// Workers AI · dad joke modeIs Nicholas Clapp a good climber? He's got a grip on fame.

Nicholas Clapp
Nicholas Clapp
Born	May 1, 1936; Providence, Rhode Island, U.S.
Died	July 30, 2025 (aged 89); Borrego Springs, California, U.S.
Alma mater	Brown University; University of Southern California;
Occupations	Filmmaker; author; amateur archaeologist; desert preservationist;
Spouse	Bonnie Loizos
Children	2

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.
1 2 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.

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[1] Glionna, John M. (15 March 1998). "'Atlantis of the Sands': A Sizzling Tale". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 30 April 2019.

[2] Saari, Peggy; Pear, Nancy; Baker, Daniel B. (1997). Explorers & Discoverers. Vol. 5. Gale. ISBN 9780787619909. Retrieved 1 February 2016.

[wallace-3] 1 2 Wallace, Amy (February 5, 1992). "It Helped to Be Amateurs, Say Discoverers of Buried City". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 24 November 2019.

[4] "Nicholas Clapp". Sunbelt Publications. Retrieved 30 April 2019.

[5] "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.

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Authority control databases
International	ISNI VIAF GND FAST WorldCat
National	United States Italy Czech Republic Netherlands Korea Israel
People	Deutsche Biographie DDB
Other	IdRef Open Library Yale LUX

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