First Jaws Victim Passes Away at 77 | World News
The swimmer who was the first victim in the 1975 blockbuster Jaws has passed away.
Susan Backlinie passed away at her California home at the age of 77, as reported by her agent. The news was initially shared by The Daily Jaws website.
The iconic opening scene of Steven Spielberg‘s movie showcases Ms. Backlinie running on the beach, diving into the water, and going skinny dipping.
The poster for the film Jaws. Pic: HA/THA/Shutterstock
Her character Chrissie Watkins is then suddenly pulled underwater and she screams as she is violently attacked by an unseen great white shark.
Ms. Backlinie, a former champion swimmer, shared in an interview with The Palm Beach Post in 2015 that Spielberg told her: “When your scene is done, I want everyone under the seats with the popcorn and bubblegum.
“I think we achieved that,” she remarked.
In the documentary, Jaws: The Inside Story, Spielberg referred to Ms. Backlinie’s sequence as “one of the most dangerous” stunts he’s ever directed.
“She was actually being tugged left and right by 10 men on one rope and 10 men on the other back to the shore, and that’s what caused her to move like that.”
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Ms. Backlinie collaborated with Mr. Spielberg again in the 1979 comedy war film 1941, where she parodied her Jaws character.
