Actress Who Appeared In Iconic Jaws Scene Died

Moonlady · ‎03-10-2010

Susan Backlinie, who played skinny dipper Chrissy, the first shark victim in the 1975 movie, died at her home of a heart attack. She was 77.

Jaws_1975_Susan_Backlinie_ES_Composite.jpg.jpg

The pain they have cost us, the evils that never happened.

Nonametoday · ‎03-09-2010

@Moonlady wrote:
Susan Backlinie, who played skinny dipper Chrissy, the first shark victim in the 1975 movie, died at her home of a heart attack. She was 77.

@Moonlady

So sorry to hear that. This is a very scary scene and she did a marvelous job of making it look such.

Lilysmom1 · ‎11-08-2020

@Moonlady Who could forget that scene. I live in a coastal Province. The movie, which became one of my favorites, scared the life out of me.

meallen616 · ‎01-10-2013

shoptilyadropagain · ‎03-19-2014

Jaws is one of my favorite movies, ever so, of course, I remember this scene very well! Prayers going up for her loved ones.

Knowledge is knowing that a tomato is a fruit, but Wisdom is knowing not to put it in a fruit salad.
- Author Unknown

ninjawife · ‎11-15-2011

I was 7 years old in the summer of 1975 and my parents thought it was a good idea to take me to see this movie!

GinaV24 · ‎07-23-2010

Sad to hear of her passing. That was a very scary scene. That movie kept me out of the ocean for a long time when I was a teenager!

Moonlady · ‎03-10-2010

Backlinie once addressed some misinformation about that scene. She said that she'd read that her face in that scene reflected the physical pain she was in due to "too tight" cables. That wasn't it at all, she said. The crew members who fitted her with the cables intentionally did not tell her when they were going to pull her across and below the water. They wanted her reaction to appear genuine. She said that forcefully jerking her unexpectedly beneath the surace of the water was particularly terrifying to her.

That definitely comes across in the scene, which I think also contributes to the success of the movie because it occurs within the first few minutes. Jaws is definitely not a "slow" movie lol.

The pain they have cost us, the evils that never happened.

beach-mom · ‎03-09-2010

I'm sad to hear this. She did an excellent job of portraying the shock and terror.

But then anyone who would go swimming in the ocean at night. . .

SportyShorty07 · ‎04-15-2014

This is so sad to hear - she was beautiful in that movie and beautiful at 77. She was so convincing in this scene- I remember screaming when I saw it as a kid on VHS. I read some articles about her and she was an accomplished stuntwoman. May she rest in peace