Philippe-Pierre Cousteau, Sr. was the second son of Jacques-Yves Cousteau and, working with his father, was a co-producer of numerous diving documentaries shown on tv around the world.
He was born in Toulon and took his first aqualung dive in 1945. In later years he became a pilot and a witness of the advance of science in the art of diving and underwater adventure. Working with his father he grew up traveling the world, learning about different cultures, and acquiring several languages. He became a documentary filmmaker specializing in environmental issues, with a background in oceanography. In February 1967, he accompanied his father on the RV Calypso for an expedition to film the sharks of the Red Sea and the Indian Ocean. As well as being the lead photographer for the expedition, Philippe also chronicled his experiences in the 1970 publication Shark: Splendid Savage of the Sea. Until his death in 1979, he co-produced numerous documentaries with his father, including Voyage to the Edge of the World (1976, for the cinema theatres) and his own PBS series, Oasis in Space (1977, for the television), concerning environmental issues. Cousteau lent his technical expertise to the U.S. Navy's SEALAB program. In the aftermath of aquanaut Berry L. Cannon's death while attempting to repair a leak in SEALAB III, Cousteau volunteered to dive down to SEALAB and help return it to the surface, although SEALAB was ultimately salvaged in a less hazardous way. Philippe died aged 38 in 1979 in a PBY Catalina flying boat crash in the Tagus river near Lisbon. His children Alexandra Cousteau and Philippe Cousteau, Jr. continue the family work in oceanography as the Co-Founders of EarthEcho International.