9 min

Keiko: Freeing 'Free Willy‪'‬ Witness History

    • History

In 1998, Keiko became the first ever killer whale to be released back into the wild after a life of captivity.
Keiko shot to fame as the star of the 1993 Hollywood blockbuster, Free Willy.
A multimillion dollar campaign to free Keiko began following the success of the movie and he was flown back to his native country, Iceland.
Dave Phillips was in charge of making it all happen. He has been sharing his memories with Matt Pintus.
(Photo: Keiko in Iceland. Credit: Getty Images)

In 1998, Keiko became the first ever killer whale to be released back into the wild after a life of captivity.
Keiko shot to fame as the star of the 1993 Hollywood blockbuster, Free Willy.
A multimillion dollar campaign to free Keiko began following the success of the movie and he was flown back to his native country, Iceland.
Dave Phillips was in charge of making it all happen. He has been sharing his memories with Matt Pintus.
(Photo: Keiko in Iceland. Credit: Getty Images)

9 min

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