Just When You Thought It Was Safe to Go Back into the Water—Snakkle Celebrates the Stars of Jaws

Roy Scheider in Jaws, 1975

Take one extremely annoyed shark; add in an obnoxious mayor, a feisty marine biologist, and a crazy shark hunter. Sprinkle in a bunch of swimmers like fish food. Then cap it all off with "everyman" Roy Scheider. What are you left with? An iconic film that remains on top of most critics’ lists as one of the best films ever made, Jaws became an instant classic. This is in part due to Scheider’s stoic performance as police chief Martin Brody, the man determined to make sushi out of the shark menacing his town.

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Roy Scheider—2007

Roy Scheider’s career is the stuff of Hollywood dreams. Besides Jaws and Jaws 2, he appeared in The French Connection, Klute, Marathon Man, All That Jazz, The Rainmaker, and Daybreak, among other films. Later, he appeared on TV’s Third Watch and Law & Order: Criminal Intent. Scheider died in 2008 at the age of 75.

Robert Shaw in Jaws, 1975

Robert Shaw cemented his status as a "guy you do not mess with" as the grizzled shark hunter Quint in Jaws. Shaw’s Quint was a man on a mission to fulfill his greatest grudge, which pretty much involved putting every shark he could find on the sharp end of a stick. Unfortunately for Quint, he falls victim to his own Moby Dick.

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Robert Shaw—1978

Robert Shaw was a well-known British actor who had appeared in many films pre-Jaws. He was an accomplished star of stage, screen, and TV who had appeared From Russia with Love, The Sting, and Battle of Britain. After Jaws, he had roles in The Deep and Force 10 from Navarone. Shaw, who was also a writer, died in 1978 at the age of 51.

Richard Dreyfuss in Jaws, 1975

When you’re fighting a pissed-off great white shark, you need a science wingman who isn’t afraid to go diving in waters where floating body parts are as abundant as spastic kids at Ben & Jerry’s. Richard Dreyfuss was Matt Hooper in Jaws, the marine biologist who battles Jaws to the bloody end. The end being shark bits flying all over the ocean and Dreyfuss paddling back to shore with Chief Brody (Roy Scheider). (Why they calmly swam back to shore—and didn’t skedaddle across the surface like freaked-out cartoon characters—remains a cinematic mystery to this day.)

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Richard Dreyfuss—Today

Richard Dreyfuss followed up Jaws with another Spielberg blockbuster, 1977’s Close Encounters of the Third Kind. His A-list status cemented, he went on to appear in Down and Out in Beverly Hills, Postcards from the Edge, What About Bob?, Mr. Holland’s Opus, W., and TV’s Parenthood. He’ll next be seen in the film Zipper.

Murray Hamilton in Jaws, 1975

Every proper horror movie needs a nefarious villain to just make things damned complicated for our hero. Murray Hamilton filled this role in Jaws as obnoxious Amity Island mayor Larry Vaughn, who insisted on keeping those beaches open for the 4th of July—man-eating shark be damned.

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Murray Hamilton—1982

Murray Hamilton was a respected character actor whose body of work rivals the most successful names in Hollywood. He worked with Jimmy Stewart in Anatomy of a Murder, Paul Newman in The Hustler, Anne Bancroft in The Graduate, and Robert Redford in The Way We Were. He was also a Tony-winning star of the stage and made many appearances on TV, including B.J. and the Bear. Hamilton died of cancer in 1986 at age 63.

Louis Gossett Jr. in Jaws 3-D, 1983

Louis Gossett Jr. plays Calvin Bouchard, the Sea World park manager who refuses to believe that a 35-foot shark is menacing his place of business. That is, until the shark shows up on the other side of the glass at the underwater café, ready to feast on customers just trying to enjoy an overpriced theme park sandwich. Naturally, you would think dubious Calvin would be the first on the shark’s list for snacking, but any character played by Louis Gossett Jr. is not going down without a fight.

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Louis Gossett Jr.—Today

Louis Gossett Jr. escaped the great white in Jaws 3-D and continued on with his successful career in Hollywood. He has since appeared in films such as Iron Eagle and Toy Soldiers and on TV’s Return to Lonesome Dove and Resurrection Blvd. He appeared on TV’s Psych and is slated for several films in 2014, including Run Like the Devil.

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Lorraine Gary in Jaws, 1975

Lorraine Gary has the honor of appearing in three Jaws films: Jaws (1975), Jaws 2 (1978), and Jaws: The Revenge (1987). She plays Ellen Brody, stoic wife of Police Chief Brody, Shark Nemesis #1. In Jaws: The Revenge, Gary has the dubious honor of appearing in what Rotten Tomatoes considers one of the worst films ever made. Maybe it’s because the plot revolved around Ellen Brody’s belief—seriously, why doesn’t she just move to Kansas?—that a great white shark was stalking her all the way to the Bahamas.

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Lorraine Gary—Today

Gary enjoyed a prolific career in the 1970s, appearing on TV’s Marcus Welby, M.D., as well as films like I Never Promised You a Rose Garden. She was already in semi-retirement when she decided to return to film in Jaws: The Revenge, which proved to be her last role in Hollywood. Perhaps her greatest success in Tinseltown is a marriage which is ancient in Kardashian terms—Gary has been married for more than 50 years to former MCA president Sid Sheinberg.

Lea Thompson in Jaws 3-D, 1983

Lea Thompson is perky, ill-fated water-skier Kelly Ann Bukowski in Jaws 3-D. Lucky for Lea, the shark merely snacks on her leg before going on to attempt to drown everyone else in a nearby underwater tunnel. Though it is the screaming extras and not the shark to be blamed in this case—the first rule of surviving a horror movie is to avoid shark-flanked underwater tunnels at all costs.

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Lea Thompson—Today

Lea and her leg survived to live another day after Jaws 3-D. In fact, she went on to catch her big break as Tom Cruise’s girlfriend in All the Right Moves. Thompson has appeared in films such as Red Dawn, Back to the Future, and Howard the Duck and played the title role on TV’s Caroline in the City. Today she appears as Kathryn Kennish on TV’s Switched at Birth.

John Putch in Jaws 3-D, 1983

Throw a Brody into the water and what happens? Inevitably, a special-effects shark will show up. John Putch plays Sean Brody, son of Police Chief Brody, who decides swimming around Florida’s Sea World in Jaws 3-D is a great idea. Luckily, Putch’s Brody lives to see another day—until his character is eaten by a shark in Jaws: The Revenge. (Message to any surviving cinematic Brodys: Stick to backyard pools.)

John Putch—Today

After Jaws 3-D, John Putch enjoyed some success as an actor in film and TV, appearing on shows such as Fame, Newhart, 21 Jump Street, and Stark Raving Mad. Putch, who is the son of legendary actress Jean Stapleton, now works as a prolific director. His resume includes TV’s Grounded for Life, Ugly Betty, Scrubs, and Cougar Town.

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Dennis Quaid in Jaws 3-D, 1983

Dennis Quaid plays square-jawed Michael Brody, handsome son of Roy Scheider’s Police Chief Brody who naturally just happens to be on hand at Sea World during the latest shark drama. Naturally, his shark-hunting skills are enhanced by the fact that he looks great in a bathing suit. Ultimately, Quaid saves the day alongside Bess Armstrong.

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Dennis Quaid—Today

Dennis Quaid has enjoyed a solid career since his foray in 3-D. He’s appeared in films such as Postcards from the Edge, The Parent Trap, Any Given Sunday, Traffic, and Far from Heaven. In 2011, he appeared in another movie about chomping sharks as Tom Hamilton in Soul Surfer. He was last seen in the film Playing for Keeps.

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Bess Armstrong in Jaws 3-D, 1983

How best to follow up with a megahit and its solid sequel? Naturally, throw in a 3-D shark and a sexy marine biologist, played by Bess Armstrong. In Jaws 3-D, Armstrong plays Dr. Kathryn Morgan, marine biologist of Florida’s Sea World. Unfortunately for the “bit” players of the film, a great white shark with a serious attitude breaks into the park, biting every superfluous actor whom director Joe Alves could fit with a snorkel.

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Bess Armstrong—Today

Bess Armstrong survived Jaws 3-D and went on to several film and TV roles, most notable as Claire Danes' mother in My So-Called Life. Armstrong appeared as Catherine Orcutt in the latest season of AMC’s Mad Men, where she played Jane Sterling’s psychedelic psychologist. Most recently, she a recurring role on Showtime's House of Lies.