Nicholas Clapp (May 1, 1936 – July 30, 2025) was an American filmmaker, writer and amateur archaeologist who was called “a modern day Indiana Jones“.[1] He received 70 film awards (including Emmys),[2][3] and several films that he edited received Academy Award nominations. He was a graduate of both Brown University[3] and the University of Southern California film school,[4] and worked for Disney, the National Geographic Society, Columbia Pictures, PBS and the White House.
Personal life and death
Clapp was born on May 1, 1936, in Providence, Rhode Island. He was married to Bonnie Loizos, with whom he had two daughters, Jennifer and Cristina. He died after a stroke on July 30, 2025, at the age of 89.[5]
Books
- The road to Ubar: Finding the Atlantis of the Sands. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. 1999. ISBN 978-0-395-95786-8. OCLC 41557131.
- Sheba: Through the Desert in Search of the Legendary Queen. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. 2001. ISBN 9780547345017.
- Who Killed Chester Pray? A Death Valley Mystery. La Frontera. 2007. ISBN 9780978563424.
- Gold and Silver in the Mojave: Images of a Last Frontier. Sunbelt Publications. 2012. ISBN 9780932653062.
- Old Magic: Lives of the Desert Shamans. Sunbelt Publications. 2015. ISBN 9781941384053.
- Virginia City: To Dance with the Devil. Sunbelt Publications. 2016. ISBN 9781941384152.
- Bodie: Good Times & Bad. Sunbelt Publications. 2017. ISBN 9781941384268.
- The Outlaw’s Violin: Or Farewell, Old West. Sunbelt Publications. 2019. ISBN 9781941384497.
Films
- The Yanks Are Coming (1963)
- Let My People Go: The Story of Israel (1965)
- The Undersea World of Jacques Cousteau (2 episodes, 1968)
- The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich (1968 TV Movie)
- Journey to the Outer Limits (1973)
- National Geographic Specials: The Haunted West (1973), The Great Mojave Desert (1975)
- The Incredible Machine (1975)
- The Lost City of Arabia (1996), PBS/NOVA
References
- ^ Glionna, John M. (15 March 1998). “‘Atlantis of the Sands’: A Sizzling Tale”. Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 30 April 2019.
- ^ Saari, Peggy; Pear, Nancy; Baker, Daniel B. (1997). Explorers & Discoverers. Vol. 5. Gale. ISBN 9780787619909. Retrieved 1 February 2016.
- ^ a b Wallace, Amy (February 5, 1992). “It Helped to Be Amateurs, Say Discoverers of Buried City”. Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 24 November 2019.
- ^ “Nicholas Clapp”. Sunbelt Publications. Retrieved 30 April 2019.
- ^ “Nicholas Clapp, Documentarian and Author Known as a “Modern-Day Indiana Jones,” Dies at 89″. The Hollywood Reporter. 31 July 2025. Retrieved 31 July 2025.
External links
- Nicholas Clapp at IMDb
- Noble Wilford, John (5 February 1992) ”On the Trail From the Sky: Roads Point to a Lost City”, New York Times
- Ostling, Richard (17 February 1992) Archaeology: Arabia’s Lost Sand Castle, Time
- (Winter 1992) Space Technology Helps Find Fabled City, Caltech
- Aspaturlan, Heidi (April 1992) The Road to Ubar, Caltech News
- Clapp, Nicholas (1 January 1993) “Finding the Lost City,” NASA/Jet Propulsion Laboratory
- Clapp, Nicholas (8 October 1996) “Lost City of Arabia,” PBS/NOVA transcript
- Sipchen, Bob (8 March 1998). “Riches in the Arabian Desert (book review)”. Los Angeles Times.
- Bogaev, Barbara (21 April 1998) Documentary Filmmaker Nicholas Clapp Fresh Air, NPR
- Harris, Michael (1 May 2001). “Sifting Through Sands of Time for the Truth About Sheba (book review)”. Los Angeles Times.
- Purinton, Jaime (2025-08-26). “Nicholas Clapp: A Renaissance Man Who Left His Mark on ABF”. Anza-Borrego Foundation. Retrieved 2026-02-12.
