The Pretty Young Woman Who Sees The Shark at the Inlet

Way back in 1975 when I saw Jaws first run in a full house filled with screaming people, there came that great moment where -- after the entire beach of screaming, running people empties out over a FALSE shark warning(its kids with a fake fin)...Spielberg cuts to a quiet little area away from the crowd where a very pretty young woman -- late teens? early twenties? -- in a tight top and tight jeans ...sees the REAL shark fin knifing through the water of the inlet. She yells out a quiet, strangled "shark! shark!" and soon we are into the next REAL and bloody shark killing of the film(the male lifeguard.)

I remember thinking: that is a pretty young woman. Spielberg must have picked her from a whole bunch of women and decided she was "the one" for this scene(along with her beauty, she has an innocence that seems despoiled by the shark violence.)

Well, decades later, I read that that woman was indeed "selected" for her memorable short scene in the film. She was an island dweller on Martha's Vineyard who had been "discovered" by Joe Alves, an experienced Hollywood production man who had been sent ahead by Universal and Spielberg to scout locations, extras, and production needs. Alves was living in Martha's Vineyard for some time before Spielberg and the crew followed him out there.

Alves met the young woman in question during his scouting. Promised her that he would find a small role for her in the picture. Fell in love with her, MOVED IN with her...and maintained her as his "location affair" for the long, long, long shoot of Jaws.

When filming on "Jaws" ended and everybody went back to Hollywood...the young woman went back with Alves and lived with him there, too.

But not for very long. Soon the relationship broke up, the woman couldn't find roles as an actress...she went back to the East Coast.

And that's why men seek jobs in the movie industry.