Jean-Michel made virtually without his father's help 55 movies for which Cousteau senior took all the credit
Jean-Michel made, virtually without his father's help, 55 movies for which Cousteau senior took all the credit. His only thanks was to be described as an "incompetent" when their underground ocean theme-park in central Paris - not a drop of water; lots of cardboard sharks and dolphins - went bust in 1992.The park was mostly the older Cousteau's creation, but le commandant blamed his son. "It's not because a kid has been born from your sperm that he has the qualities necessary to replace you," Cousteau cruelly told the press. He later fixed things so that Jean-Michel would be excluded from running the empire at his death and everything would pass into the hands of a former flight attendant - Francine, his second wife and previously his mistress for 14 years.Despite these slights, and other quarrels, Jean-Michel remains a stout defender of his father "My father was a hard man A strong man," he says "There was little place for emotion. But his love for and his marvellous way of seeing the natural world were genuine."It is also true that the minds of a whole generation of young people were opened to the beauties of nature - and the urgent need to preserve them - by Cousteau's films (whoever actually made them and however mawkish some of them may have been).In his earlier years, Cousteau allowed the sea and sea creatures to be the heroes of his movies.
In later years, there is a different, more strident, almost megalomaniacal tone. "Cousteau was a man of action, an adventurer, perhaps the last great adventurer of the century," said Mr Violet. "But he ended up weaving a web of half-truths and outright lies which presented himself as something more grandiose than that."Cousteau came to see himself as the hero of the movie of his own life: the man who could telephone prime ministers and presidents; the man who made ex cathedra, often ignorant and contradictory pronouncements on everything from nuclear power to growing food on the ocean floor.One of his last great projects was a manifesto of the "rights of future generations", which he hoped to have adopted by the United Nations. However, the man who wanted to "safeguard the planet for thousands of years into the future" left his own professional and private affairs in such a mess that his organisation is already on the verge of collapse.The reputation of Cousteau the film-maker and man of action will stand the test of time. The myth of the other Cousteau - the humanitarian eco- saint - has scarcely survived his death by two years..
Letter: New man at the BBC Sir: Could you please clarify something for me? Because of his affiliations with the Labour Party it was felt necessary for the BBC presenter Melvyn Bragg to resign his position on Start the Week. Yet Greg Dyke, who has or had close ties with the Labour Party, has just been appointed Director- General of the very same organisation Have I missed something? KEVIN DRISCOLLLondon WC1. A LONG weekend in Rhodes - idyllic or what? Both as it turned out. Being there was paradise, getting there and back was a nightmare. "But what do you expect," said a snooty friend from Berkshire "It's all charter flights and package deals.
Personally I wouldn't touch Rhodes with a barge pole." It's true about the flights, you can only fly direct to Rhodes on a weekly charter which is no use to the long weekender like me. So I got a cheap schedule flight on Olympic which must be one of the few remaining airlines that still allows smoking on board. Cigarettes are to Greeks what gum is to Americans. A friend who lives in Athens says that the legendary pollution which hangs over the city like a great, dirty grey Zeppelin is only half caused by petrol fumes. The other half is cigarette smoke.My flight was cheap because I was travelling overnight - depart Heathrow 10.30pm, change at Athens, arrive Rhodes 6.30am.
The advantage of flying Olympic and not British Airways was that I wouldn't have to change terminals I've been caught out on that one before. Four years ago I flew to Crete to write a piece about a tour rep in Ag Nik as the lager-drinking set refer to Aghios Nikolaos, the Cretan equivalent of Benidorm, and had all of 20 minutes to change terminals.At Heathrow I had hurriedly bought 200 quid's worth of drachmas, and, as my Greek taxi sped between terminals, I shoved a fistful of this newly- acquired currency at the driver to save time "No good," he said shoving it back "Why not," I said, confused, and then saw why. I hadn't bought drachmas, I'd bought Japanese yen.The man beside me got through half a packet of Marlborough en route to Athens If I'd been married to his wife, I would have done the same "Did you phone Betty?" she demanded "Yes," he said "Did you tell Frank about the car?" she said "Yes," he said. "Did you post those two letters on the hall table?" she said Yes he had. "Did you put the key you-know- where?" "Yes." Was he going on holiday, I asked.