‘Jaws’ Cast: Where Are They Now?
Summer hasn’t been the same since Jaws took a bite out of the box office in 1975. Steven Spielberg’s blockbuster about a killer great white shark had everyone looking at the water in a whole new way. Nearly 50 years after it premiered, Jaws has become a classic and earned its spot on the list of must-watch Fourth of July movies (the movie takes place over Independence Day weekend).
Jaws helped launch Spielberg’s career, spawned multiple sequels, and changed the way we think about sharks. But what about the show’s cast? In the years since the movie’s release, several of its core cast members have died, but a few are still with us.
Roy Scheider (Chief Martin Brody)
Roy Scheider plays Amity Island police chief Martin Brody, who causes a stir when he closes the town’s beaches after a fatal attack. He succumbs to pressure to reopen the beaches for the busy Fourth of July weekend, which proves to be a serious error.
Scheider died in 2008 at age 75. He’d been nominated twice for an Oscar (for The French Connection and All That Jazz) and starred in numerous TV shows and movies, but was best known to many for his performance as Brody in Jaws.
Richard Dreyfuss (Matt Hooper)
In Jaws, Richard Dreyfuss plays Matt Hooper, an oceanographer who helps Brody hunt down the killer shark.
Dreyfuss is one of the only core Jaws cast members who is still alive. In recent years, he’s become better known for his inflammatory comments than his acting. Earlier this year, the Oscar-winner went on an anti-trans rant during a screening of Jaws in Massachusetts; the theater later apologized to attendees for the actor’s “distressing and offensive” remarks, Variety reported.
Lorraine Gary (Elaine Brody)
Lorraine Gary played Brody’s wife Elaine Brody in Jaws, a role she reprised in Jaws 2 and Jaws: The Revenge. The latter was her final film role.
Gary, whose real name is Lorraine Sheinberg, is still alive. She is currently a board member of the Feminist Majority Foundation and has produced and directed a number of educational videos for the organization.
Robert Shaw (Quint)
Robert Shaw played grizzled shark hunter Quint in Jaws. His pre-Jaws roles included A Man for All Season (for which he was nominated for an Academy Award), The Sting, and From Russia With Love.
Shaw died from a heart attack in 1978. He was 51 years old.
Susan Backlinie (Chrissie)
Susan Backlinnie had a small but memorable role in Jaws as Chrissie, the shark’s first victim. Backlinie was a nationally ranked swimmer and professional diver when she was cast in the film. It took three days to film the scene where Chrissie is attacked while going for a nighttime swim, a process she described as exhausting. She appeared in several more movies and worked as a stuntwoman and animal trainer before retiring.
Backlinie died in May 2024 at her home in Ventura, Calif., according to her obituary in The Hollywood Reporter. She was 77.
Jeffrey Voorhees (Alex Kinter)
Jeffrey Voorhees played the shark’s second victim, young Alex Kinter, who was attacked while floating on a raft. Jaws was his only major film role. He originally applied to be an extra on the movie, which was filmed on Martha’s Vineyard, but wound up with a speaking role, he recalled in an interview with The New Daily in 2014.
Voorhees now manages a restaurant on Martha’s Vineyard. Customer reviews note that he’s happy to chat with the film’s fans about his experience.
Lee Fiero (Mrs. Kinter)
Alex’s mother – who slaps Chief Brody in one of the film’s more memorable moments – was played by Lee Fierro. She also appeared in Jaws: The Revenge. Fierro was also active in the Island Theatre Workshop on Martha’s Vineyard. She died of COVID-19 in April 2020 at age 91, USA Today reported.
Murray Hamilton (Mayor Larry Vaughn)
Murray Hamilton played Amity Island mayor Larry Vaughn, who was more concerned with keeping tourists happy than people safe.
Hamilton started acting in the 1940s and appeared in shows like The Untouchables and Perry Mason. His other movies include the The Amityville Horror and The Graduate, where he played Mr. Robinson. Hamilton died in 1986 at age 63.
Chris Rebello (Michael Brody)
Chris Rebello played Chief Brody’s young son Michael, who is nearly attacked by the shark.
“I was supposed to act scared when I was out on that little sailboat with the shark cruising around, but I was freezing my baby buns off,” he said at an event celebrating Jaws’ 25th anniversary, according to a report from South Coast Today
Rebello went on to become a high school football coach on Martha’s Vineyard. He died in 2000 from a heart attack,. He was 37.
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