worlds.John D. Craig was born 28 April 1903 in Cincinnati, Ohio, one
of five sons of a Scots immigrant John Craig. His father was born in
Dalry, Scotland in 1868. Because the younger Craig was not given a
middle name, he used "D." to create a stage name. He took the "D" from
his youngest brother David, born in 1914. John Craig's older brother
Tom was born in New York in 1901. The Craig family moved to Long
Beach, California, where the boys spent formative years. In the early
1920s, the younger John Craig made his fortune investing in oil wells
at Signal Hill, which were successful. They gave him the resources for
extensive travel and an independent life.From the mid-1920s through
the early 1930s, Craig traveled throughout Asia and Africa, with many
harrowing adventures, which he described in his 1938 memoir, Danger Is
My Business. On the Pacific Ocean, he and his companions narrowly
escaped with their lives when they came across a large band of drug
smugglers. In China, when he and his friends were trying to trap
tigers, Craig nearly died after being attacked by a tiger that climbed
the tree in which he was supposedly safe. In Timbuktu, he and his
friends were suspected by the military of being spies from the French
Foreign Legion, and almost arrested.In 1931, John D. Craig was hired
by a Hollywood studio to travel to Cedros Island off the southwestern
coast of Baja California, Mexico, to film the sargassum farming
industry established by expatriate Japanese. He was surprised to find
that the farms were deep underwater on the seabed. Because he and his
crew were ill-equipped for deep-water diving (having only oxygen masks
and goggles), Craig had to learn "hard-hat" diving from the Japanese
"sargassa" farmers, who used decades-old diving equipment. For the
next five years, while living on the Pacific coast, Craig worked on
modernizing that equipment. At the same time, he hired on as a stunt
diver for several movies, notably those of film director W. S. Van
Dyke.
soldier, diver, Hollywood stunt man, film producer, and television
host. He worked in the commercial surface-supplied diving industry
from the 1930s on, and filmed aerial combat over Europe during World
War II. He is best known for using film and television to show the
United States public the beauties and dangers of Earth's underwater
worlds.John D. Craig was born 28 April 1903 in Cincinnati, Ohio, one
of five sons of a Scots immigrant John Craig. His father was born in
Dalry, Scotland in 1868. Because the younger Craig was not given a
middle name, he used "D." to create a stage name. He took the "D" from
his youngest brother David, born in 1914. John Craig's older brother
Tom was born in New York in 1901. The Craig family moved to Long
Beach, California, where the boys spent formative years. In the early
1920s, the younger John Craig made his fortune investing in oil wells
at Signal Hill, which were successful. They gave him the resources for
extensive travel and an independent life.From the mid-1920s through
the early 1930s, Craig traveled throughout Asia and Africa, with many
harrowing adventures, which he described in his 1938 memoir, Danger Is
My Business. On the Pacific Ocean, he and his companions narrowly
escaped with their lives when they came across a large band of drug
smugglers. In China, when he and his friends were trying to trap
tigers, Craig nearly died after being attacked by a tiger that climbed
the tree in which he was supposedly safe. In Timbuktu, he and his
friends were suspected by the military of being spies from the French
Foreign Legion, and almost arrested.In 1931, John D. Craig was hired
by a Hollywood studio to travel to Cedros Island off the southwestern
coast of Baja California, Mexico, to film the sargassum farming
industry established by expatriate Japanese. He was surprised to find
that the farms were deep underwater on the seabed. Because he and his
crew were ill-equipped for deep-water diving (having only oxygen masks
and goggles), Craig had to learn "hard-hat" diving from the Japanese
"sargassa" farmers, who used decades-old diving equipment. For the
next five years, while living on the Pacific coast, Craig worked on
modernizing that equipment. At the same time, he hired on as a stunt
diver for several movies, notably those of film director W. S. Van
Dyke.
Share this
SUBSCRIBE OUR NEWSLETTER
SUBSCRIBE OUR NEWSLETTER
Join us for free and get valuable content delivered right through your inbox.