Harry Goodridge

Harry Goodridge (January 4, 1916 – April 6, 1990) was an American harbormaster, professional scuba diver,

Life Born in Massachusetts in 1916, Goodridge lived and worked in Rockport, Maine with his wife, Thalice Goodridge and their five children: a son and four daughters, Susan, Toni, Carol and Paula. Goodridge was well known in Rockport as a retired tree surgeon of 45 years. One seal, named Basil, was featured in a Life Magazine story called “Skin Diver’s Best Friend.” Shortly after that, the seal was eaten by a shark on one of Goodridge's shark hunts. According to Goodridge, there were two types of hoop tricks Andre could perform: “graceful” and “clumsy”.

In 1979, Maine Governor Joseph E. Brennan complained to the Maine Associated Press that Goodridge and Andre were receiving too much publicity. The statement received such public backlash that Brennan was forced to release a formal apology during his 1982 re-election campaign. "I consider Andre a supporter," Brennan said. "And I found out that if you don’t give Andre his just priority, it will come home to get you." The Goodridges' youngest daughter, Toni, requested Andre be the ring bearer at their wedding in 1981. "The minister really questioned us about that," Toni said, "He made us fill out a psychological questionnaire before he would marry us." Goodridge did not charge spectators to watch Andre perform. He did pass a fish bucket around for tips; which kept Andre fed with fish. "We didn’t charge for the show, never," Goodridge said. "We passed the hat, but I could never charge for the show." Veterinarian Victor J. Steinglass stated he believed Andre made his annual swim up the New England coast from Cape Cod in his final year in almost complete darkness. "He obviously made it almost blind this year," he said. After 25 summers spent in Rockport with Goodridge, Andre died in July 1986 due to an apparent fight with another male seal. He was discovered eight miles from the harbor in Leland's Cove, Rockland. In a 1986 interview Goodridge said Andre's pen was still in the Rockport harbor water. "I guess people are still going down, thinking Andre is still there, or at least they go down to look," Goodridge said. "I keep right away from it. I don’t want to get into any conversations."

The film Andre was released in 1994. It was directed by George T. Miller and stars Tina Majorino and Keith Carradine.

Two children's books have been published about Goodridge and Andre: Andre the Famous Harbor Seal by Fran Hodgkins (2003) and The Adventures of Andre the Seal by Beth Herman (2016).

Published works