Zale Parry
Encyclopedia
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
pioneer scuba diver, underwater photographer and actress. She lives in Tillamook, Oregon
Tillamook, Oregon
The city of Tillamook is the county seat of Tillamook County, Oregon, United States. The city is located on the southeast end of Tillamook Bay on the Pacific Ocean. The population was 4,352 at the 2000 census...
.
Zale started diving in the 1940s as a young girl. She was raised on a Wisconsin
Wisconsin
Wisconsin is a U.S. state located in the north-central United States and is part of the Midwest. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michigan to the northeast, and Lake Superior to the north. Wisconsin's capital is...
lake and learned to swim and love the water at an early age. As a young woman, she became involved in pioneering diving and scientific work. In 1953 she became a tester of underwater equipment for Scientific Underwater Research Enterprises. Later, she and her partner designed, built, and marketed the first civilian hyperbaric chamber for divers. They were evangelists for the purchase of hyperbaric around the world to provide lifesaving facilities for divers suffering from "the bends
Decompression sickness
Decompression sickness describes a condition arising from dissolved gases coming out of solution into bubbles inside the body on depressurization...
".
In 1954, Zale set a women's depth record to 209 feet. She is said to have stopped at 209 feet when she reached the bottom. That year, she became the third female instructor to graduate from the L.A. County UICC program.
It was a good year for Zale when later in 1954 Zale made her screen debut in "Kingdom of the Sea", a Jack Douglas Production, which was shown in 70 countries and had a successful run of several years.
Because of her work in Kingdom of the Sea, Zale was tapped by the producers of the new show, Sea Hunt
Sea Hunt
Sea Hunt was an American adventure television series that was aired in syndication by Ziv Television Programs from 1958 to 1961 and was popular in syndication for decades afterwards. The series originally aired for four seasons, with 155 episodes produced...
. Parry calls Sea Hunt an "underwater western". The good guy, played by Lloyd Bridges
Lloyd Bridges
Lloyd Vernet Bridges, Jr. was an American actor who starred in a number of television series and appeared in more than 150 feature films. Bridges is best known for his role of Mike Nelson in Sea Hunt, the most-popular syndicated American TV series in 1958...
, was introduced to an undersea problem or villain at the start of the show. By the end of the half hour, he had resolved the problem. Zale's beauty and her knowledge of the sea and diving made her a natural to join the Sea Hunt show. She was cast without a single screen test. Her role in the series was primarily as a female underwater stunt double, but she did appear as an actress in a few episodes. She also assisted in teaching Mr. Bridges how to use scuba gear prior to the series going into production.
Zale’s acting continued on other shows, including GE Theatre, Wagon Train
Wagon Train
Wagon Train is an American Western series that ran on NBC from 1957–62 and then on ABC from 1962–65...
, Peter Gunn
Peter Gunn
Peter Gunn is an American private eye television series which aired on the NBC and later ABC television networks from 1958 to 1961. The show's creator was Blake Edwards...
, The Magic Circus, and more. Zale continued as an actor for a number of years including many commercials and as a stunt woman on a wide variety of shows involving underwater scenes.
Most recently, she was in the film Tillamook Treasure
Tillamook Treasure
Tillamook Treasure, also known as The Legend of Tillamook's Gold, is a 2006 U.S. independent family film set in the city of Manzanita, Oregon...
in which she played Sam, the owner of a hardware store.
Zale's experience goes beyond diving and acting. She is an accomplished photographer and writer. She has used her organizational skills to bring the beauty of underwater photography
Underwater photography
Underwater photography is the process of taking photographs while under water. It is usually done while scuba diving, but can be done while snorkeling or swimming.-Overview:...
to the public. In 1957, Zale co-founded the International Underwater Film Festival that ran for 17 years. In 1960, she became the first elected woman president of the U/W Photographic Society.
She wrote and published a book with the late Albert Tillman
Albert Tillman
Albert Tillman was an American educator and underwater diver. He is widely considered to be the father of diving education.-Biography:...
, Scuba America Vol. I, the Human History of Sport Diving in America. The book is now also available as an eBook.
She was on the cover of the May 23, 1955 issue of Sports Illustrated magazine.
Zale received the NOGI Award for Distinguished Service, DEMAs Reaching Out Award, the Women's Scuba Association Scuba Diver of the Year Award, and the Los Angeles Parks and Recreation Education Award. In 2001, Zale was made a "Lifetime Ambassador at Large", by The Academy of Underwater Arts and Sciences. In 2002, she was inducted into the Cayman Island International Scuba Diving Hall of Fame and received the Beneath the Sea Diver of the Year Award. Zale has been an ardent supporter of The Women Divers Hall of Fame (WDHOF) since its inception in 1999.