John Stainton

Who is John Stainton?

John Stainton is a motion picture film artist. He was close friends with Australian naturalist Steve Irwin prior to his death in September 2006. Stainton directed many of Irwin's documentaries as well as his television program, The Crocodile Hunter.

Recently he has been adamant in preventing the footage of Irwin's death, which depicts him being impaled by a stingray barb in his chest and pulling it out before dying, from being released, stating that "it should be destroyed". This footage is believed to be the only one that depicts someone's death by a stingray, an exceedingly rare cause of death. There were rumors that the footage had been leaked onto the internet, but all were revealed to be fake.

In the memorial service held on September 20 for Steve Irwin, Stainton made an appearance to pay tribute to his old friend.