San Francisco punk band, 1979-1983, though they got back together briefly in 1990. At their peak they consisted of Bruce Loose (vocals), Will Shatter (bass), Steve DePace (drums) and Ted Falconi (guitar). While everyone else was playing faster and faster, Flipper perversely played reeeeeeally slooooow - thereby anticipating grunge by a good ten years. Called their style of music pet rock and were billed as "the perky porpoises of punk". Released two albums in their first incarnation, "Album - Generic Flipper" and the posthumous "Gone Fishin'". The release by their 1990 lineup (Will Shatter had passed away in the interim) was titled "American Grafishy". They also had a bitchin' logo.

Fun fact: Bruce Loose performed the wedding ceremony for Jello Biafra and his wife.

In pinball, either of a pair of hinged arms at the bottom of the playfield controlled by flipper buttons on the sides of the machine to bat the ball around. Some games have additional flippers in other locations.

The flipper was the invention that allowed pinball to become an accepted form of entertainment rather than purely a gambling device, by turning it into a game of skill. This separates it from other games like pachinko which are essentially games of chance, though it may be possible to nudge some of them and to control the strength of the initial plunge or release of the ball.

Flipper,

by Henry Vars and By Dunham

They call him Flipper, Flipper, faster than lightning,
No one you see, is smarter than he,
And we know Flipper, lives in a world full of wonder,
Flying there under, under the sea!

Everyone loves the king of the sea,
Ever so kind and gentle is he,
Tricks he will do when children appear,
And how they laugh when he’s near!

They call him Flipper, Flipper, faster than lightning,
No-one you see, is smarter than he,
And we know Flipper, lives in a world full of wonder,
Flying there-under, under the sea!


The Motion picture version

Everyone loves the king of the sea,
ever so kind and gentle is he,
tricks he will do when children appear,
and how they laugh when he's near!

chorus

Look at the sky when rainbows appear,
you can be sure, that Flipper is near,
call him by name or less intellect,
he'll give you a ride on his back!

We know our Flipper, Flipper, knows every answer,
no-one can be, much smarter than he,
and we know Flipper, lives in a world full of wonder,
flying there-under, under the sea!

Many a night, way down in the deep,
oysters make beds, so Flipper can sleep,
happy and gay when he comes along,
they all start singing this song!

Chorus


From "Flipper's New Adventure"

There once was a boy, that lived by the sea,
ever so kind, but lonely was he,
until one day, one day when he met,
a friend he'll never forget!


Flipper was childrens television series that ran from 1964 to 1968. It was basically a lassie clone, alongside Gentle Ben and several others. Here in Britain it was shown every Saturday morning in the mid-80s. And, being a child, I was inexplicably awake at this time. I really did love watching Flipper, followed by the Waltons

In true Lassie style, there would be a problem (sharks, smugglers, or bad weather at sea) that were generally sea related. Whenever Flipper needed to be called over to chat/solve the world's problems the kid would put something in the water that resembled a fishing reel and spin it. This would attract Flipper in all his squeeking glory for Bud to talk to in an annoying squeaky American Kid way. And as usual, Flipper knew what was going on far more than any of the other characters.

Those smugglers would have gotten away with it to had it not being for that meddling dolphin.

Episode Guide With Original Airdates
Flipper - The First Season

  1. 300 Feet Below (9/19/1964)
  2. The Red Hot Car (9/26/1964)
  3. SOS Dolphin (10/3/1964)
  4. The Gulf Between (10/10/1964)
  5. City Boy (10/17/1964)
  6. Dolphin For Sale (10/24/1964)
  7. Not Necessarily Gospel (10/31/1964)
  8. Countdown For Flipper (11/7/1964)
  9. Mr. Marvello (11/14/1964)
  10. My Brother Flipper (11/21/1964)
  11. The Second Time Around (11/28/1964)
  12. Lady And The Dolphin - Part 1 (12/5/1964)
  13. Lady And The Dolphin - Part 2 (12/12/1964)
  14. Danger (12/19/1964)
  15. The Misanthrope (12/26/1964)
  16. Flipper's Bank Account (1/2/1965)
  17. The Lifeguard (1/9/1965)
  18. The Day Of The Shark (1/16/1965)
  19. Love And Sandy (1/23/1965)
  20. Money To Blow (1/30/1965)
  21. Flipper's Treasure (2/6/1965)
  22. The White Dolphin (2/13/1965)
  23. Teamwork (2/20/1965)
  24. Flipper And The Elephant - Part 1 (2/27/1965)
  25. Flipper And The Elephant - Part 2 (3/6/1965)
  26. Flipper And The Elephant - Part 3 (3/13/1965)
  27. Bud Minds Baby (3/20/1965)
  28. Sailor Bud (3/27/1965)
  29. The Call Of The Dolphin (4/3/1965)
  30. Flipper's Monster (4/10/1965)

    Flipper - The Second Season

  31. Flipper And The Mermaid (9/18/1965)
  32. Dolphin In Pursuit - Part 1 (9/25/1965)
  33. Dolphin In Pursuit - Part 2 (10/2/1965)
  34. Flipper's Hour Of Peril (10/9/1965)
  35. Coral Fever (10/16/1965)
  36. Junior Ranger (10/23/1965)
  37. The Ditching - Part 1 (10/30/1965)
  38. The Ditching - Part 2 (11/6/1965)
  39. Flipper And The Spy (11/13/1965)
  40. Dolphin Patrol (11/20/1965)
  41. A Job For Sandy (11/27/1965)
  42. Flipper And The Horse Thieves (12/4/1965)
  43. Flipper And The Bounty (12/11/1965)
  44. Shark Hunt (12/18/1965)
  45. Flipper, The Detective (12/25/1965)
  46. Flipper's Odyssey - Part 1 (1/8/1966)
  47. Flipper's Odyssey - Part 2 (1/15/1966)
  48. Flipper's Odyssey - Part 3 (1/22/1966)
  49. Slingshot (1/29/1966)
  50. Flipper And The Shark Cage (2/5/1966)
  51. The Lobster Trap (2/12/1966)
  52. Air Power (2/19/1966)
  53. Gift Dolphin (2/26/1966)
  54. The Raccoon Who Came To Dinner (3/5/1966)
  55. Flipper Joins The Navy - Part 1 (3/12/1966)
  56. Flipper Joins The Navy - Part 2 (3/19/1966)
  57. Flipper's Underwater Museum (3/26/1966)
  58. Deep Waters (4/2/1966)
  59. Dolphin Love - Part 1 (4/9/1966)
  60. Dolphin Love - Part 2 (4/16/1966)

    Flipper - The Third Season

  61. Agent Bud (9/17/1966)
  62. Disaster In The Everglades - Part 1 (9/24/1966)
  63. Disaster In The Everglades - Part 2 (10/1/1966)
  64. Lost Dolphin (10/8/1966)
  65. The Warning (10/15/1966)
  66. Cupid Flipper (10/22/1966)
  67. An Errand For Flipper (10/29/1966)
  68. Whale Ahoy (11/5/1966)
  69. Explosion (11/12/1966)
  70. Executive Bud (11/19/1966)
  71. Flipper And The Puppy (11/26/1966)
  72. Flipper's Island (12/3/1966)
  73. Alligator Duel (12/10/1966)
  74. Flipper And The Fugitive - Part 1 (1/7/1967)
  75. Flipper And The Fugitive - Part 2 (1/14/1967)
  76. The Most Expensive Sardine In The World (1/21/1967)
  77. Flipper And The Seal (1/28/1967)
  78. Dolphins Don't Sleep (2/4/1967)
  79. Aunt Martha (2/11/1967)
  80. Dolphin For Ransom (2/18/1967)
  81. A Dolphin In Time (2/25/1967)
  82. Decision For Bud (3/4/1967)
  83. The Firing Line - Part 1 (3/11/1967)
  84. The Firing Line - Part 2 (3/18/1967)
  85. Devil Ray (3/25/1967)
  86. Cap'n Flint (4/1/1967)
  87. Flipper's New Friends - Part 1 (4/8/1967)
  88. Flipper's New Friends - Part 2 (4/15/1967)
Apparantly they made a new series of Flipper in 1995 that ran for 5 years. This never made it to Britain I don't think, and I certainly never saw it, so I'll leave it for someone else to writeup.

Bebe (B-B), an Atlantic bottlenose dolphin, one of the actors that played Flipper, died May 2, 1997 at the Miami Seaquarium. Bebe was the last surviving dolphin from the series. She was a ripe 40 years old, a very good age for a dolphin in captivity. Her youngest child was also famous- Echo the dolphin.

Flip"per (?), n. [Cf. Flip, Flippant.]

1. Zool.

A broad flat limb used for swimming, as those of seals, sea turtles, whales, etc.

2. Naut.

The hand.

[Slang]

 

© Webster 1913.

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