Lorraine Gary talks JAWS, Steven Spielberg, and co-stars at the 2025 TCM Classic Film Festival

Lorraine Gary, best known for her role as Ellen Brody in Jaws (1975), joins Ben Mankiewicz at the 2025 TCM Classic Film Festival to reflect on the film that terrified audiences and transformed Hollywood.

Half a century ago, Steven Spielberg made waves with only his second feature film, adapting Peter Benchley’s novel into a gripping thriller about a monstrous great white shark terrorizing a New England beach town. With Roy Scheider as the newly appointed police chief, Richard Dreyfuss as a marine biologist, and Robert Shaw as the hardened shark hunter Quint, Jaws struck a powerful chord with viewers, enhanced by John Williams’ unforgettable, suspense-filled score.

In a bold move, Universal Pictures chose to release the film nationwide in the summer—then considered a slow season for serious films—rather than rolling it out gradually. Opening on over 400 screens, Jaws became a cultural phenomenon and the first true summer blockbuster. Its unprecedented success launched Spielberg’s storied career and forever changed the way movies were marketed and released.

About Lorraine Gary

Lorraine Gary is an American actress best known for her role as Ellen Brody in the iconic Jaws film series. Born on August 16, 1937, in Forest Hills, New York, Gary began her acting career with guest appearances on popular television shows in the 1960s and 1970s, including Dragnet, Ironside, and The F.B.I.. Her breakout role came in 1975 when she starred in Steven Spielberg’s Jaws, a performance she reprised in Jaws 2 (1978) and Jaws: The Revenge (1987). Though she retired from acting in the late 1980s, Gary remains a notable figure in film history, particularly for her work in one of Hollywood’s most influential blockbusters.