Zale Parry
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Zale Parry is one of the most famous, if not the most famous scuba diver in the world today. Zale started diving in the 1940s as a young girl. She was raised on a Wisconsin, USA 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".
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. Parry calls Sea Hunt an "underwater western". The good guy, played by Lloyd Bridges, 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.
Zale’s acting continued on other shows, including GE Theatre, Wagon Train, Peter Gunn, 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 feature film Tillamook Treasure in which she played 'Sam', the owner of a hardware store. Producer Richard Doyon says, "Zale is a sweet, beautiful woman. We were originally looking for a big hard man but decided to cast against type. She was great."
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 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 entitled, 'Scuba America Vol. I, the Human History of Sport Diving in America' (2001. She has continued working on the four volume series and is currently finishing Volume II.
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.
