The hidden star voices of the 'Jaws' series

It’s called ADR – Automated (or Additional) Dialogue Replacement. It’s the process of adding a voice to movie scene, usually background conversations or when the original recording was unusable. ADR is very different from dubbing. In dubbing, an actor re-records his own original dialogue. “Jaws,” like many films, features dubbing, including Susan Backlinie reciting the Lord’s Prayer after being attacked at the beginning of the film.

ADR can take place anytime and anywhere in a film. Some ADR is the stuff of movie legends. In both the original 1967 and 2005 musical versions of “The Producers,” during the song “Springtime for Hitler,” Mel Brooks is clearly heard delivering the line “Don’t be stupid, be a smartie. Come and join the Nazi party.” Oscar winner Mercedes McCambridge “spoke” for the possessed Linda Blair in “The Exorcist.” Jeff East, who played the young Clark Kent in “superman the Movie” had his dialogue redone by Christopher Reeve while Andie MacDowell’s entire performance in “Greystoke: The Legend of Tarzan” was replaced vocally by Glenn Close. Though not as drastic as “Greystoke,” the “Jaws” series contains a few hidden voices of some very famous people.

Carl Gottlieb’s former wife, Allison Caine, was one of the first to organize an ADR group, and she provided the ADR for “Jaws.” One of the actors “heard” in the film is Michael McKean, who would go on to find fame as Lenny on “Laverne and Shirley” as well as his appearances in several Christopher Guest directed films.

Prior to the horrific estuary scene, Chief Brody asks his son, Michael, to please sail his boat in the pond instead of in the ocean. Michael replies, “aw, the pond’s for old ladies.” This line was delivered by famed voice actress June Foray, who is best known for voicing such animated cartoon characters as Rocky the Flying Squirrel, Natasha Fatale, Nell Fenwick, Cindy Lou Who, and Granny in the Looney Tunes cartoons featuring Sylvester the Cat and Tweety Bird. Next time you watch the film, pay close attention and you’ll swear that Rocky the Flying Squirrel was in the film - skip to 2 mins in the clip below.

Probably the most known ADR in “Jaws” is the voice of the dispatcher for the Amity Point Light Station, who calls the ORCA just as the shark makes his first appearance at sea. The voice is none other than director Steven Spielberg - skip to 2mins 50 seconds in clip below.

Another very famous voice can be heard in “Jaws 2.” When the helicopter pilot gets on his megaphone to talk to the kids, it is not the voice of helicopter pilot Captain Jerry Baxter we hear, but that of Dr. Johnny Fever, actor Howard Hesseman. Hesseman, who recently passed away, was a long time friend of Carl Gottlieb’s, going back to the 1960s when the two were part of the Improvisational troupe The Committee. For years fans would comment on “Jaws” message boards that the pilot sounded a lot like Howard Hesseman but it wasn’t until I asked Allison Caine in 2020 and she confirmed it that the truth was learned.

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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