WARNER, Harold

Harold Warner, Santa Catalina Island

WARNER, Harold Millard Jr. (1923-2008)

In the News~

July 2, 1948 [LAT]: “The sea yesterday claimed the life of Harry (Harry the Monk) Boosinger, 48, the agile Santa Catalina Islander who for 32 years defied death in the ocean as a diver and a film stunt man. Only a diving mask and air hose surfaced before the horrified gaze of his wife, Minta Boosinger, off Lion’s Point, near the Isthmus, when his mooring craft crew hauled up the diving line in response to what they believed a signaling tug on the line. Then followed a frantic three-hour battle to reclaim Boosinger’s body from the ocean which he had defied so often that he was reputed to have a ‘charmed life’... An alarm to Avalon brought Warner, Oscar Griffith, a pioneer glass-bottom boat diver, and constable Tinch Moricich, whose brother Harry once had been rescued by Boosinger. Besides his widow, Boosinger leaves a brother, Leonard, of San Diego, and a sister, Mrs. Esther Roscoe of Los Angeles.”

July 2, 1948 [Long Beach Independent]: “Air Hose Fouls, Diver Drowns. Two Harbors, Santa Catalina Island, July 1. Harry R. Boosinger, 48, famed underwater stunt man, drowned today when his air line became entangled in seaweed while he was testing new diving equipment. The body was recovered from 40 feet of water, by his protege, Harold Warner, 25. Actors John Wayne and Grant Withers, who were aboard a nearby yacht, assisted in the recovery operations. Known as "Harry the Monk," Boosinger was a veteran of countless rescues and adventures during 32 years of Catalina diving. Boosinger and his wife, Minta, were on a holiday trip in their boat, Scout, yesterday when he decided to try some new diving equipment. Weighted with a 30 pound lead belt and mask over his head Boosinger went down in 40 feet of water. Ait was pumped to him from the Scout. His wife became alarmed after 30 minutes and an attempt to bring Boosinger to the surface failed. All that came to the top was his diving mask and hose. Mrs. Boosinger said the veteran diver's doctor had warned him recently not to stay down too long because of a heart condition. Boosinger's biggest exploit during his many years on the island was the saving of three men during the sinking of the glass bottom boat, Emperor, in a storm. William Wrigley, the chewing gum magnate and principal owner of the island, gave him a gold watch for the heroism.”

October 3, 1954 [LAT]: “Little did they realize — the handful of Catalina Island glass-bottom boat and coin divers of 50 years ago—that they had originated a sport which one day would have thousands of participants prowling the waters off the Southern California coast from Palos Verdes to Laguna Beach—and off Catalina itself… A number of Duke’s coin and glass-bottom boat diving contemporaries still reside on the island. One is his brother, Frank, with whom he operates the glass-bottom boat Coral Queen. The others are Tinch Moricich, Oscar Griffith, Everett and Pete Adargo and Hernandez brothers, Sam, Marce, Andy and Manuel. However, none has dived for years. At least since the last of the glass-bottom boat diving exhibitions in the summer of 1941, prior to the outbreak of World War II. Of late years underwater exhibitions have been staged by Harold Warner and Al Hansen, aqua lung diving experts who put on a good show amid the fishes and submarine flora.”

August 19, 1969 [Long Beach Independent]: “Diver With Bends Is Critical. A 46-year-old Avalon commercial diver was in serious condition in Good Samaritan Hospital in Los Angeles Monday after suffering the "bends" while searching for the body of a drowning victim. Harold Warner was reported unconscious and not responding to treatment after being rushed by helicopter to a hospital Sunday. Sheriff's officers said Warner was stricken with an air embolism while diving in water 200 feet deep off Hamilton Beach on Catalina Island. Warner was with three other divers searching for the body of 41-year-old Jesse L. Jones of Whittier, who vanished while attempting to free the anchor on his boat. Officers said Jones, his wife, Connie, 40, and a friend, 24-year-old William King, Huntington Beach, had been scuba diving shortly before the tragedy. King told officers he developed breathing difficulties and surfaced after more than a half hour. A day-long search by other divers for Jones' body was unsuccessful. The search was continued Monday by helicopter, officers said.”