GB teens helped keep 'Jaws 2' water scenes moving

Allen Three decades ago, Universal Studios chose the Emerald Coast as a filming location for the movie sequel 'Jaws 2.' During August, veteran staff writer Betty Archer Allen is reporting exclusively about how the movie affected Gulf Breeze residents' lives.

'Jaws 2' was the fifth-highest grossing motion picture of 1978, and it was filmed on both the Emerald Coast of Florida and at Martha's Vineyard in Massachusetts.

While the Emerald Gulf coast embraced the filming of 'Jaws 2,' many residents and businesses of Martha's Vineyard were not enthusiastic with the presence of the film crew in their area.

"Universal Go Home" T-shirts began appearing on the streets in mid- June of 1977. Since most of the action for 'Jaws2' takes place in the water, and beach scenes enhanced water scenes, it can be assumed that the moviemakers enjoyed this area more.

'Teens in peril' was the story line of

'Jaws 2,' and the major focus of the

movie included young people. Appropriately, Gulf Breeze High School had many available teens to cast.

The land scenes were sometimes slow moving, but the water scenes were exciting and tense and filled with suspense. Local residents of all ages and some of the Gulf Breeze High students were selected to not only participate in the beach scenes but to serve in other capacities.

Lisa Cady Newell and the entire Hooprich family — Eugene (Dad), Faye (Mom), Jeanine (Bertram) and Mark — served as extras. Alvin and Amalia Bruce, Charlie Robinson and Beverly Vaughn did likewise.

In the beach scenes, vacationers can be seen walking and playing on the beach all around the area where filming is occurring on location near Fort Pickens. These extras had to report to work daily before 8 a.m. and stay until 5 p.m. for at least a week. Camera crews lined up the extras, told them a direction to walk, and then staggered the start times of each person so it appeared realistic. They would sometimes walk the same route five or six times while the shot was perfected.

"We could hear the director yell, 'It's a print! Let's do it one more time!'" Lisa Cady Newell remembered. The end of the workday was signaled by the words, "It's a wrap!"

Newell's toes appeared in an early beach scene; she was buried in the sand with a complete stranger, and they were told to talk as if we were intimate. Later, she appeared in a scene sporting a pair of big sunglasses.

Amalia Bruce Mark Hooprich was a junior at Gulf Breeze High, and he had a friend, John Bruce, whose parents,

Alvin and Amalia Bruce, were involved in scenes shot at the Holiday Inn Navarre. Mark Hooprich went to watch some of the filming and ran into the casting director. He told her that he would be interested in participating in the movie, and she instructed him to complete a form and include photos of himself and his family since they needed families for the beach scenes. He provided this information after he convinced his parents and sister to try to be extras for the beach scenes.

A few days later, he got a call from the casting director saying they were selected to be in the movie.

The Hooprich family and Amalia Bruce were involved in filming at Pensacola Beach inside the Gulf Islands National Seashore.

"My family and I got very sunburned after the first day," Mark Hooprich said. "It took a lot of convincing to get them to go back out for the other days. I saw Roy Scheider, Lorraine Gary, Murray Hamilton, and the director, Jeannot Szwarc. I also saw Susan Ford (former President Gerald R. Ford's daughter) doing still photography on the set."

Mark Hooprich Mark and Jeanine Hooprich appeared in movie playing volleyball and also running out of the water when Scheider's character was firing his gun at what he thought was a shark.

"It was a great experience, and I learned a lot about how a movie is made," Mark Hooprich said. "We even got paid! What remains after 30 years is a beatup Jaws 2 T-shirt, the remnants of a wicked sunburn, some great memories, and the ability to impress people when I tell them that I was in a major motion picture.

"Okay, it was only for a few seconds, but I'm in there!"

Faye Hooprich said, "I just enjoyed being in the movie and reading the 'Jaws 2 Log' written by Ray Lloyd and Susan Ford that told of the making of the movie."

Amalia Bruce, dressed to the nines, can be seen in the group around the pool at the Holidome in the early scenes of the movie and also in several shots walking on the beautiful white sand wearing a great-looking bathing suit and a big hat in the beach scenes.

Submitted photo The swimming pool area of the old Navarre Holidome was filled with stars and plenty of 'extras' from Gulf Breeze when a social scene was filmed near the beginning of the movie. "I got to know the actors and their families who came with them to film the movie on location," Bruce said.

She became especially close to Murray Hamilton's wife, who sought her help and advice about Murray's drinking. Her husband, Alvin Bruce (now deceased), played one of the selectmen and can be

seen sitting to the left of Mayor Vaughn when he is making his speech at the Holidome.

Amalia said, "My husband looked very dignified in his role as a selectman."

Some parts were cut

Charlie Robinson had just moved here and was staying in Navarre at the time producers were seeking extras. Charlie lost his right arm in World War II, and he said he felt that fact helped him get the part. He played in a segment that was filmed at Destin harbor.

Betty Archer Allen/Gulf Breeze News In this image taken from television, Alvin Bruce (rear, now deceased) played a selectman and is seen sitting at co-star Murray Hamilton's left on the dais at the Navarre Holidome. He portrayed a businessman associated with a real-estate company. The filming company even attached a Massachusetts license plate to his car to complement the portion filmed on the East Coast. Robinson still has a framed copy of the $32 check he was paid hanging on his den wall, including his car rental.

"I had the pleasure of working with Roy Scheider and Lorraine Gray," Robinson said. "It took eight hours to film a 20-second scene in the movie. After the filming, we were treated to a fine steak dinner held in a huge truck trailer converted into a kitchen and dining area."

But, alas, the movie powers decided that picture was too long and deleted a number of scenes, including the scene staring Charlie.

"It was quite an experience to actually see how a movie is filmed," he said. "Still, I was happy to have had the experience."

Beverly Vaughn submitted her portfolio for consideration as an extra and was hired along with about 12 other girls. They served as "welcome hostesses" in the Holidome during one of the early scenes.

Beverly Vaughn The 12 hostesses wore the same yellow clothing with a white welcome banner over the dress and were placed around the pool and reception area.

"I worked for Universal that week and was one of four asked

to stay and work the following week." Vaughn lamented. " I was incredibly flattered and excited to be asked, but my boss refused to let me take a second week off."

One afternoon, Vaughn was at the Holiday Inn watching the preparation for an upcoming scene in the pool area. The director was talking to the stand-ins for Scheider and Gray and had placed tape on the floor where they were told to stand to shoot the scene.

Scheider asked Beverly, "What do you think about all this?"

She told him the movie business wasn't what she thought it was because she didn't realize the doubles did so much "prework" for the stars that stayed off the set until the scene was readied for them. Then the stars walked in and cameras rolled.

When Scheider was summoned to shoot the scene, he and the director got into a screaming match and he walked off the set, refusing to come back for a long time.

Charlie Robinson "It was a unique experience, and I really enjoyed the time with the stars, extras, crew, producer and director. Truly, they were very personable people, and I treasure the memories."

Wow! $50 a day!

Several other GBHS students were hired as stand-ins or doubles for the teenage actors to appear in the water scenes and to maintain and sail the boats.

Two of these students were Jon Berndsen and Scott Jenkins. Berndsen was hired by the producer to maintain and sail the catamarans and to double for a couple of the actors including Mark Gruner.

"I got paid $50 per day for essentially going out and doing what I loved each day, sailing!" Bernsden said. "What could be better? Fifty dollars a day was big bucks back in 1977!"

Scott Jenkins, a high school junior, became a stand-in for one the actors.

"I was walking down the hall at Gulf Breeze High School and one of the casting assistants grabbed me and said I looked like one of the teenage stars," said Jenkins.

Betty A. Allen/Gulf Breeze News Scott Jenkins still has an original 'Jaws 2' poster, but he might never forgive the producers for destroying all the sail boats. Scott became a stand-in for the boating scenes since he was an avid and apt sailor. He remembered that the water was so cold that he had to wear panty hose to stay warm. Scott still has a framed copy of the 'Jaws 2' teaser poster.

Both Berndsen and Jenkins said the teenage actors in the movie didn't know anything about sailing or, for that matter, the water. For sailing scenes that were not close-up, Jon and Scott would just sail around until the director shouted instructions over a bullhorn.

When it was time for a closeup shot of the actors sailing the boat by themselves, Jon and Scott in their various assignments would get the boat in position, sails set, and under way with the camera boat chasing them. Then they would hand the tiller and sheets to the actor for whom they were stand-ins. When the director yelled "action!" they had to jump into the water so as to not be in the scene as the boat sailed off.

They shot the scene over and over, and each time they had to tread water for quite a while until a boat came and picked them up. Other times, when the shot called for the boat to be sitting idle in the water, they would have to slip over the side and hold their breath under water as long as they could while the cameras were rolling.

"I was glad the only shark we saw was fake!" Bernsden said.

On the last day of shooting the sailing scenes, Bernsden and Jenkins arrived for work and were dismayed at their assignment for the day. They were heart-broken when the director told them that they were going to crash all the sail boats into each other, destroying them in one big floating pile-up!

"What? Destroy these beautiful catamarans that I'd been drooling over for the past month?" Jenkins said.

"Oh, well, my sailing job was over for sure after that!"

Next week: Final installment