Bruce the shark

10/02/2026

HEADS UP: I am pleased to announce the launch of a third page, following my previous work on the Maneater: The Monster From Sun Valley page. This new page advocates for Bob Mattey’s recognition as a Disney Legend. I intend to highlight Mattey's significant contributions to The Walt Disney Company, spanning both the theme parks and the live-action division. I will present my findings chronologically and provide additional context on his work at Universal Pictures, RKO, and United Artists.

Much of the information currently available online is inaccurate. As the original author of several sources, I have seen journalists perpetuate errors and later incorporate them into books and periodicals. My goal is to correct these inaccuracies and provide a comprehensive account of Mattey’s legacy. And, of course, have him recognized as a Disney Legend.

The page is currently titled 'Bob Mattey Needs To Be Recognized As A Disney Legend.' Should I develop a more suitable title in the future, I will provide an update.

https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61594121406090

Special effects pioneer Robert A. Mattey Jr. has repeatedly been overlooked for recognition as a Disney Legend. In this page, I will present a compelling case for his inclusion.

09/18/2026

SEQUELITIS: Nice to come across a surprise. It's even nicer when I come across a few. Here are two deleted takes on sequel sharks. The first is Irving, Fidel, or Harold (whichever one suits you) from JAWS 2 (1978). The second clip is that laughable monstrosity from Jaws: the Revenge (1987). The clips start at about $1,000 for a few seconds and go up if you want them in HD. For now, ignore the watermark.

08/25/2026

VAL TAYLOR VISIT: In July 1974, Ron and Valerie Taylor visited the set of Jaws to provide expert input on the mechanical shark. They observed the effects crew testing the shark at sea. Joe Alves and Verna Fields focused on whether the mechanical shark's movements resembled those of a real white shark in the wild. Subsequently, Joe Alves recorded and transcribed a series of questions on Saturday, July 13, 1974, for the effects crew to consider. Notably, Alves indicated that the pectoral fins needed to be dismantled and kept flat and rigid, similar to airplane wings, throughout the shoot. This design choice distinguished the Jaws shark from an actual shark among other interesting traits. The Taylors also pointed out how a real shark lunges, bites, and slides back in the water.

On that day in production, scenes for Chrissie Death and the Estuary were being lensed, and the Shark-Fins Sled was being used.

Photographs of Valerie Taylor, taken by her husband Ron Taylor at the Fuller Street boathouse, document this visit.

08/22/2026

A DIFFERENT ANGLE: Most of us have seen that photo of Ingmar Bergman backstage, checking out the Jaws shark. The photo first appeared in People magazine sometime in 1975, and it always made me laugh because he looks so tiny next to it. I used to wonder if there were more photos—there had to be, right? Maybe one day a full contact sheet will pop up on eBay or somewhere else. Until then, I did come across another shot from a different angle. Patty Pawlak, who now works in film distribution, took this one. Back in the mid-70s, probably around winter or spring of 1975, she was a tour guide and showed the Secretary of the Navy at the time, J. William Middendorf II, the famous 'Bruce' shark. As in the Bergman photo, the shark is behind the same gate, and you can see a patch of missing paint in front of the gills. This is, I’m assuming, the MGM shark—the same one that, just a few months later, would be taken apart and turned into the Jaws 2 shark.

As always, if you'd like to share, just let folks know where you got the pic and the info.

08/03/2026

SIDESHOW COLLECTIBLES: I try not to post about merch, but this one is related to the Jaws shark. So ... there. Recently, it was brought to my attention that Sideshow Collectibles has created a Jaws shark statue complete with a Steven Spielberg figure. The immediate question is: why not the figures of the crew who fabricated the sharks? But I digress. Some things are just TOO nerdy. Anyway, I'm sure that we all remember the questionable sculpt for their original Jaws shark. It seemed that the reference was more to an actual, unidentified shark than to a model of the legendary props.

Well, Sideshow strikes again, and this time, though better, the sculpt still misses the mark. The tail and dorsal fin are completely wrong. A quick Google search will pull up endless reference photos to correct those two points. The frame is wrong, especially in the rear flank before the tail. The wheel connected to the tower is fairly accurate, though. But not the gills, and neither is the face. I've seen more and more Jaws shark models that tend to go overboard with extreme scars and gore. Though Sideshow does pull back on those distracting features, they are still very obvious. It's as if the creators spent more time refining the scars and less time getting even the basic shape locked in.

I mean, we literally have the ultimate reference on display at a museum. Take as many photos and videos as you can!

It wouldn't have taken much to message or visit KNB EFX. Greg Nicotero's dead-on 3D scan, which was last seen at the JAWS Exhibition at the Academy Museum, is the standard by which all Jaws shark models should be judged. Come to think of it, if Nicotero would just let them borrow a 3D file, Sideshow Toys would make a killing.

Those are my thoughts. What are yours? Comment below.

05/26/2026

I THINK IT’S TIME FOR THE TALK: But first, a story. Back in November 1990, the Japanese company Matsush*ta Electrical Industrial Co. (a subsidiary of Panasonic) bought MCA for $6.5 billion. The deal included properties such as Universal Pictures, the Universal Studios Tour, and the newly opened Florida version of the park. Shortly after the acquisition closed, many of Universal’s assets were sold or trashed. The company had no interest in the theme park portion of the deal. At the time, the Matsush*ta deal was meant to corner the DVD market. Google it. It’s quite a story.

Anyway, that’s how Universal Studios lost the Jaws shark. Truth be told, it was going to be cut down in 1987 when Paul Lindeschmid ran things. It was even offered to a child actor whose dad was very opposed to a 25-foot shark in his backyard. But that’s a story for another time. The spot where ole ‘Bruce’ was strung up sat unoccupied until around the mid-nineties. That’s when the studio bought an off-the-shelf shark statue, closed their eyes, plugged their noses, and hoped nobody would notice they’d replaced one of their most profitable monsters with a statue that was more mako meets cartoon than great white shark. I hated it and dubbed it Jabberjaw, the goofy Saturday-morning cartoon at the height of the Jaws craze in 1975. But I digress.

An identical shark was bought and installed at the Florida park for their Jaws ride. So it only made sense that the same shark was ordered and installed on this side at Studio City. And it was awful. It’s still awful. As one Universal Studios studio exec put it, “It’s a piece of sh*t!” And it is. Yet I still see folks posting photos of this awful fake Jaws statue every day, with millions of guests sticking their heads in its mouth for the last 30 years. I’ve included photos of this mass-produced monstrosity for all to see. It’s literally on two websites if you have about $13k to blow. To add insult to injury, I’ve included a few photos of the shark statue seen around the planet. Next time you find yourself at any of the Uni parks, think twice before posing in front of this thing. And remember what a Universal Studios exec told me. He wasn’t wrong.

UPDATE: I’ve added a few more photos of this mass produced shark statue both state side and around the world. Will add more as I find them.

05/21/2026

BACK IN 1977: Just a year after the JAWS Attacks attraction opened at Universal Studios—this was way back when you didn't even need to add the qualifier "Hollywood" to the name—you could take your pic with the photo-op shark and have a penny stamped with a Jaws image for just 25 cents. Good times.

Photo: Robert Cu***ng

05/19/2026

THE EARLY VERSION OF JAWS: I've seen this photo before, but I’ve never really had a moment to sit down and look at what's going on. The photo is very underexposed, so it’s quite grainy. I did the best I could to brighten it up in Adobe Photoshop, and it’s all I could do to pump some color into it. Nevertheless, interesting details have come to light.

Let’s start from left to right. That’s Roy Arbogast, the rubbers and plastics guy. The person responsible for figuring out the special goo that would eventually become the skins for the sharks. He’s standing in front of what is the test head. The installed eyes are the first version, the bug-eyes. They recently sold at auction as the actual eyes from the screen sharks. Not so. The crew called this version of the shark Eddie Cantor after a bug-eyed vaudevillian actor — Google it; I shouldn’t do all of the heavy lifting. It’s hard to make out, but there are no jowls in the corners of the mouth. When the shark bit, it would suck in air and look like a frog. Which is why the jowls were added. This photo must have been taken sometime in early December 1973, before Don Chandler, Joe Kaba, and Peter Kermode started sculpting the shark. The teeth are also an early version. They are small and, like every feature of the face, comical. Notice that the head is not attached to the body. These were both test sections that Roy was working on.

The body, the frame, is not constructed of the chromole tubing that the final shark frames would be constructed of. There is nothing to attach to the once-and-future tower arm; there are no actual rams or other stuff we’ve seen a billion times in blurry pics on set. The dorsal fin is interesting. I’ve never known that it existed. What’s missing are the short pectoral fins, which also went up for auction along with the eyes. Also missing are the tiny claspers. This was obviously before Leonard Compagno flew down from Stanford to give the shark his seal of approval. And that was in January 1974.

Back to the drawing board.

Below, I included pics of the test head and the final frame.

UPDATE: Checking out that big jaw on that shark. I wonder if the crew was working from the 'Girth' plan. At least for their test sections. It was by no means final.

03/26/2026

WHEN AT DISNEYLAND: Full disclosure. I work for the Mouse. 'Nother full disclosure. I avoid the parks like the plague; they can be, well, it’s complicated. Anyhooo ... yesterday, during my once-a-year visit, I was pleasantly surprised not only to find a Jungle Cruise croc, but a Jungle Cruise croc that notes Bob Mattey as the creator of such a device. Okay, Disney geeks, I understand that Chris Mueller sculpted it, but Mattey mechanized it. In short, he made it move. Brought it to life. Honestly, I was a bit beside myself to see the contraption, but more so, that work acknowledged him. So, next time you are in Main Street at the Mr. Lincoln show, check this out in the lobby.

03/10/2026

A PLACE FOR A SHARK: I first heard about the placement of the shark from Greg Nicotero, likely in April 2019. By then, during the restoration, the shark had been completely stripped of paint and goo, its thousands of cracks sealed, and it was primed gray. The new gills were installed, but the mouth was still being sculpted and was weeks away from being installed. Inside, there was a thousand-pound steel armature. A local welder was hired for a day to create it and help mount it inside. This armature was eventually to be screwed into several cables that would secure the shark over the former May Co. escalators— a controversial decision that folks still belly-ache about today. Honestly, I used to as well when I first heard about it. But no one ever really considered the planning behind placing the prop. Well, technically, it was a copy of the original prop—and I could dive into that more later, but it’s the last remaining copy, nonetheless. Anyway, here are some photos of the team at the Academy Museum planning the installation, including members from Renzo Piano Building Workshop (RPBW), the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS), and the volumetric mockup hung to assess feasibility. So, yes, many smarter people than I devised a plan, and numerous meetings were held to figure out the best way to display this incredible piece of Hollywood history. In other words, next time someone is lucky enough to see this thing, remember that it wasn’t just arbitrarily placed hanging over an escalator.
For the record, I can't imagine the shark placed anywhere else. It's out in the open, and I have great views from the top, side, and bottom. Best of all, it's not behind plexiglass, where photos can be ruined by glare.