Remembering Marc Gilpin: A JAWS fan's reflections
Hello, Islanders!
This one is a little tough to write. One of the great bonuses that came with writing the JAWS 2 book was being able to meet and talk with members of the cast and crew, several (Jeff Kramer, Gary Springer) have since become good friends. One of those people was Marc Gilpin, who sadly passed away earlier this week. Rather then write the standard obituary I thought I would share some of the memories, and stories, that Marc shared with me.
I first met Marc in 2005 – six years before the idea of a JAWS 2 book was born – at the first JAWSFest on Martha’s Vineyard. My friend Matt and I were in Edgartown when someone mentioned that “Sean Brody” was down the street. Knowing that Jay Mello was at the Fest, we headed to where the person pointed. But it wasn’t Jay, if was Marc, whose presence at the Fest had not been generally known. Matt and I talked to Marc for about 10-minutes, both about JAWS 2 and that his older sister, Peri, had played Roz on the popular “Frasier” television show. Marc told us that he was waiting to meet an author who was working on a book on the JAWS film series. Matt and I had met a man on the ferry from Woods Hole who had told us he was writing a book and how much he hated JAWS 2. I told Marc I hope it wasn’t the same guy. A few minutes later, the author showed up. It was the same guy.
In 2011, the idea for the JAWS 2 book was hatched and I began tracking down the cast and crew. I reached out to Marc and he was most receptive to the idea of the book and shared some amazing stories, several of which appear in the book. Marc was also instrumental in putting me in touch with his sister, April, who played the little girl who questions the shark tower in the film. Going back through Marc’s emails, I thought I’d share a few passages.
The first is how he came to be cast in JAWS 2, replacing Ricky Schroder, clarifying some information in a previous interview:
I had to call my dad on this one because I gave you the wrong name.
My father remembers sitting down with Shari Rhodes, Jeannot Szwarc, and Verna Fields, the vice president of universal studios at that time after winning the Oscar for editing jaws.
I had previously video taped an audition for Shari and lost the part to Ricky. After they decided to change production and casts and moved it to Florida, Sherry showed my videotape to Szwarc and Verna and based on that they had me come out and meet with them to talk about being Sean.
After meeting with them personally, Szwarc decided I was perfect for the part and so had Verna and she sent that message back to Universal saying they found their new Sean.
Based on that relationship with Verna, she signed me to be the lead kid in Hitchcock's last production about kids on the run from spies in Europe. But of course his health was failing and it never happened. I was that close to not only working with one of the greatest filmmakers in history, but crossing over to stardom. Funny how things work out.
I replied that what was funny was that I had just interviewed Ricky Schroder the day before!
In another email, I noted that he had actually appeared on the television “Silver Spoons” in which Ricky Schroder starred. I asked him if there was any JAWS 2 friction and he replied:
Well I had signed on as a new character for six or seven episodes of the SS series and it wasn't long after I did my first episode that his mother recognized me and had me fired from the show. She ruled behind the camera on Silverspoon's the entire time that show ran. I heard that she was a fierce stage mother and very protective. I was told by producers that once she realized that I was the kid that had replaced her son on J2, that's when she told them to fire me and that I couldn't be the new character on the show anymore. We had already gone back and forth on rolls before. I remember getting the part of the kid for " the champ" and as I was flying out to LA to sign the contract to do the movie, I got a call that they had decided to go with Ricky instead because he had blonde hair and blue eyes like the original Jackie Cooper. And they felt like it was a better way to go then to bleach my hair for the part.
If you are not aware of the remake of The Champ, the role made 8-year old Ricky Schroder a star. He also became the youngest person to ever win a Golden Globe Award, taking home the award for Best New Star of 1979.
We continued to exchange emails over the years. In 2018, the expanded edition of the JAWS 2 book was released, and it included a brief dedication to April, who had sadly passed away in 2017. Marc thanked me for including April in the book.
In May 2022 Marc was diagnosed with the brain tumor that eventually took him from us. A Go Fund Me account was set up and is still raising money for the family. If you’d like to donate, please go to : https://www.gofundme.com/f/marc-gilpin-medical-f
Marc always ended his emails with the following: My hope is that you are well and happy. Take care my friend. God bless you, my friend.
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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