Flipper

The term flipper has a number of meanings:

• Flipper is the name of several TV series and films featuring extremely intelligent bottlenose dolphins of the same name.

• • The original Flipper was a 1963 film directed by James B. Clark.

• • The most popular Flipper is surely the TV series that originally ran from 1964-1968 and has subsequently been re-run many times all over the world. Park Ranger Porter Ricks (played by Brian Kelly) and his son Sandy (Luke Halpin) are the "owners" of Flipper, played by a dolphin named Suzy.

• • The 1995-2000 incarnation of Flipper included Jessica Alba.

• • The most recent re-telling of Flipper is the 1996 film starring Elijah Wood as the main character, Sandy. Sandy is a teenager from Chicago who is sent to live with his uncle Porter (Paul Hogan) over the summer. While staying there, Sandy meets Flipper, a dolphin, along with some other new friends.

• Flipper was a punk band from San Francisco - see: Flipper (band).

• A flipper is also a type of delivery in the sport of cricket - see: flipper (cricket).

• Some animals, such as sea turtles, have limbs which are formed into flippers - see: flipper (anatomy).

• Pinball machines have flippers that 'flip' the ball up higher on the game surface.