Steve Irwin on AllMovie

With a rugged fearlessness coupled with childlike boisterousness, Aussie naturalist Steve Irwin burst into the wildlife documentary scene with an exuberant "Crikey!" when his first one-hour documentary entitled Crocodile Hunter first broadcast in 1992. Born on February 22, 1962 to naturalists Bob and Lyn Irwin, Steve Irwin's involvement in all things ecological seemed predestined. His parents founded the Australia Zoo, which has since come under the younger Irwin's leadership -- with the assistance of his wife Terri Irwin, who has been a co-conspirator/co-star on most of Irwin's documentaries since the couple married in 1992. As for his Crocodile Hunter series, over 50 episodes were made and led to the equally successful Croc Files series of documentaries. As Irwin's star power rose with the popularity of his documentaries, it seemed natural to try to transfer his enthusiastic, gung-ho personality into box-office gold -- and hence the 2002 pseudo-documentary/adventure comedy Crocodile Hunter: Collision Course was born. While the film did a little better than break-even, it didn't enjoy the kind of success that the TV series had, leading Irwin to continue his investigation for other avenues to spread his ecological and preservation messages across the globe. Tragically, Irwin's life was cut short in the summer of 2006, when he was struck through the heart by a stingray during the filming of a television special.