Lee Fierro & The Slap Felt Around The World
Yesterday, the Jaws community around the world was deeply saddened by the passing of Lee Fierro, the Marthas Vineyard local who played Mrs Kintner (mother of shark attack victim, Alex Kintner) in Steven Spielberg’s definitive shark movie.
Mrs Kintner is one of the most important characters in the Jaws story. An older parent (Lee was 45 at the time of filming) who loses a child - probably her last chance to have and raise a child of her own. Then must become a grieving parent, mourning the loss of her child in the most horrific way. A citizen looking for answers who feels that rather than internalising her emotions, feels she must confront those she feels are responsible for the death of her boy. So getting the casting right was a non-negotiable.
Lee won her role as the grieving mother after answering a casting call in the local paper and then auditioning for Steven Spielberg and legendary casting guru Shari Rhodes. The infamous ‘slap scene’ took a reported 17 takes (hence why Roy Scheider’s face is a little red already before he’s slapped). It is arguably the most important moment in the movie and is Jaws screenwriter Carl Gottlieb’s favourite self-scripted scene in the movie.
““Each time they filmed it, she slapped him.... harrrrrd.””
Scheider is quoted in “Roy Schieder: A Film Biography,” as saying of the scene, “The actress had no idea how to hit someone in the movies. Every time she slapped me, she really slapped me and it hurt like hell. She had no control. A couple of times I wanted to strangle her, but it was very effective.” Fierro is quoted in the same book saying, “It took 17 takes and he stood there and let me do it. I heard later he had to go to a chiropractor.”
“There were people all over that dock, but once I came up to the mark it seemed as if it was just him and me.” Lee Fierro.
In 2000, Fierro told People Magazine that during one take, she knocked Scheider’s glasses off his face. Fierro said she immediately broke character in order to apologize to her co-star. Scheider is quoted as saying to Jaws casting director Shari Rhodes “Don’t be (sorry) Shari. It’s absolutely worth it.”
Lee’s last years were spent living in Ohio, to be closer to her family.
In 2000, Fierro told The Cape Cod Times that appearing in “Jaws,” restored her love of the theater. Fierro said in the same interview that every three or four months, she got a residual check for $35 or $40.
Even though Lee’s main scene lasts less than 90 seconds, it optimises not just the talent of this remarkable actor but power of Jaws and perfect cinema.
Obituary: Lee Fierro (1929-2020)
BBC’s 1997 documtentary ‘In The Teeth Of Jaws’ tells the story of the Jaws saga. Skip to 20mins 40 secs to learn more about Lee Fierro’s involvement in the movie.