(NEWS CENTER Maine) —
It can be intimidating to grow up in the shadow of celebrity, as Phillipe Cousteau Jr, knows firsthand. His grandfather was Jacques Cousteau, the most famous ocean explorer and filmmaker of his time, and the family connection went directly from Jacques to Philippe, Jr., since Philippe’s father died in a plane crash six months before his son was born.
Cousteau lives in California and has not strayed far from the family tradition. He travels the world, producing and appearing in documentaries and TV shows that shine a light on conservation and our fragile planet. Like his grandfather, who helped invent the aqualung that made scuba diving possible, Philippe embraces new technology when it helps tell more compelling stories.
“One of my fondest memories of my grandfather,” he told me, “was in the early nineties. We were having dinner in New York, and the Game Boy had just come out—one of the original hand-held gaming devices…Back then it was the coolest thing ever and every kid wanted one”
Jacques Cousteau turned to his grandson with a question. “He said, ‘Philippe, what do you think about this Game Boy?’ He was in his early eighties and embracing these kinds of new technologies. And we talked about Tetris and Super Mario Brothers, and I remember at one point he said, ‘Always remember that these new technologies, these new tools, are not just good for entertainment, but they’re an opportunity for education. Never forget that. “And I never have.”