LA’s Own Marineland Podcast Episode 5: “Corky’s Baby and from Fox to Hanna-Barbera” By Writer and Podcaster Tod Perry
LA’s Own Marineland Podcast Episode 5: “Corky’s Baby and from Fox to Hanna-Barbera” By Writer and Podcaster Tod Perry
The following is the fifth article in a 12-part series covering “LA’s Own Marineland,” a podcast documentary on the history of the oceanarium produced, written, and hosted by writer-podcaster Tod Perry. The first article in the series, “The Birth of Marineland,” which takes a behind-the-scenes look at the show’s genesis and production, can be read here.
Episode 5 of the podcast covers the park’s history from the years of 1973 through 1978. It focuses on the short-lived Twentieth Century Fox era where film producer Irwin “The Master of Disaster” Allen attempted to boost the park’s attendance through a Winter Wonderland promotion that ended in a barrage of lawsuits.
The show also looks at how Orky and Corky became the first breeding pair of captive killer whales in history. But sadly, their first calf died after just 15 days.
We also talk to Marineland’s incredible mammal trainers, including Bud Krames and Gail Laule, who explain how the park used groundbreaking methods to teach marine mammals to perform impressive breaches, flips, and grab a fish out of a human’s mouth.
The trainers also provide valuable insight into how their relationships with the animals were based on cooperation and reinforcement, not coercion. “That’s a big part of training. If they’ll only work for food, you’re going to have problems,” Krames told the podcast. “But if you can find other reinforcements, you’re in much better shape.”
Finally, in late 1977, Hanna-Barbera purchased Marineland and temporarily closed the park to make improvements in time for the summer season. However, the city of Rancho Palos Verdes slow-walked its approvals for the upgrades, putting the park’s future in peril. Would Marineland be ready to open in the summer of 1978 or would its grand reopening as “Hanna-Barbera’s Marineland” be held back by red tape?
But before you listen to the show, there is one warning: If you listen to this podcast while seated in the first five rows of the Killer Whale Coliseum, you will get wet. You may get soaked.
Subscribe to “LA’s Own Marineland" on the following platforms: Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Podcasts, or Pandora. Learn more about the show at MarinelandPodcast.com.
You can also listen to the show on YouTube:
Subscribe to “LA’s Own Marineland" on the following platforms: Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Podcasts, or Pandora. Learn more about the show at MarinelandPodcast.com.
