A Local DJ’s True Tale for Jaws’ 50th Anniversary
Fifty years ago, in 1975, Jaws sank its teeth into theaters, and the world hasn’t dared skinny-dip the same way since. Steven Spielberg’s shark-thriller masterpiece—filmed on Martha’s Vineyard—became the first summer blockbuster, blending terror, suspense, and John Williams’ unforgettable score into a cinematic chomp that still haunts us in 2025. To mark the milestone, Universal Pictures is reeling the classic back into theaters nationwide from August 29 to September 4, with special screenings popping up like dorsal fins—from TCM Classic Film Festival in LA to Alamo Drafthouse events in Boston and beyond. We even tried calling Spielberg for a nostalgic chat, but—no surprise—he didn’t bite. So, we turned to someone who was just a splash ahead of those infamous jaws: Jim Harrington, a Rhode Island radio legend who lucked into a role in one of the film’s most gripping scenes. Here’s the real story, from the man himself, with a local twist that’s too good to make up.
Jaws at 50: Still Making Waves
This summer, Jaws fans are in for a treat. The film’s getting a big-screen revival, including a wild “Jaws on the Water” screening on June 21 at Martha’s Vineyard, where brave souls can watch from the surf—just don’t dangle your feet too long. Closer to home, the Boston Pops will pair the movie with a live orchestral performance at Symphony Hall (301 Massachusetts Ave., Boston) on May 9 and 10 at 7:30 p.m., with tickets ranging from $50 to $122. Alamo Drafthouse in Boston’s Seaport (60 Seaport Blvd.) is hosting summer showings, and the Cape Cod Times reports additional screenings during TCM Fest in April. Can’t make it? Stream Jaws—and its three sequels—on Peacock, or rent it on Amazon Prime Video, Apple TV, or Fandango At Home. Half a century on, the tale of Chief Brody, Hooper, and Quint battling a rogue great white off Amity Island still has us hooked.
But here’s where our story gets personal. Amid the mechanical shark malfunctions and salty chaos of the 1974 shoot, a Portsmouth, Rhode Island, disc jockey paddled into the action—and lived to tell the tale.
Jim Harrington: Rhode Island’s Radio Renegade
James “Jim” Kane Harrington is no stranger to the spotlight—or the mic. A graduate of Portsmouth High School and Thomas Edison State College (BA in Communications), Jim’s voice has boomed across some of America’s biggest radio stations since the late 1960s: WCBS-FM in New York, WBZ and WMEX in Boston, KDKA and WTAE in Pittsburgh, WWVA in Wheeling, and WICE in Providence, to name a few. He’s semi-retired now, co-hosting the podcast It’s AnotheIr Day with Jim and Bill with radio vet Bill Knight, but his career’s been a wild ride. Beyond spinning records, Jim’s a six-time Telly Award winner, an ADDY recipient, and a published author of mysteries like Squeeze Play and Strike at the Giant—the latter a top 25 finalist in a Court TV crime-writing contest. He even wrote and directed a sitcom pilot in 1995, All The Good Sports, featuring NFL Hall of Famer Rod Woodson.
Born and bred in Portsmouth, Jim’s roots run deep. He’s the kind of guy who’d charm a crowd at a local clam shack one minute and hustle to a gig the next. In 1974, while working at WDRC in Hartford, Connecticut, that hustle landed him on the set of Jaws—and into movie history.
Jim’s Jaws Adventure: From Radio Waves to Shark-Infested Waters
It was a typical summer day in ‘74 when Jim got a call that changed everything. An AFTRA union rep tipped him off: “They’re looking for extras for a movie called Jaws on Martha’s Vineyard—right away.” Jim bolted to his program director’s office, cashed in his vacation time on the spot, and—after a quick hug to his wife and one-year-old—hit the road from Hartford to the Vineyard. “My wife knew I was nuts about movies,” he says. “She wasn’t even surprised.”
Arriving on the island, Jim found chaos: no hotel rooms, just a cramped boarding house bed with a bathroom down the hall. The next day, he joined hundreds of extras on a beach between Vineyard Haven and Edgartown, sipping coffee and waiting. Then, fate struck. A young woman plucked him from the crowd—“Come with me”—and led him to a skinny, long-haired guy surrounded by crew. It was Steven Spielberg, who gave Jim a quick nod. Minutes later, he was in wardrobe: a fisherman’s hat, checkerboard hunting top, chinos, and boat shoes. “They rushed me to a dressing room trailer and said, ‘Get dressed fast,’” Jim recalls. “Next thing I know, I’m shaking hands with Spielberg, and he’s got me in the water dodging a shark.”
Jim’s scene? He’s one of the panicked swimmers fleeing the great white’s attack—a moment that amps up the terror as the fin slices closer. Between takes, he’d retreat to his trailer, dry off with a brandy (“to take the chill off”), and hand his soaked clothes to assistants. “Spielberg was all business—no joking around,” Jim says. “He was in the zone.” After a day of shooting, Jim’s Cinderella moment ended—he was sent back to the “herd” of extras, his brush with stardom over. But when he saw Jaws a year later at a packed theater in Manchester, Connecticut, his scene hit the screen, and the audience gasped. “Some even clapped,” he grins. “I almost took a bow but figured they’d toss me out.”
A Local Bite of Hollywood Glory
Jim didn’t just survive the shark—he parlayed that gig into a career footnote that’s followed him ever since. “Every radio interview I did after, they’d ask about Jaws,” he says. “How many people can say their first movie was with Spielberg?” As Jaws turns 50, Jim’s story adds a Rhode Island ripple to the legacy. From Portsmouth High to Martha’s Vineyard, he’s our local guy who swam with the big fish—and lived. So here’s to Jaws, still biting after all these years, and to Jim Harrington, the DJ who dodged the jaws and gave us a tale with some serious teeth. This story really bites—and it’s all true.