by Brad Matsen
—The description of the scuttling of the French fleet on November 28, 1942, and the list of ships destroyed is from Cousteau’s The Silent World, 25—26; and Tailliez’s To Hidden Depths, 32—33.
5: Scuba
—The epigraph is from an interview with Sara Davidson that appears in a profile in the New York Times Magazine, September 10, 1972.
—Biographical information on Émile Gagnan is from Phil Nuytten’s article on the invention of the Aqua-Lung in Historical Diver (winter 2005).
—The descriptions of the changes in states of matter among liquid, gas, and solid are from Bassam Z. Shakhashiri, “Science Is Fun,” http://scifun.chem.wisc.edu/chemweek/Airgases/airgases.html, July 2006.
—The account of Cousteau’s first meeting with Émile Gagnan is from an interview with Phil Nuytten and his article “Emil Gagnan and the Aqua-Lung,” Historical Diver (winter 2005).
—The details of the single-stage regulator are from an interview with engineer and dive historian Phil Nuytten, July 2006; from Nuytten’s article in Historical Diver (winter 2005); and from Cousteau’s The Silent World, 12—13. Dive master John Chatterton reviewed my description of the mechanism in the regulator for clarity and accuracy.
—Since Air Liquide had contributed both Gagnan’s time and the original design for the natural gas regulator, the corporation owned the patents to the prototype Aqua-Lung.
—The descriptions of Cousteau’s Villa Barry in 1941 and 1942 are from Cousteau, The Silent World, 11—12; and Tailliez, To Hidden Depths, 31—32.
—The account of the arrival of the Aqua-Lung, the first test in the Mediterranean at Bandol, and Cousteau’s comparison of a scuba diver and a helmet diver are from Cousteau, The Silent World, 1—5.
—The account of Georges Commeinhes’s dive off Marseille on July 30, 1943, is from Daniel David, “The Modest Pioneer,” Historical Diving Times, the newsletter of the Historical Diving Society in Great Britain, summer 1997.
6: Shipwrecks
—Philippe Tailliez’s observations on the joy of swimming with the first Aqua-Lung are from his To Hidden Depths, 35.
—Cousteau’s remembrance of the eight years of goggle diving with Tailliez and Dumas is from The Silent World, 5.
—Cousteau’s recollection of scavenging for food and the caloric price of scuba diving is from The Silent World, 15.
—The account of the dive on Dalton and Cousteau’s remembrance of Dumas’s appetite for loot from the shipwreck is from Cousteau, The Silent World, 15—17 and 30—33; and Tailliez, To Hidden Depths, 44—45.
—The location of Dalton off Planier Island is confirmed on a map in To Hidden Depths, 39—40. Tailliez reports that it sank on February 18, 1928; Cousteau reports that it went down on Christmas night, 1928.
—Details of the experiments of Paul Bert and John Scott Haldane are from several sources, including the British Technical Diving Web site Dive Tech: Nitrox and Technical Diver Training, “Decompression Theory: Paul Bert and John Scott Haldane,” http://www.dive-tech.co.uk/bert%20and%20haldane.htm. Incredibly, no major book has been written on these pioneers of undersea exploration.
—John Scott Haldane’s decompression tables were first published with coauthors A. E. Boycott and G. C. C. Damant in “The Prevention of Compressed Air Illness,” Journal of Hygiene 8 (1908), 342—443.
—The accounts of the dives to the wrecks of Tozeur, Ramon Membru, Polyphème, and Ferrando, and Cousteau’s remembrances of those dives, are from Cousteau, The Silent World, 29—37.
—The account of Dumas’s dive to 210 feet is from Tailliez, To Hidden Depths, 46—48; and Cousteau, The Silent World, 21—23.
7: The Fountain
—The account of the dive into the Fontaine-de-Vaucluse is from Tailliez, To Hidden Depths, 73—85; and Cousteau, The Silent World, 53—65. The quote from the scientist about the enigma of the fountain is in To Hidden Depths, 75.
—Details of the First International Film Festival at Cannes in 1946 are from Peter Burt, ed., Cannes: Fifty Years of Sun, Sex, and Celluloid (New York: Miramax, 1997), 2—14.
8: Menfish
—The account of Pierre-Antoine Cousteau’s wartime activities and his anti-Semitic writing are from his own books. Cousteau’s comment about his brother is from Hugo Frey, Louis Malle (Manchester, U.K.: Manchester University Press, 2004), 76; and an article in the (London) Independent, “20,000 Lies Under the Sea: The Fishy World of Jacques Cousteau,” by John Litchfield, June 26, 1999.
—The improvements in the Cousteau/Gagnan regulator and the change in the housing from Bakelite to metal are documented in Phil Nuytten’s indispensable illustrated article “Émile Gagnan and the Aqua-Lung: 1948—1958,” Historical Diver 13, issue 1, no. 42 (winter 2005).
—The account of the death of Maurice Fargues is from secondary accounts in Munson, Cousteau: The Captain and His World, 56; and Madsen, Cousteau: An Unauthorized Biography, 58—59. Cousteau, Dumas, and Tailliez make no mention of Fargues’s death in their accounts of that period in their books, The Silent World and To Hidden Depths.
—The account of the Tunisia expedition is from Cousteau, The Silent World, 75—85; and Tailliez, To Hidden Depths, 85—97.
—The performance of the scouring hoses and the list of artifacts removed from the Roman shipwreck is from Tailliez, To Hidden Depths, 95—96; and Cousteau, The Silent World, 82—85.
—James Dugan’s first article on Cousteau and the Aqua-Lung appeared in Science Illustrated, December 1948.
—The history of the arrival of Émile Gagnan in Canada and the emergence of the Aqua-Lung in North American markets is from Nuytten, “Émile Gagnan and the Aqua-Lung: 1948—1958.”
—The descriptions of the photographs and text in Life magazine are from the November 27, 1950, issue, 119—25.
9: The Abyss
—The description of the headquarters of the Undersea Research Group in Toulon is from Cousteau, The Silent World, 49—50.
—Cousteau’s enthusiasm for helping Piccard build his deep-diving craft is from Cousteau, The Silent World, 95.
—Piccard’s comment on the similarity of the ocean depths to the surface of the moon is from his son Jacques Piccard’s book, Seven Miles Down: The Story of the Bathyscaphe “Trieste,” 6.
—The account of Cousteau breaking his ankle playing tennis with his son Jean-Michel is from an interview with Jean-Michel Cousteau in January 2009.
—The account of the bathyscaphe expedition is from Cousteau, The Silent World, 94—101.
10: Calypso
—The description of events leading up to the purchase of Calypso with help from Loel Guinness is from Cousteau and Sivirine, Jacques Cousteau’s “Calypso,” 15—17.
—The specifications, history, and details of BYMS-26 are from Cousteau and Sivirine, Jacques Cousteau’s “Calypso,” 8—16.
—Cousteau describes his meeting with the admiral in The Living Sea, 22.
—Cousteau recounts his conversation with Loel Guinness in The Living Sea, 23.
—The descriptions of Calypso after modifications in 1950—51 are from Cousteau and Sivirine, Jacques Cousteau’s “Calypso,” 30—41; and Cousteau, The Living Sea, 24—25.
—The account of the sea trials to Corsica is from Cousteau and Sivirine, Jacques Cousteau’s “Calypso,” 17—18; and Cousteau, The Living Sea, 25—26.
11: Il Faut Aller Voir
—Cousteau’s description of the men who gravitated to him and Calypso is quoted in Leslie Leaney, “Jacques-Yves Cousteau: The Pioneering Years,” Historical Diver (fall 1997).
—The account and details of Calypso’s inaugural expedition to the Red Sea is from Cousteau’s own account in The Living Sea, 26—47.
—Philippe Tailliez would never again be part of the inner circle of Cousteau’s life. There is no evidence of animosity between the two men, rather a simple parting of the ways as Tailliez remained in the navy as the commander of the Office of Undersea Technology and Cousteau went on to fame with Calypso. In 1954, Tailli
ez published his own book, To Hidden Depths, covering essentially the same material as Cousteau’s best seller The Silent World. He did not employ a ghostwriter. Cousteau wrote an introductory note: “My dear Tailliez, The memories of the first steps which Dumas, you and I took together under water, and our raptures and our fears, are rooted in the bottom of our hearts. From the first moment your fervor sustained and inspired our team. To Hidden Depths will be the living reflection of the spirit which you instilled in us and in the Group.” To Hidden Depths did not become a best-selling book.
—Cousteau tells the story of the storm over the Malpan Trench in The Living Sea, 30—31.
—Cousteau’s agreement with James Dugan to ghostwrite The Silent World is reported in Madsen, Cousteau, 74—76, and confirmed in the author’s preface to the book.
—The deal with Omnibus on CBS-TV is from Madsen, Cousteau, 76, from interviews with Perry Miller reported in the notes for the book.
—Cousteau’s dive to search for the amphorae off Grand-Congloue is from Cousteau, The Living Sea, 49—50.
—Cousteau describes the salvage operation off Grand-Congloue and the death of Jean-Pierre Servanti in The Living Sea, 48—98; and in Jacques Cousteau’s “Calypso,” 21—25.
—Albert Falco’s account of Cousteau inventing the basic design of a research submarine by clapping two saucers together at lunch is quoted in Susan Schiefelbein’s introduction to Cousteau and Schiefelbein, The Human, the Orchid, and the Octopus, 15.
—Cousteau’s proposal to André Laban that they begin work on a submarine that could be launched from Calypso and reach depths of 1,000 feet is from an interview with Laban in February 2006.
12: Fame
—Cousteau’s association with James Dugan and Dugan’s work on The Silent World is confirmed in Cousteau’s introduction to the book; and in The Living Sea (also written with Dugan), 29.
—Rachel Carson’s review of The Silent World appeared in the New York Times on February 8, 1953.
—The account of Cousteau’s rescue from financial ruin by D’Arcy Explorations and British Petroleum is from Cousteau, The Living Sea, 166—67.
—Louis Malle’s arrival as Calypso’s chief cameraman and later codirector of The Silent World and his participation in the expeditions from 1954 to 1956 is confirmed in Cousteau, The Living Sea, 139—76. Malle’s career as a director would eventually include: Ascenseur pour l’échafaud (Elevator to the Gallows), starring Jeanne Moreau as a woman whose lover kills her husband; Au revoir les enfants (Goodbye, Children) and Lacombe, Lucien, stories of betrayal and collaboration with the enemy set in occupied France; Les amants (The Lovers), in which a woman, played by Jeanne Moreau, abandons her child and husband after one night of sexual abandon with a younger man; and many other tragedies and comedies in France. In 1960 Malle declared that he was “tired of actors, studios, fiction, and Paris,” and became a documentarian with a television series on India, after which he moved to the United States. He returned to France to make two more films, one of them a comedy, Le souffle au coeur (Murmur of the Heart), which includes a scene in which a boy spends a sensual night with his mother. It was roundly condemned in France but hailed by American critic Pauline Kael as a masterpiece and nominated for an Academy Award. The second film after his repatriation to French cinema, Black Moon, was a complete flop. Soon after, Malle again moved to the United States, where he directed Pretty Baby, about the life of a child in a New Orleans brothel; Atlantic City, about a small-time gangster and a casino waitress; and the celebrated My Dinner with Andre, a 110-minute conversation in a restaurant between the actors Andre Gregory and Wallace Shawn on the topics of theater, art, and Western civilization.
—The demise of the Persian Gulf pearl diving industry is from Daniel Yergin’s great book, The Prize: The Epic Quest for Oil, Money, and Power (New York: Free Press, 1991), 293—94.
—The brief history of the development of offshore petroleum exploration and production is from Yergin, The Prize, 234—35.
—The encounter with whales off the coast of Africa is from Cousteau, The Living Sea, 131—35; and Cousteau and Sivirine, Jacques Cousteau’s “Calypso,” 29—30.
—The section on the release of The Silent World is compiled from the New York Times, September 26, 1956; and Cousteau, The Living Sea, 139—50.
—The details of Prince Rainier’s offer to name Cousteau the director of the Oceanographic Museum of Monaco are from Cousteau, The Living Sea, 300—13.
13: Living Underwater
—The account of the design, construction, and testing of La Souscoupe is from an interview with André Laban in February 2006; Cousteau, The Living Sea, 278—90; and Cousteau and Sivirine, Jacques Cousteau’s “Calypso,” 51—55.
—André Laban’s quote about Cousteau using two saucers to illustrate his design for La Souscoupe is from an interview with Laban in February 2006.
—The death of Pierre-Antoine Cousteau was reported in an obituary in the New York Times in December 1959. His reconciliation with Jacques Cousteau before he died was related to me in interviews with JYC’s son, Jean-Michel, in April 2008, and his grandson, Fabien Cousteau, in February 2005.
—Cousteau’s appointment as director of the Oceanographic Museum in Monaco, his planning of the Marine Biotron, and his participation in a conference on nuclear waste are confirmed in Cousteau, The Living Sea, 300—313.
—Accounts of the 1959 expedition to photograph the mid-Atlantic rift zone, attendance at the World Oceanographic Congress in New York, and visits to Woods Hole and Washington, D.C., are from Cousteau and Sivirine, Jacques Cousteau’s “Calypso,” 58—60.
—The article “Poet of the Depths” appeared in Time, March 28, 1960.
—The accounts of testing La Souscoupe off Puerto Rico, the Cape Verde Islands, and Corsica are from Cousteau, The Living Sea, 280—90.
—Cousteau’s statement about the importance of human beings actually living in the sea is from his book World Without Sun, 6.
—The account of the week Falco and Wesly spent in Conshelf I, and the quotes from them and Cousteau on the experience, are from Cousteau, The Living Sea, 314—25.
14: World Without Sun
—Cousteau’s fantastic prediction of the evolution of Homo aquaticus is from contemporary newspaper reports on the World Congress of Underwater Activities in October 1962.
—Cousteau’s pronouncement about the importance of the Conshelf II site off Sudan is from Cousteau, World Without Sun, 7.
—The account of Conshelf II is from Cousteau and Sivirine, Jacques Cousteau’s “Calypso,” 73—80.
—Cousteau’s fiscal philosophy is inferred from his constant references to raising money in his many books. A conversation with his grandson, Fabien Cousteau, in February 2005 confirms that Cousteau cared nothing for money itself as long as he had enough to do what he wanted to do.
—The account of Conshelf III is from Cousteau and Sivirine, Jacques Cousteau’s “Calypso,” 82—85.
—The deal between National Geographic and CBS to broadcast The World of Jacques Cousteau, edited by David Wolper, is reported in Wolper’s autobiography, Producer: A Memoir (New York: Scribner, 2003), 112—14.
15: The Undersea World of David Wolper
—The accounts of David Wolper watching Cousteau on television, thinking his undersea adventures would make a great series, his eventual offer to Cousteau, and ABC’s Tom Moore agreeing to air twelve episodes are from Wolper’s autobiography, Producer, 112—17; and Cousteau and Sivirine, Jacques Cousteau’s “Calypso,” 87—88. Wolper’s remark about getting a hold of “that little Frenchie” was passed on to me by Jean-Michel Cousteau in an interview in January 2009.
—David Wolper’s story of his breakthrough with The Race for Space is from videotaped interviews with him for the Archive of American Television, a division of the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences. Wolper and fellow television producer Grant Tinker are the founding cochairs of the archive. Two hundred of the five hundred interviews
with major figures in the history of television are available in full online at http://tvinterviewsarchive.blogspot.com/. Wolper also tells the story in his autobiography, Producer, 29—39.
—In a career that continues in 2008, David Wolper has produced more than seven hundred documentaries, feature films, and television series, which have won two Oscars, fifty Emmys, seven Golden Globes, and five Peabodys. His credits include Funny Bunnies; Hollywood, the Golden Years; The Rafer Johnson Story; The Making of the President, 1960; the National Geographic Society Specials, 1965—75; Highlights of the Ice Capades; The Bridge at Remagen; I Love My Wife; the George Plimpton Specials, 1971—72; Willie Wonka and the Chocolate Factory; I Will Fight No More Forever; Victory at Entebbe; Roots; This Is Elvis; L.A. Confidential; and Celebrate the Century. His several companies have trained a flood of his protégés whose work has dominated film and television documentary production for fifty years. A complete list of Wolper’s films is available at http://www.davidlwolper.com/.
—Cousteau’s statement about the truth in poetry is from Wolper, Producer, 115.
—Jean-Michel Cousteau’s recollection of the fortunate coincidences involved in the deal making for The Undersea World is from an interview in April 2008.
—Cousteau’s strained but productive relationship with his sons, Philippe and Jean-Michel, is confirmed in interviews with Fabien Cousteau in February 2006 and Jean-Michel in April 2008, as well as in Madsen, Cousteau, 144—46.
—Cousteau recounts Calypso’s departure from Monaco in February 1967 in Jacques Cousteau’s “Calypso,” 90—92.
—Philippe Cousteau’s presence aboard Calypso during the filming of the first episodes of the series and the inventory of camera equipment are confirmed in The Shark: Splendid Savage of the Sea, which he coauthored with his father, 1—19.
