1 00:00:00,480 --> 00:00:03,520 Speaker 1: This summer is the fiftieth anniversary of the movie Jaws. 2 00:00:03,920 --> 00:00:06,160 Speaker 1: No matter how long ago you saw it, you gotta 3 00:00:06,200 --> 00:00:09,080 Speaker 1: admit it made you a little scared to jump into 4 00:00:09,119 --> 00:00:12,680 Speaker 1: the ocean. For some people, a lot scared. Marine biologists 5 00:00:12,680 --> 00:00:15,880 Speaker 1: say sharks really aren't interested in eating us, but tell 6 00:00:15,920 --> 00:00:18,119 Speaker 1: that to the people maimed or killed by them in 7 00:00:18,160 --> 00:00:22,360 Speaker 1: some really horrifying attacks, including the one in nineteen sixteen 8 00:00:22,520 --> 00:00:26,640 Speaker 1: that inspired Jaws. I'm Patty Steele. Before you get back 9 00:00:26,640 --> 00:00:29,560 Speaker 1: in the water, you're gonna need a bigger boat. That's 10 00:00:29,640 --> 00:00:37,640 Speaker 1: next on the backstory. We're back with the backstory. It 11 00:00:37,760 --> 00:00:40,920 Speaker 1: was fifty years ago that the movie Jaws debuted. Its 12 00:00:41,000 --> 00:00:44,199 Speaker 1: director Steven Spielberg was just twenty nine years old, and 13 00:00:44,240 --> 00:00:46,159 Speaker 1: he said he was scared to death. The flick was 14 00:00:46,200 --> 00:00:49,159 Speaker 1: going to destroy his career before it had even gotten started. 15 00:00:49,600 --> 00:00:53,680 Speaker 1: The mechanical shark constantly malfunctioned once it was in salt water. 16 00:00:54,160 --> 00:00:58,040 Speaker 1: Those problems delayed filming, put them over budget, and actually 17 00:00:58,120 --> 00:01:02,440 Speaker 1: changed the storyline. It relied more on suspense than seeing 18 00:01:02,480 --> 00:01:05,840 Speaker 1: the actual shark, and maybe that's what made the movie 19 00:01:05,840 --> 00:01:09,240 Speaker 1: so incredible. At the end of the day, Jaws turned 20 00:01:09,240 --> 00:01:13,880 Speaker 1: Spielberg into a household name, But what real life incidents 21 00:01:13,920 --> 00:01:18,080 Speaker 1: inspired the movie storyline. Peter Benchley, the author of the 22 00:01:18,160 --> 00:01:22,640 Speaker 1: hit novel Jaws, actually did research about several massive sharks 23 00:01:22,640 --> 00:01:25,280 Speaker 1: that were captured off the coast of Long Island in 24 00:01:25,319 --> 00:01:28,880 Speaker 1: the nineteen sixties. But when Spielberg began to make the 25 00:01:28,920 --> 00:01:33,200 Speaker 1: movie Jaws, he and the screenwriter wanted something more horrifying 26 00:01:33,240 --> 00:01:36,360 Speaker 1: to base it on. So let's head to the Jersey Shore. 27 00:01:36,680 --> 00:01:40,240 Speaker 1: It's nineteen sixteen. Just like in the movie, Folks are 28 00:01:40,360 --> 00:01:43,400 Speaker 1: arriving at local beach towns just a few days before 29 00:01:43,440 --> 00:01:46,880 Speaker 1: the fourth of July. There's a massive heat wave going on, 30 00:01:47,360 --> 00:01:50,120 Speaker 1: as well as an outbreak of the much dreaded polio. 31 00:01:50,800 --> 00:01:53,680 Speaker 1: The beach was the perfect place to escape all of that. 32 00:01:54,480 --> 00:01:56,920 Speaker 1: In those days, folks didn't give much thought to a 33 00:01:57,000 --> 00:02:00,840 Speaker 1: shark attacks. It wasn't really a thing, and it's still isn't, honestly. 34 00:02:01,080 --> 00:02:04,360 Speaker 1: Plus they didn't have movies, TV or even radio to 35 00:02:04,480 --> 00:02:08,920 Speaker 1: exploit that fear when something does happen. But what happened 36 00:02:08,919 --> 00:02:12,200 Speaker 1: on the Jersey Shore was a whole new thing. So 37 00:02:12,440 --> 00:02:15,840 Speaker 1: the attacks begin on July first in Beechhaven, New Jersey. 38 00:02:16,280 --> 00:02:19,400 Speaker 1: Twenty three year old Charles Van Zant is waiting in 39 00:02:19,480 --> 00:02:23,320 Speaker 1: shallow water. When the shark approaches, It attacks, and he 40 00:02:23,360 --> 00:02:26,840 Speaker 1: tries to fight it off as beach goers are watching horrified. 41 00:02:27,440 --> 00:02:30,520 Speaker 1: A lifeguard finally manages to drag him from the water, 42 00:02:30,960 --> 00:02:34,160 Speaker 1: but his thigh is ripped to shreds and he dies 43 00:02:34,240 --> 00:02:38,520 Speaker 1: on the manager's desk at his nearby hotel. Despite the attack, 44 00:02:38,880 --> 00:02:42,360 Speaker 1: the towns that rely on summer visitors assure everybody that 45 00:02:42,440 --> 00:02:45,200 Speaker 1: this is an unheard of event and there's no reason 46 00:02:45,200 --> 00:02:48,520 Speaker 1: to be alarmed. On top of that, despite reports from 47 00:02:48,560 --> 00:02:52,640 Speaker 1: sea captains about numerous shark sightings, the beaches stay open. 48 00:02:53,440 --> 00:02:56,160 Speaker 1: Now It's just five days later up the coastline in 49 00:02:56,280 --> 00:03:00,240 Speaker 1: Spring Lake, New Jersey, twenty seven year old Charles bruder Bell, 50 00:03:00,320 --> 00:03:03,760 Speaker 1: captain at another resort hotel, is taking a swim about 51 00:03:03,760 --> 00:03:07,440 Speaker 1: one hundred and thirty yards from shore. Suddenly there's a commotion. 52 00:03:08,240 --> 00:03:11,440 Speaker 1: A shark has bitten his stomach and severed his legs. 53 00:03:11,880 --> 00:03:16,399 Speaker 1: The ocean turns red around him. A woman calls to lifeguards, 54 00:03:16,720 --> 00:03:20,680 Speaker 1: thinking she sees a red canoe that had capsized. The 55 00:03:20,720 --> 00:03:23,920 Speaker 1: guards get to Brooder and haul him into their boat, 56 00:03:24,040 --> 00:03:27,320 Speaker 1: but before they even get to shore, he's dead. The 57 00:03:27,360 --> 00:03:30,359 Speaker 1: New York Times says several people on the beach fainted 58 00:03:30,400 --> 00:03:34,000 Speaker 1: at the sight of Bruder's mutilated body. Now we head 59 00:03:34,080 --> 00:03:37,680 Speaker 1: thirty miles north of Spring Lake to a spot near Keyport, 60 00:03:37,760 --> 00:03:41,280 Speaker 1: New Jersey. Folks there heard about the first two attacks 61 00:03:41,320 --> 00:03:44,320 Speaker 1: but feel pretty safe swimming in the Mattawan Creek and 62 00:03:44,520 --> 00:03:47,720 Speaker 1: inlet from the ocean. A local sea captain there tells 63 00:03:47,760 --> 00:03:50,320 Speaker 1: officials that he's spotted a shark in the creek, but 64 00:03:50,680 --> 00:03:52,880 Speaker 1: they say it's really unlikely and they don't pay any 65 00:03:52,920 --> 00:03:56,240 Speaker 1: attention to him. It's the twelfth of July and eleven 66 00:03:56,320 --> 00:03:59,040 Speaker 1: year old Lester Stillwell is playing in the creek with 67 00:03:59,160 --> 00:04:02,320 Speaker 1: his dog and some They spot what they think is 68 00:04:02,360 --> 00:04:05,920 Speaker 1: a big black log in the water, but then they 69 00:04:05,960 --> 00:04:10,520 Speaker 1: see a dorsal fin, that triangular finn that horrifies us 70 00:04:10,560 --> 00:04:13,520 Speaker 1: to this day. Lester tries to get out of the water, 71 00:04:13,840 --> 00:04:17,279 Speaker 1: but the shark latches on, pulling him under. His friends 72 00:04:17,360 --> 00:04:19,960 Speaker 1: run to get help, and among those that come running 73 00:04:20,279 --> 00:04:23,159 Speaker 1: is twenty four year old Watson Fisher. He and some 74 00:04:23,279 --> 00:04:26,760 Speaker 1: others dive into the creek, thinking Lester has suffered a seizure. 75 00:04:27,160 --> 00:04:29,920 Speaker 1: They find Lester's body, but as they head to shore, 76 00:04:30,440 --> 00:04:33,760 Speaker 1: Watson is attacked by the shark. He loses his grip 77 00:04:33,800 --> 00:04:36,359 Speaker 1: on the eleven year old, but does get back to shore, 78 00:04:36,440 --> 00:04:40,479 Speaker 1: where he's taken to the hospital horribly injured. Watson dies 79 00:04:40,560 --> 00:04:45,360 Speaker 1: two hours later. Meantime, Lester's body is found two days later, 80 00:04:45,640 --> 00:04:48,200 Speaker 1: one hundred and fifty feet away from where he went under, 81 00:04:49,080 --> 00:04:52,119 Speaker 1: then a half mile away, and just thirty minutes after 82 00:04:52,240 --> 00:04:55,279 Speaker 1: the attacks that killed Lester and Watson, there's yet another 83 00:04:55,360 --> 00:04:59,159 Speaker 1: attack in Mattawan Creek. This time fourteen year old Joseph 84 00:04:59,240 --> 00:05:01,400 Speaker 1: Dunn is in the water when he feels a tug 85 00:05:01,480 --> 00:05:04,400 Speaker 1: on his leg. The shark pulls him under, but he 86 00:05:04,480 --> 00:05:08,080 Speaker 1: fights back and screams. His older brother and some friends 87 00:05:08,080 --> 00:05:11,560 Speaker 1: are nearby, and they race to his rescue. After a 88 00:05:11,680 --> 00:05:15,279 Speaker 1: literal tug of war with the shark. The flesh had 89 00:05:15,279 --> 00:05:18,600 Speaker 1: been torn from Joseph's leg, but they have freed him 90 00:05:18,640 --> 00:05:21,440 Speaker 1: from those jaws. They get him to the hospital, where 91 00:05:21,440 --> 00:05:25,360 Speaker 1: he spends the next two months recovering. Joseph later says 92 00:05:25,640 --> 00:05:28,480 Speaker 1: he could feel his leg going down the shark's throat 93 00:05:28,839 --> 00:05:31,359 Speaker 1: and believed he was going to be swallowed whole by it. 94 00:05:32,160 --> 00:05:35,200 Speaker 1: In the aftermath, the press descended on the Jersey Shore 95 00:05:35,480 --> 00:05:39,600 Speaker 1: creating a nationwide shark panic unlike anything they'd seen before. 96 00:05:40,240 --> 00:05:43,640 Speaker 1: Michael Capuzo, an author who studied the attack, said the 97 00:05:43,680 --> 00:05:48,480 Speaker 1: panic was unrivaled in American history. Newspapers across the country 98 00:05:48,520 --> 00:05:51,560 Speaker 1: carried the story on the front page. Tourism for much 99 00:05:51,560 --> 00:05:54,160 Speaker 1: of the Jersey Shore fell by as much as seventy 100 00:05:54,160 --> 00:05:58,119 Speaker 1: five percent. Many towns installed metal netting in the water 101 00:05:58,480 --> 00:06:02,599 Speaker 1: to keep sharks away from swim Not long afterward, a 102 00:06:02,680 --> 00:06:06,080 Speaker 1: silent film actor swimming near Coney Island up in Brooklyn, 103 00:06:06,520 --> 00:06:09,960 Speaker 1: swore she narrowly escaped being attacked by what she called 104 00:06:09,960 --> 00:06:12,919 Speaker 1: the Jersey man eater. It became all the rage to 105 00:06:13,000 --> 00:06:16,920 Speaker 1: form groups hunting for sharks. Armed shark hunters in boats 106 00:06:16,960 --> 00:06:19,920 Speaker 1: patrolled the areas off New Jersey and New York beaches. 107 00:06:20,440 --> 00:06:23,719 Speaker 1: Hundreds of sharks were captured along the East coast in 108 00:06:23,800 --> 00:06:27,200 Speaker 1: what's described as the largest scale animal hunt in history. 109 00:06:27,800 --> 00:06:30,720 Speaker 1: A number of fishermen claimed they had caught the Jersey 110 00:06:30,760 --> 00:06:34,359 Speaker 1: man eater. Then a lion tamer from the Barnum and 111 00:06:34,400 --> 00:06:37,919 Speaker 1: Bailey Circus caught a young great white shark near the 112 00:06:37,960 --> 00:06:42,000 Speaker 1: Mattawan Creek. Scientists studied the contents of the animal's stomach 113 00:06:42,400 --> 00:06:45,800 Speaker 1: and identified it as human flesh. There were no other 114 00:06:45,839 --> 00:06:50,400 Speaker 1: attacks that summer. After the Jersey Shore attacks, scientists changed 115 00:06:50,440 --> 00:06:54,680 Speaker 1: their thinking about how and why sharks sometimes go after humans, 116 00:06:55,279 --> 00:06:58,640 Speaker 1: and sharks became a common sight in political cartoons that 117 00:06:58,760 --> 00:07:03,080 Speaker 1: were mostly pointed at had politicians. Just a few decades later, 118 00:07:03,320 --> 00:07:07,480 Speaker 1: there was another shark horror story when the USS Indianapolis 119 00:07:07,560 --> 00:07:11,000 Speaker 1: was torpedoed by a Japanese sub during World War II 120 00:07:11,520 --> 00:07:14,520 Speaker 1: in July of nineteen forty five. The ship had just 121 00:07:14,720 --> 00:07:18,040 Speaker 1: dropped off most of the components being used to build 122 00:07:18,040 --> 00:07:21,440 Speaker 1: the atomic bomb that would be dropped on Hiroshima. After 123 00:07:21,520 --> 00:07:24,320 Speaker 1: leaving port and heading back to sea, the ship was 124 00:07:24,400 --> 00:07:27,640 Speaker 1: hit by the torpedo. They sent out to stress signals, 125 00:07:27,680 --> 00:07:30,760 Speaker 1: but they weren't processed properly, and the men on board 126 00:07:30,760 --> 00:07:34,000 Speaker 1: that survived the attack wound up spending five nights in 127 00:07:34,080 --> 00:07:37,840 Speaker 1: the ocean in water filled with burning oil. Some even 128 00:07:37,920 --> 00:07:41,400 Speaker 1: drank seawater to try to stay alive, but the sharks 129 00:07:41,400 --> 00:07:45,040 Speaker 1: were swarming around them. It's unclear how many men were 130 00:07:45,080 --> 00:07:48,200 Speaker 1: attacked and eaten by sharks. It may have been as 131 00:07:48,240 --> 00:07:50,720 Speaker 1: many as one hundred and fifty, but it's called the 132 00:07:50,840 --> 00:07:54,960 Speaker 1: deadliest shark attack in history of the eleven hundred ninety 133 00:07:54,960 --> 00:07:58,960 Speaker 1: five men on board the Indianapolis. Eight hundred and seventy 134 00:07:59,040 --> 00:08:02,760 Speaker 1: nine lost their lives, just three hundred and sixteen survived. 135 00:08:03,280 --> 00:08:06,400 Speaker 1: It only added to the fear people had of these animals. 136 00:08:07,080 --> 00:08:11,680 Speaker 1: Those stories were the inspiration for Jaws. While beaches eventually 137 00:08:11,760 --> 00:08:16,840 Speaker 1: became attractive to vacationers again, something had changed forever. The 138 00:08:17,000 --> 00:08:20,760 Speaker 1: innocence everybody felt about a day at the beach had 139 00:08:20,800 --> 00:08:24,200 Speaker 1: been replaced by a little trepidation in the back of 140 00:08:24,240 --> 00:08:28,160 Speaker 1: our minds about not being able to see what's beneath 141 00:08:28,200 --> 00:08:31,880 Speaker 1: you as you swim on a beautiful day. Hope you're 142 00:08:31,960 --> 00:08:35,079 Speaker 1: enjoying The Backstory with Patty Steele. Please leave a review 143 00:08:35,240 --> 00:08:38,479 Speaker 1: and follow or subscribe for free to get new episodes 144 00:08:38,520 --> 00:08:41,760 Speaker 1: delivered automatically, and feel free to DM me if you 145 00:08:41,840 --> 00:08:44,280 Speaker 1: have a story you'd like me to cover. On Facebook, 146 00:08:44,280 --> 00:08:53,600 Speaker 1: It's Patty Steele and on Instagram Real Patty Steele. I'm 147 00:08:53,640 --> 00:08:58,199 Speaker 1: Patty Steele. The Backstories a production of iHeartMedia, Premiere Networks, 148 00:08:58,400 --> 00:09:01,760 Speaker 1: the Elvis Durand Group and st Deal Trap Productions. Our 149 00:09:01,800 --> 00:09:05,360 Speaker 1: producer is Doug Fraser. Our writer Jake Kushner. We have 150 00:09:05,440 --> 00:09:08,960 Speaker 1: new episodes every Tuesday and Friday. Feel free to reach 151 00:09:09,000 --> 00:09:11,880 Speaker 1: out to me with comments and even story suggestions on 152 00:09:12,000 --> 00:09:15,880 Speaker 1: Instagram at real Patty Steele and on Facebook at Patty Steele. 153 00:09:16,280 --> 00:09:19,240 Speaker 1: Thanks for listening to the backstory with Patty Steele, the 154 00:09:19,320 --> 00:09:22,280 Speaker 1: pieces of history you didn't know you needed to know.