Bruce Brown (director)
Bruce Alan Brown (December 1, 1937 – December 10, 2017) was an American documentary film director, known as an early pioneer of the surf film. He was the father of filmmaker Dana Brown. Biography. Brown's films include "Slippery When Wet" (1958), "Surf Crazy" (1959), "Barefoot Adventure" (1960), "Surfing Hollow Days" (1961), "Waterlogged" (1962), and his best known film, "The Endless Summer" (1964), which received nationwide theatrical release in 1966. Considered among the most influential in the genre, "The Endless Summer" follows surfers Mike Hynson and Robert August around the world. Thirty years later, Brown filmed "The Endless  Summer II" with his son in 1994. He also made a number of short films including "The Wet Set", featuring the Hobie-MacGregor Sportswear Surf Team and one of the earliest skateboarding films, "America's Newest Sport", presenting the Hobie Super Surfer Skateboard Team. These short films, along with some unused footage from "The Endless Summer", were included in the DVD "Surfin' Shorts", as part of the "Golden Years of Surf" collection. Brown went beyond surfing a few times with films about motorcycle sport, "On Any Sunday" (1971), which is held in high regard as one of the best motorcycle  documentaries of all time, "On Any Sunday II" (1981), "Baja 1000 Classic" (1991), and "On Any Sunday: Revisited" (2000). He made a guest appearance in the "SpongeBob SquarePants" episode "SpongeBob SquarePants vs. The Big One". In 2003, Brown revived Bruce Brown Films, LLC together with Alex Mecl with the intent of protecting Brown's legacy and intellectual property, including his trademarks, copyrights, and vast film archives. The company continues to carry on Bruce Brown's legacy while serving the many loyal fans worldwide. Brown died of natural causes in Santa Barbara, California, nine days after his 80th birthday. Bruce Brown