Bruce Brown born on December 1, 1937 is an early pioneer of surf films and the father of filmmaker Dana Brown. His surf films were Slippery When Wet (1958), Surf Crazy (1959), Barefoot Adventure (1960), Surfing Hollow Days (1961), Waterlogged (film) (1962), and his most well known film, The Endless Summer (1966) which received a nationwide theatrical release in june 1966. Thirty years later he would film The Endless Summer II in 1994.

He has also made a number of short films including The Wet Set, featuring the Hobie-MacGregor Sportswear Surf Team and one of the earliest skateboard films, America's Newest Sport, presenting the Hobie Super Surfer Skateboard Team. These short films along with some unused footage from The Endless Summer were included in the DVD Surfin' Shorts, as part of the Golden Age of Surf collection. Brown has gone beyond surfing a few times with the ski film, The Incredible Pair of Skis (1967), a film about motorcycle racing, On Any Sunday (1971) which is held in high regard as one of the best motorcycle documentary of all time, and a documentary about extreme sports, The Edge (1975).