“Forgotten Hollywood”- Jaws Finds a New Shark Tank…
Manny P. here…
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences Museum has announced that it has accepted into its collection a major gift of the sole surviving full-scale model of the 1975 Jaws shark. Created for display at the Universal Studios Hollywood at the time of the film’s release, the prop remained a popular backdrop for photos until 1990, when it was moved to the yard of Aadlen Brothers Auto Wrecking of Sun Valley, California, that regularly bought or hauled used vehicles from Universal Studios. With the business slated to close in January 2016, owner Nathan Adlen has made a generous gift of the historic prop to the Academy Museum.
The shark model will join the Museum’s unmatched holdings— including an underwater apparatus and fin used in Jaws and Jaws II— as the largest object to enter the Academy’s collection to date. The monumental fiberglass model is a final version made from the original mold. It yielded three latex and rubber casts that were used in production. Following the film’s release, the rubber casts deteriorated and were discarded. But, the fourth cast survived.
The creation of the film’s mechanical shark—which Steven Spielberg named Bruce after his lawyer, Bruce Ramer—was undertaken by art director Joe Alves, who designed a prop with a 25-foot long body, 400-pound head and jaws nearly five feet wide. In 2010, the prop was authenticated by Roy Arbogast, a member of the film’s special effects crew.
When the Academy Museum opens next year, I wouldn’t get too close to Bruce… especially if he’s hungry!
Douglas Dick was an actor who appeared in fine films, including Rope, The Accused, The Red Badge of Courage, Flaming Star, Casbah, Home of the Brave, and North to Alaska. He made many appearances on television. He guest-starred on Perry Mason a total of seven times. Dick also had roles in 77 Sunset Strip, Sea Hunt, The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp, The Man From U.N.C.L.E., and Mannix. He eventually retired to become a psychiatrist.
Douglas Dick (right) was 95.
Until next time> “never forget”
This entry was posted on Saturday, January 9th, 2016 at 12:07 am and is filed under Blog by Manny Pacheco. You can follow any comments to this post through the RSS 2.0 feed. Responses are currently closed, but you can trackback from your own site.
You must be logged in to post a comment.