POPCULTURE · HISTORICAL MARKER
The Endless Summer
San Clemente, California
· Surfing's Greatest Film was Born in Dana Point
Pop Culture
5
Filmed in the early 1960s, the documentary The Endless Summer follows two Californians as they circle the globe to surf, introducing the sport to many who had never seen it and discovering what became one of the world's most famous surf spots, South Africa's Cap St. Francis. Filmmaker Bruce Brown said the title reflected a surfer's "pipe dream" of traveling around the world at just the right speed to remain in summer 365 days a year. In Dana Point, surfer and graphic design student John Van Hamersveld created the iconic movie poster at his kitchen table, earning a stipend for the work, and the poster's success launched a successful career in graphic design. More people recognize the poster than have seen the film, and it has been called the most recognized surf imagery in the world. The photograph on which the poster is based was taken at Dana Point's Salt Creek Beach, using Bruce Brown, Robert August, and Mike Hynson as models. Bruce Brown lived in Dana Point when he made The Endless Summer, rented the space above what is now the Bonjour Café for his office, and filmed parts of the documentary while surfing.
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