Susan Backlinie, the stuntwoman who played the first person to be devoured by the shark in “Jaws,” has died at 77 years old, her agent told fan site “The Daily Jaws.”
Her passing comes 50 years to the month after she worked with director Steven Spielberg on what would become one of the most infamous and terrifying death scenes in movie history. In the opening scene of “Jaws,” Backlinie played a young woman who goes for a late-night swim in the waters of Amity Island, only to be pulled underwater to her death by the unseen shark as John Williams’ harrowing score plays.