Loren G. "Totch" Brown, a lifetime native of the Florida Everglades was known for many achievements in his life, but maybe best known as hunter, fisherman, singer, author, song writer, actor...
To understand and know Totch better is to know his roots. Totch's great-grandfather, John J. Brown and grandfather C. G. McKinney were among the very first to settle in the southwest Everglades in 1880. His mother Alice Jane McKinney and father John J. Brown, Jr. were born in the SW Florida area in 1892.
Totch Brown was born in 1920 and died in 1996. His last home was in Chokoloskee, Florida, with all those among the Everglades.
Totch's memory and spirit remain with those who knew him, as well as those who didn't, as one of his legacies he left behind were his many writings (one published book, another ready to be published just before he died), several songs as well as film and documentary credits, all of which included his remarkable ability to tell such tall tales in a most colorful way - but in his case, the tales were the real thing.
At times, Totch's life in the Everglades was sustained by no more than what the Glades had to offer, and the Everglades, as he always liked to say, never really let him down.
Despite many hardships while bogging across the Everglades for food or hides to sell, they [the Glades] always gave me a warm campfire and a place to lie my tired body down. This makes the Everglades a very special and dear place to me." ~ Totch Brown with dog Troubles
Brown's acting debut was in 1958 - Wind Across the Everglades, starring Burl Ives. His book, films and documentaries that followed, even though years later, were: (book) Totch, A LIfe in the Everglades, (films) Best of: The Everglades National Park, The Sage of Chokoloskee (1993), The Everglades Outlaw: Totch Brown, Yesterday's Everglades (1996), Tallahassee 7000 - Bootleg Whiskey in the Everglades (TV), and the feature film Gone Fishin' (1997) - (Totch died before the film's release).
The documentaries were shot throughout most of the 90s by International Video Projects. Brown's last film, Gone Fishin', was shot in 1996, but he died before its 1997 release. In that film Totch was the Everglades technical advisor in addition to writing the film's main song "Down in the Everglades" that Joes Pesci, Danny Glover and Willie Nelson sang in the film. Here is his credit as listed in film and at IMDB.
Gone Fishin' (1997) Soundtrack
Written by Totch Brown
Performed by Willie Nelson
Produced and arranged by Randy Edelman
Willie Nelson appears courtesy of Island Records
Totch was also originally cast, in Gone Fishin', as Billy "Catch" Pooler. But the day before the first day of shooting his first scene, Totch's wife, Estelle, The Queen of the Everglades, passed away. His film role was passed on to Willie Nelson.
Upon Nelson's visit to that part of southwest Florida, he and Totch became friends. Willie Nelson returned, months later, with the intent to help "save" the Everglades. The original director of Gone Fishin', John G. Avildsen and his son, along with Totch and government officials, were also part of the project.
As Totch said, he was no scientist or big time engineer. He did feel, though, that he had a lot of good common sense about the Everglades, and he also knew very little about the billion dollar water project that they were beginning in the mid-90s. It was a project so expensive and time consuming, that it was thought to maybe take 15 to 20 years to complete, if it wasn't already too late.
Hopefully it is not too late for the Everglades, a home that Totch called his own, at least for a little while. For 76 years is only a drop in the bucket of time. Totch, you're missed dearly. ~ On a side note, Totch was a huge fan of John Wayne.
Advertisement
To understand and know Totch better is to know his roots. Totch's great-grandfather, John J. Brown and grandfather C. G. McKinney were among the very first to settle in the southwest Everglades in 1880. His mother Alice Jane McKinney and father John J. Brown, Jr. were born in the SW Florida area in 1892.
Totch Brown was born in 1920 and died in 1996. His last home was in Chokoloskee, Florida, with all those among the Everglades.
Totch's memory and spirit remain with those who knew him, as well as those who didn't, as one of his legacies he left behind were his many writings (one published book, another ready to be published just before he died), several songs as well as film and documentary credits, all of which included his remarkable ability to tell such tall tales in a most colorful way - but in his case, the tales were the real thing.
At times, Totch's life in the Everglades was sustained by no more than what the Glades had to offer, and the Everglades, as he always liked to say, never really let him down.
Despite many hardships while bogging across the Everglades for food or hides to sell, they [the Glades] always gave me a warm campfire and a place to lie my tired body down. This makes the Everglades a very special and dear place to me." ~ Totch Brown with dog Troubles
Brown's acting debut was in 1958 - Wind Across the Everglades, starring Burl Ives. His book, films and documentaries that followed, even though years later, were: (book) Totch, A LIfe in the Everglades, (films) Best of: The Everglades National Park, The Sage of Chokoloskee (1993), The Everglades Outlaw: Totch Brown, Yesterday's Everglades (1996), Tallahassee 7000 - Bootleg Whiskey in the Everglades (TV), and the feature film Gone Fishin' (1997) - (Totch died before the film's release).
The documentaries were shot throughout most of the 90s by International Video Projects. Brown's last film, Gone Fishin', was shot in 1996, but he died before its 1997 release. In that film Totch was the Everglades technical advisor in addition to writing the film's main song "Down in the Everglades" that Joes Pesci, Danny Glover and Willie Nelson sang in the film. Here is his credit as listed in film and at IMDB.
Gone Fishin' (1997) Soundtrack
Written by Totch Brown
Performed by Willie Nelson
Produced and arranged by Randy Edelman
Willie Nelson appears courtesy of Island Records
Totch was also originally cast, in Gone Fishin', as Billy "Catch" Pooler. But the day before the first day of shooting his first scene, Totch's wife, Estelle, The Queen of the Everglades, passed away. His film role was passed on to Willie Nelson.
Upon Nelson's visit to that part of southwest Florida, he and Totch became friends. Willie Nelson returned, months later, with the intent to help "save" the Everglades. The original director of Gone Fishin', John G. Avildsen and his son, along with Totch and government officials, were also part of the project.
As Totch said, he was no scientist or big time engineer. He did feel, though, that he had a lot of good common sense about the Everglades, and he also knew very little about the billion dollar water project that they were beginning in the mid-90s. It was a project so expensive and time consuming, that it was thought to maybe take 15 to 20 years to complete, if it wasn't already too late.
Hopefully it is not too late for the Everglades, a home that Totch called his own, at least for a little while. For 76 years is only a drop in the bucket of time. Totch, you're missed dearly. ~ On a side note, Totch was a huge fan of John Wayne.
Advertisement
Loren G. "Totch" Brown, a lifetime native of the Florida Everglades was known for many achievements in his life, but maybe best known as hunter, fisherman, singer, author, song writer, actor...
To understand and know Totch better is to know his roots. Totch's great-grandfather, John J. Brown and grandfather C. G. McKinney were among the very first to settle in the southwest Everglades in 1880. His mother Alice Jane McKinney and father John J. Brown, Jr. were born in the SW Florida area in 1892.
Totch Brown was born in 1920 and died in 1996. His last home was in Chokoloskee, Florida, with all those among the Everglades.
Totch's memory and spirit remain with those who knew him, as well as those who didn't, as one of his legacies he left behind were his many writings (one published book, another ready to be published just before he died), several songs as well as film and documentary credits, all of which included his remarkable ability to tell such tall tales in a most colorful way - but in his case, the tales were the real thing.
At times, Totch's life in the Everglades was sustained by no more than what the Glades had to offer, and the Everglades, as he always liked to say, never really let him down.
Despite many hardships while bogging across the Everglades for food or hides to sell, they [the Glades] always gave me a warm campfire and a place to lie my tired body down. This makes the Everglades a very special and dear place to me." ~ Totch Brown with dog Troubles
Brown's acting debut was in 1958 - Wind Across the Everglades, starring Burl Ives. His book, films and documentaries that followed, even though years later, were: (book) Totch, A LIfe in the Everglades, (films) Best of: The Everglades National Park, The Sage of Chokoloskee (1993), The Everglades Outlaw: Totch Brown, Yesterday's Everglades (1996), Tallahassee 7000 - Bootleg Whiskey in the Everglades (TV), and the feature film Gone Fishin' (1997) - (Totch died before the film's release).
The documentaries were shot throughout most of the 90s by International Video Projects. Brown's last film, Gone Fishin', was shot in 1996, but he died before its 1997 release. In that film Totch was the Everglades technical advisor in addition to writing the film's main song "Down in the Everglades" that Joes Pesci, Danny Glover and Willie Nelson sang in the film. Here is his credit as listed in film and at IMDB.
Gone Fishin' (1997) Soundtrack
Written by Totch Brown
Performed by Willie Nelson
Produced and arranged by Randy Edelman
Willie Nelson appears courtesy of Island Records
Totch was also originally cast, in Gone Fishin', as Billy "Catch" Pooler. But the day before the first day of shooting his first scene, Totch's wife, Estelle, The Queen of the Everglades, passed away. His film role was passed on to Willie Nelson.
Upon Nelson's visit to that part of southwest Florida, he and Totch became friends. Willie Nelson returned, months later, with the intent to help "save" the Everglades. The original director of Gone Fishin', John G. Avildsen and his son, along with Totch and government officials, were also part of the project.
As Totch said, he was no scientist or big time engineer. He did feel, though, that he had a lot of good common sense about the Everglades, and he also knew very little about the billion dollar water project that they were beginning in the mid-90s. It was a project so expensive and time consuming, that it was thought to maybe take 15 to 20 years to complete, if it wasn't already too late.
Hopefully it is not too late for the Everglades, a home that Totch called his own, at least for a little while. For 76 years is only a drop in the bucket of time. Totch, you're missed dearly. ~ On a side note, Totch was a huge fan of John Wayne.
Advertisement
To understand and know Totch better is to know his roots. Totch's great-grandfather, John J. Brown and grandfather C. G. McKinney were among the very first to settle in the southwest Everglades in 1880. His mother Alice Jane McKinney and father John J. Brown, Jr. were born in the SW Florida area in 1892.
Totch Brown was born in 1920 and died in 1996. His last home was in Chokoloskee, Florida, with all those among the Everglades.
Totch's memory and spirit remain with those who knew him, as well as those who didn't, as one of his legacies he left behind were his many writings (one published book, another ready to be published just before he died), several songs as well as film and documentary credits, all of which included his remarkable ability to tell such tall tales in a most colorful way - but in his case, the tales were the real thing.
At times, Totch's life in the Everglades was sustained by no more than what the Glades had to offer, and the Everglades, as he always liked to say, never really let him down.
Despite many hardships while bogging across the Everglades for food or hides to sell, they [the Glades] always gave me a warm campfire and a place to lie my tired body down. This makes the Everglades a very special and dear place to me." ~ Totch Brown with dog Troubles
Brown's acting debut was in 1958 - Wind Across the Everglades, starring Burl Ives. His book, films and documentaries that followed, even though years later, were: (book) Totch, A LIfe in the Everglades, (films) Best of: The Everglades National Park, The Sage of Chokoloskee (1993), The Everglades Outlaw: Totch Brown, Yesterday's Everglades (1996), Tallahassee 7000 - Bootleg Whiskey in the Everglades (TV), and the feature film Gone Fishin' (1997) - (Totch died before the film's release).
The documentaries were shot throughout most of the 90s by International Video Projects. Brown's last film, Gone Fishin', was shot in 1996, but he died before its 1997 release. In that film Totch was the Everglades technical advisor in addition to writing the film's main song "Down in the Everglades" that Joes Pesci, Danny Glover and Willie Nelson sang in the film. Here is his credit as listed in film and at IMDB.
Gone Fishin' (1997) Soundtrack
Written by Totch Brown
Performed by Willie Nelson
Produced and arranged by Randy Edelman
Willie Nelson appears courtesy of Island Records
Totch was also originally cast, in Gone Fishin', as Billy "Catch" Pooler. But the day before the first day of shooting his first scene, Totch's wife, Estelle, The Queen of the Everglades, passed away. His film role was passed on to Willie Nelson.
Upon Nelson's visit to that part of southwest Florida, he and Totch became friends. Willie Nelson returned, months later, with the intent to help "save" the Everglades. The original director of Gone Fishin', John G. Avildsen and his son, along with Totch and government officials, were also part of the project.
As Totch said, he was no scientist or big time engineer. He did feel, though, that he had a lot of good common sense about the Everglades, and he also knew very little about the billion dollar water project that they were beginning in the mid-90s. It was a project so expensive and time consuming, that it was thought to maybe take 15 to 20 years to complete, if it wasn't already too late.
Hopefully it is not too late for the Everglades, a home that Totch called his own, at least for a little while. For 76 years is only a drop in the bucket of time. Totch, you're missed dearly. ~ On a side note, Totch was a huge fan of John Wayne.
Advertisement
Inscription
King of the Everglades
Family Members
Sponsored by Ancestry
Advertisement
Advertisement
