Percy Rodriguez: 'The voice of JAWS' (and other Hollywood classics)
You can catch The Shark Is Broken from 25th July 2023 at the Golden Theater, New York, NYC.
Hello, Islanders!
So many things stand out in my mind when I think about my youth. Playing ball. Making friends. Watching television. And on television I would often see short commercials for upcoming films. But, with the exception of the Dog Day Afternoon spot, which thanks to the inclusion of the scene of Al Pacino outside the bank yelling “Attica! Attica!,” what I remember most is the “voice” narrating the spot. It truly was one of the voices of my generation. And that voice belonged to Canadian actor Percy Rodrigues.
Born on June 13, 1918, Rodrigues was the oldest of four children. After his father abandoned the family, Rodrigues trained to be a boxer, earning money by boxing while attempting to find work as an actor. After joining the Montreal Negro Theater Guild, he won an acting award from the Canadian Drama Festival at age 21. Despite this early success, acting work was hard to come by so he took a job as a toolmaker.
Thanks to his amazing voice, he found work narrating short films and, in 1963, began a steady stream of appearances on television and in films with a role in “Naked City.” Among the popular shows he appeared in: “The Wild, Wild West,” “The Man from U.N.C.L.E.,” “Star Trek,” and “Mannix.” He also had a recurring role as Dr. Harry Miles in “Peyton Place.” As the 70s began, he could be seen on such shows as “Cannon,” “Good Times,” “Planet of the Apes,” and “Owen Marshall: Counselor at Law.”
But it was as “the voice of the movies” that Mr. Rodrigues would earn his long-lasting fame. In film trailers and television spots for films as different as 1941 and Alien 3, Mr. Rodrigues’ voice had just enough of an ominous tone that you paid attention to every word. But it was the trailers for the JAWSseries that I will always remember him for. The way he said “JAWS” grabbed me every time I heard it.
And, a few years later, my friend Matt and I would drive around Tampa looking for theatres playing The Greek Tycoon because we knew it would have the JAWS 2 trailer attached, we would stand in the back of the auditorium almost giggling in anticipation. When he said “NOW!” – as in “now, just when you thought it was safe to go back in the water,” it would resonate with us like a bass note. Mr. Rodrigues also voiced the trailers for JAWS 3D and JAWS the Revenge.
Fittingly, his final voiceover was for the trailer of The Shark is Still Working, a film in which he also appears, and which cemented his legacy in the JAWS world.
On September 6, 1987, Mr. Rodrigues passed away at his California home. He was 89. But his voice will live on forever.
Words by Michael A Smith. Michael is co-author of Jaws 2: The Making Of The Hollywood Sequel. You can order the book by contacting Michael at OsFanMike@aol.com.
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