The following is the ninth 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.

On episode 9 of “LA’s Own Marineland,” we discuss the dark days that followed Harcourt Brace Jovanovich's purchase of Marineland, and one of the craziest nights in the park’s 33-year history courtesy of two guys named Dave and a lot of alcohol.

Image courtesy of : Cetacean Collective
Pilot whale, Marineland of the Pacific, 1978
Unknown pilot whale, Marineland of the Pacific, Palos Verdes, California. 35mm photo slide.

On New Year’s Eve 1986, a headline appeared in the Los Angeles Times, Marineland Sold to Company that Owns SeaWorld. “But We’re Not Becoming a SeaWorld,” Marineland spokesperson Laurie Armstrong told the Los Angeles Times. “We will remain as Marineland and continue under our current management.”

Unlike previous changes in ownership, when Harcourt Brace Jovanovich took control of Marineland, the park was in the strongest position it had been in almost 20 years. Even so, there was some trepidation among Marineland’s management, because HBJ owned SeaWorld, the park’s competition in San Diego, and had been angling to acquire its killer whales, Orky and Corky, for years.

Saturday, January 10, 1987, was one of the wildest nights in the park’s history. A heavily intoxicated Dave Mulligan and Dave Berg broke into the park and rode the killer whales in the wee hours of the morning after drinking in Redondo Beach. The two circled the tank for 30 minutes before they were apprehended by the Lomita Sheriff’s Department. No charges were filed against the “Two Daves.”

Marineland was closed on January 20, 1987, for “improvements,” and by nightfall, cranes rolled up from Long Beach and removed Orky and Corky from the tank they had lived in for 17 years. They were placed onto flatbed trucks to be taken to Sea World San Diego. The move was a complete shock to most of the park’s employees. Only a few people in management and in mammal care were told about the transfer ahead of time.

"That night, I learned vocalizations from Orky that I'd never heard before. It was really a bizarre scene,” killer whale trainer Gail Laule, who was with the orcas during the transfer, told the podcast. “And then when the news broke, there was some footage of them driving down the freeway. It could have been something good, but it looks so suspicious. It looked so covert. It was something that was quite negative and didn't need to be."

The clandestine moves in the middle of the night caused outrage across the Southland. News reports said that the whales were relocated as part of SeaWorld’s breeding program.

When they arrived, they were lowered into the killer whale stadium at SeaWorld. However, it wasn’t the massive five-million-gallon Shamu Stadium still under construction to be opened for the summer season. It was the smaller tank that, at the time, housed killer whales Kandu and Kenau and currently holds the park’s dolphins and pilot whales.

After Orky and Corky were removed from Marineland, a dark cloud descended upon the park. It was still open but without its star attractions. Marineland’s employees were heartbroken that the killer whales they knew and loved for two decades were gone.

HBJ officials told the public that the park would remain open, and there would be a new show in the killer whale coliseum with Bubbles the pilot whale, and a new companion, Bangles, and some dolphins.

That future seemed tenable to some of Marineland’s employees who understood that Orky and Corky would fare better in the larger tank under construction at SeaWorld and that the park could thrive with a new focus and SeaWorld’s money. On January 26, the Rancho Palos Verdes City Council met to pass an ordinance that said if HBJ closes the park, it would have to tear down any abandoned buildings within two years and provide a plan for the redevelopment of the land within 30 days.

Two days after the actions by the city, HBJ’s head, William Jovanovich, sent a telex to Marineland officials that the park would be closed in five weeks, on March 1st. The devastating news was accompanied by a very shaky defense that never held up with Marineland’s employees or the public.

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.

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