Greg May

Greg May worked as an AQUARIST at Sea World from 1975 – 1977. That’s where he met Barbara Walters from ABC News. He recounts this memory about Ms. Walters:

“Barbara Walters wanted to watch me feed the sharks. She thought it would make a great publicity shot if her little girl would help me.  The child was terrified! Later that day, Ms. Walters received a kiss from Shamu.”

Mr. May resigned from Sea World and went into television in 1977.

From 1977 – 1983 Greg May was Program Director for Cablevision (now BrightHouse) where he launched his own celebrity interview show called ‘Central Florida Spotlight’.

From 1983 – 1990 Mr. May worked for WFTV Channel 9. Today, he is a licensed real estate agent and free lance writer, with a soon to be published book.

Mr. May describes some of the photographs from his collection included here on Orlando Memory:

“In the photos you see me with Dennis Quaid (when he was filming JAWS 3D at Sea World), Lawrence Welk, Delta Burke and Kirby ‘Sky King’ Grant. Mr. Grant was tragically killed in an auto accident when all of Orlando media were driving in a convoy over to the Cape to see one of the launches.”

In addition, there are photographs with Arnold Palmer, Helen Piekin of the Orlando Sentinel, Dave Madden, The Amazing Kreskin, Colleen Zenk of “As The World Turns,” Richard Simmons, and my favorites a roller skating penguin and a water skiing Chimpanzee!

There is also a touching and beautiful photograph of Dawn Brancheau with a Pacific bottlenose dolphin, Pacific black whale, and an Atlantic bottlenose dolphin from the “New Friends” show at the San Diego Seaworld marine park from May 1987.

Special thanks to Orlando resident Greg May for sharing his personal photograph collection – his photographic memories!