Michael deGruy was born on December 29, 1951 in Mobile, Alabama, USA. He is known for his work on The Life of Mammals (2002), Deep Blue (2003) and Sharks on their Best Behavior (1990). He was married to Mimi Armstrong DeGruy. He died on February 4, 2012 in Jaspers Brush, New South Wales, Australia.
If you're going to make a lot of films about a particular group of animals, you might as well pick one that's fairly common. And octopus are: they live in all the oceans. They also live deep. And I can't say octopus are responsible for my really strong interest in getting in subs and going deep, but whatever the case, I like that.
2
If you ever really want to get away from it all and see something that you have never seen, and have an excellent chance of seeing something no one has ever seen, get in a sub. You climb in, seal the hatch, turn on a little oxygen, turn on the scrubber, which removes the CO2 in the air you breathe, and they chuck you overboard. Down you go.
3
If you're a wildlife filmmaker and you're going out into the field to film animals, especially behavior, it helps to have a fundamental background on who these animals are, how they work and, you know, a bit about their behaviors.
4
I grew up in Mobile, Alabama - somebody's got to be from Mobile, right? - and Mobile sits at the confluence of five rivers, forming this beautiful delta. And the delta has alligators crawling in and out of rivers filled with fish and cypress trees dripping with snakes, birds of every flavor.
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Fact
1
Fascinated by sharks - he hosted and shot four documentaries about them - deGruy barely survived an attack in 1978 when a grey reef shark ripped off the top of his right arm, which, after 11 operations, left it only partially operable.
2
American cinematographer Mike deGruy and Australian TV writer-producer Andrew Wight were killed when their helicopter crashed and burned on takeoff in eastern Australia while filming James Cameron's DeepSea Challenge.
3
Is survived by his son Max, and his daughter Frances.
4
Perished in a helicopter crash that also took the life of filmmaker Andrew Wight.
Cinematographer
Title
Year
Status
Character
Nature's Microworlds
2012
TV Series documentary 1 episode
Expedition Pacific Abyss
2007
TV Movie
The Making of 'Deep Blue'
2006
Video documentary as Mike de Gruy
Dive to Bermuda Triangle
2004
TV Movie documentary as Mike de Gruy
Abyss Live
2003
TV Movie documentary
Deep Blue
2003
Documentary
The Life of Mammals
2002
TV Series documentary
Nature
1988-2002
TV Series documentary 5 episodes
The Octopus Show
2000
TV Movie
Earth Story
1998
TV Series documentary
National Geographic Explorer
1995
TV Series documentary 1 episode
The Private Life of Plants
1995
TV Series documentary 1 episode
Incredible Suckers
1995
Documentary
The Trials of Life
1990
TV Series documentary 9 episodes
Sharks on their Best Behavior
1990
TV Movie documentary
Hawaii: Islands of the Fire Goddess
1987
TV Movie documentary
Camera Department
Title
Year
Status
Character
Deepsea Challenge 3D
2014
Documentary camera operator
Heal the Ocean
2011
Video documentary short additional photography
Mysteries of the Shark Coast
2008
TV Movie documentary camera operator
Planet Earth
2006
TV Mini-Series documentary camera operator - 1 episode
Last Mysteries of the Titanic
2005
TV Movie documentary underwater photography
The Life of Mammals
2003
TV Series documentary additional photographer - 1 episode
The Blue Planet
2001
TV Mini-Series documentary camera operator - 2 episodes
The Planets
1999
TV Mini-Series documentary camera operator - 7 episodes
Life in the Freezer
1993
TV Series documentary camera team - 3 episodes
Lost Worlds, Vanished Lives
1989
TV Series documentary specialist photography - 1 episode
Producer
Title
Year
Status
Character
Deepwater Rising
2013
TV Mini-Series documentary producer
Heal the Ocean
2011
Video documentary short producer
Nature
2000
TV Series documentary producer - 1 episode
The Octopus Show
2000
TV Movie producer
Incredible Suckers
1995
Documentary producer
Sharks on their Best Behavior
1990
TV Movie documentary producer
Writer
Title
Year
Status
Character
Deepwater Rising
2013
TV Mini-Series documentary
10 Deadliest Sharks
2002
TV Movie documentary
Incredible Suckers
1995
Documentary
Sharks on their Best Behavior
1990
TV Movie documentary
Director
Title
Year
Status
Character
Deepwater Rising
2013
TV Mini-Series documentary 2013
Sharks on their Best Behavior
1990
TV Movie documentary
Nature
1988
TV Series documentary 1 episode
Actor
Title
Year
Status
Character
The Octopus Show
2000
TV Movie
Host
Miscellaneous
Title
Year
Status
Character
Anima Mundi
1992
Documentary short stock footage: Moana Productions/The Film Crew
Thanks
Title
Year
Status
Character
Stunt Sport
2014
Documentary special thanks
Self
Title
Year
Status
Character
Mission Blue
2014
Documentary
Himself
Deepwater Rising
2013
TV Mini-Series documentary
Himself (as Michael De Gruy)
Piers Morgan Tonight
2011
TV Series
Himself
Mysteries of the Shark Coast
2008
TV Movie documentary
Himself
Expedition Pacific Abyss
2007
TV Movie
Himself
Perfect Shark
2006
TV Movie documentary
Host
The Making of 'Deep Blue'
2006
Video documentary
Himself (as Mike de Gruy)
Shark Roulette
2005
TV Movie documentary
Himself
Amazon Abyss
2005
TV Series documentary
Himself
Abyss Live
2003
TV Movie documentary
Presenter
Nature
2002
TV Series documentary
Presenter
10 Deadliest Sharks
2002
TV Movie documentary
Host
Natural World
1992-1996
TV Series documentary
Himself
Incredible Suckers
1995
Documentary
Presenter
Sea Trek
1991
TV Mini-Series documentary
Himself - Presenter
Sharks on their Best Behavior
1990
TV Movie documentary
Himself
Archive Footage
Title
Year
Status
Character
Diving Deep
2017
Documentary filming
Himself
Won Awards
Year
Award
Ceremony
Nomination
Movie
2002
Primetime Emmy
Primetime Emmy Awards
Outstanding Cinematography for Non-Fiction Programming (Single or Multi-Camera)
The Blue Planet (2001)
2002
BAFTA TV Award
BAFTA Awards
Best Photography (Factual)
The Blue Planet (2001)
Known for movies
The Life of Mammals (2003) as Cinematographer
Deep Blue (2003) as Cinematographer
Sharks on their Best Behavior (1990) as Cinematographer
$800,000
