What happened to the cast of Jaws? Iconic film’s history 50 years on

19 March 2025, 11:41

Steven Spielberg’s famous thriller starred Roy Scheider, Richard Dreyfuss and Robert Shaw.

Jaws debuted in cinemas 50 years ago this summer.

Steven Spielberg’s shark film may have made us all convinced there’s something in the water, but how did influence its stars?

Read on to discover more about what happened to all the film’s leads, including the shark who gave the motion picture its name...

1. Roy Scheider

   

   After Roy Scheider starred in Jaws as police chief Martin Brody, the amateur boxer turned actor next appeared as secret agent Doc Levy in 1976’s Marathon Man.

   Other notable later roles included parts in 1977’s Sorcerer, 1983’s Blue Thunder and 1997’s Francis Ford Coppola directed The Rainmaker.

   Of course, Roy also returned to play Martin Brody in the first Jaws sequel film, Jaws 2, in 1978.

   Scheider was married twice, first to Cynthia Bebout from 1962 to 1986 and then to Brenda Siemer from 1989 until his death. He had three children.

   The actor was diagnosed with multiple myeloma in 2004, and died of a staph infection in February 2008 aged 75 years old.

2. Richard Dreyfuss

   

   After starring as marine biologist Matt Hooper in Jaws, Richard went on to work with Steven Spielberg once again in 1977’s Close Encounters of the Third Kind.

   That same year, Richard picked up the Oscar for Best Actor at the 50th Academy Awards for his role in the romantic-comedy drama The Goodbye Girl. He also won a BAFTA and a Golden Globe for the same performance.

   Later stand-out roles have included parts in The Competition, Mr Holland’s Opus and The American President.

   Dreyfuss has been married three times. He had three children with his first wife, Jeramie Rain, who he was married to from 1983 to 1995. He was married to Janelle Lacey from 1999 to 2005.

   In 2006, Richard married Svetlana Erokhin, who he is still married to today.

3. Robert Shaw

   

   Robert Shaw starred as shark hunter Quint in Jaws, and later went on to star in Robin and Marian in 1976 and Black Sunday and The Deep (another film from Jaws author Peter Benchley) in 1977.

   The Irish film star was married three times and had two children during his life.

   His life post-Jaws was tragically cut short however when he suffered a heart attack while driving in August 1978.

   Despite being transferred to a local hospital, Robert was pronounced dead on arrival, aged just 51.

4. Lorraine Gary

   

   After appearing as Ellen Brody in Jaws, Lorraine Gottfried later starred in films such as Car Wash and 1941.

   She returned to star in Jaws sequels Jaws 2 and Jaws: The Revenge, the latter of which was her final film before she retired.

   Lorraine had two sons with industry executive Sidney Sheinberg, to whom she was married from 1956 to his death in 2019.

5. Murray Hamilton

   

   Character actor Murray Hamilton starred in films and TV shows such as The Amityville Horror, Murder, She Wrote and The Golden Girls after his role as Mayor Vaughn in Jaws.

   He also returned to the franchise in 1978 for Jaws 2.

   In 1953, the actor married Terri DeMarco, with whom he had one son.

   Murray passed away in September 1986 from lung cancer. He was 63.

6. Carl Gottlieb

   

   Carl Gottlieb starred as journalist Harry Meadows in Jaws, but ended up also contributing to the film’s script.

   After being asked by Steven Spielberg to redraft original book’s author Peter Benchley’s script, the accomplished screenwriter made several changes to the film including rather modestly cutting down his own screentime!

   Carl wrote a book documenting Jaws’ often difficult production called The Jaws Log which was released the same year as the film (1975).

   He contributed to the scripts of Jaws sequels Jaws 2 and Jaws 3-D, and starred in films including 1979’s The Jerk and 1995’s Clueless.

   In later life, Carl has continued his career-long dedication to the Writers Guild of America, where he was vice president of the West division from 2004-5.

7. Jeffrey Kramer

   

   After starring in Jaws and Jaws 2 as Deputy Hendricks, Jeffrey Kramer went on to star in films including Halloween II and TV shows including M*A*S*H.

   As a producer, he has worked on shows including Ally McBeal, Chicago Hope and The Practice.

8. Susan Backlinie

   

   Susan Backlinie starred as Jaws’ first shark attack victim Chrissie Watkins.

   After her starring role in the film’s iconic opening, the stuntwoman and actress later had roles in Day of the Animals, 1941 and on TV’s The Fall Guy.

   She was married twice and had a daughter. She died in May 2024 aged 77 after suffering a heart attack at home.

9. ‘Bruce’ the Shark

   

   After covering the histories of Jaws’ human cast, how could we fail to mention the film’s still more famous figure – the shark!

   Bruce the Shark was the name given by crew behind the scenes of Jaws to several shark animatronics which were used to depict the film’s main antagonist.

   Bruce’s name was inspired by director Steven Spielberg’s lawyer, Bruce Ramer.

   Each shark animatronic which was used on Jaws regularly malfunctioned and caused many problematic delays for the film’s shoot.

   Perhaps as a result, the models were not preserved for posterity or kept for sentimental reasons by any of the crew, leading to them quickly degrading.

   However, a static copy of one of the Jaws animatronic sharks made for the film’s promotional period was found in a junkyard in 1990.

   This model shark was saved and restored by Aalden Brothers Auto Wrecking, who kept the prop outside their business until it shut in 2016.

   In 2016, Nathan Aalden donated Bruce to LA’s Academy Museum of Motion Pictures in Los Angeles, where he is displayed today.

10. Peter Benchley

    

    Jaws author Peter Benchley had a cameo role as a reporter in the film, which he co-wrote with screenwriter Carl Gottlied.

    Following Jaws’ release, the writer’s later works The Deep, The Island, and Beast were also adapted into big and small screen films.

    In later life, the author became a passionate campaigner for marine conservation, wrote non-fiction books about the importance of protecting sharks and the sea, and became a spokesperson for the US’ National Council of Environmental Defense’s Oceans Program.

    Peter died from pulmonary fibrosis in 2006, aged 65.