A child actor who starred in the 1975 blockbuster Jaws became the sheriff on the island where it was filmed.
Jonathan Searle has a small role as one of the pranksters who placed a fake shark fin in the waters off Amity Island.
Now, 47 years later, he has been appointed sheriff for the town of Oaks Bluff on Martha’s Vineyard, an island in Massachusetts where most of the Jaws were filmed.
Mr Searle appeared alongside his brother in Steven Spielberg’s film, set in a fictional town on Long Island.
Starring Roy Scheider as the film’s sheriff Brody, Robert Shaw and Richard Dreyfuss, the film revolves around a great white shark that wreaks havoc on seafarers.
In one memorable scene, Brody remarked, “I can do anything. I’m the sheriff.”
Jaws is shot on Martha’s Vineyard. File photo
Mr. Searle had been with the local force since 1986, the Vineyard Gazette reported.
In 2008, he accused a man of disorderly conduct for doing what he did in the movie – lying and telling beachgoers he had seen a pair of great whites. great off the island.
Mr Searle told the Vineyard Gazette he was “humble and honored to be offered the post of sheriff”.
“It’s something that I’ve worked on throughout my career,” he added.
