Susan Backlinie, whose iconic opening death scene set the tone of terror for Jaws, died of a heart attack in California on Saturday, her agent confirmed to The New York Times. She was 77.
In Steven Spielberg’s 1975 spine-tingling movie, Susan’s character Chrissie rises from a beach campfire party at dusk to go skinny-dipping with a drunk companion, who comically collapses in the sand.
However, the carefree swim is soon interrupted from below as the great white shark pulls Chrissie, writhing and screaming, into the depths.
Susan, a stuntwoman and former nationally ranked swimmer, was reportedly tethered to the ocean floor and pushed and pulled with ropes by the crew. But she was not warned of her initial submersion to get a more natural response, Variety reported.
Speaking to The Palm Beach Post, Susan once said that Spielberg’s marching orders at the time were: “When your scene is done, I want everyone under the seats with the popcorn and bubble gum.”
She added: “I think we did that.”
Susan’s other on-screen credits included The Great Muppet Caper (1981) and Steven Spielberg’s 1979 war comedy 1941, in which she parodied her shark-attack scene.
Her TV work included The Quest, (1976), Quark (1978) and The Fall Guy (1982).
She is survived by her husband, Harvey Swindall.