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On television, Cousteau inspired millions of people with his un-
derwater adventures. In 1966 he made his first hour-long television
special,
The World of Jacques-Yves Cousteau
. It premiered on the ABC
television network.Then in 1968 Cousteau produced a documentary
television series,
The Undersea World of Jacques Cousteau
. Millions of
people, including young Hillenburg, watched each week as Cousteau
and his crew on the
Calypso
sailed around the world and presented
intimate studies of marine life and habitats. The series ran for nine
seasons, from 1968 to 1976.
Cousteau’s work inspired many young people to learn more about
the ocean and its inhabitants. Craig McClain, the assistant director
of science at the National Evolutionary Synthesis Center in Durham,
North Carolina, credits Cousteau with inspiring him and a genera-
tion of young ocean lovers like Hillenburg. Says McClain:
Growing up in a landlocked Southern state, in my youth
I rarely visited the ocean, but I devoured every page of the
21-volume encyclopedia
The Ocean World of Jacques Cousteau.
Those books and Cousteau’s television programs were staples
of my childhood—my connection to the environment, to
which I later dedicated my career. . . . Whenever anyone asks
me what inspired me to become a marine biologist, I always
begin my story with Jacques Cousteau.
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Like McClain, Hillenburg credits Jacques Cousteau with inspir-
ing his interest in learning about life under the sea.
Learning About the Ocean
Along with watching Cousteau’s ocean adventures, Hillenburg was
able to explore the ocean regularly near his home in Southern Cali-
fornia. In high school he checked out books from the library about
diving, which often had only black-and-white photos of the sea.
When he was fifteen years old, he snorkeled for the first time in La-
guna Beach and was shocked at the colorful world he discovered.
From that point on, Hillenburg was hooked on snorkeling and div-
