Susan Backlinie
| Susan Backlinie | |
|---|---|
| Born | Susan Jane Swindall September 1, 1946 |
| Occupation | Former Actress Former Stuntwoman |
| Years active | 1975 - 1988 |
| Spouse | William Seale (? - present) Monty Cox (? - ?) |
Susan Backlinie (born Susan Jane Swindall on September 1, 1946) is a former actress and stuntwoman. She is known for her role as Chrissie Watkins, the first victim in Steven Spielberg's 1975 blockbuster Jaws.
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[edit] Personal life
Along with being a stuntwoman specializing in swimming work, she was also an animal trainer. She currently works as a computer accountant in her birthplace of Ventura, California.
[edit] Career
Backlinie also appeared in Spielberg's film 1941 parodying her role in Jaws. Instead of being attacked by a shark during a midnight swim, she's "picked up" by a Japanese submarine. Backlinie also appeared in the film The Day of the Animals, regarded by some as a Jaws clone about nature gone bad.
When Jaws co-star Richard Dreyfuss saw a daily of her performance of being attacked by the shark, he told her it absolutely terrified him.
Originally, the shot of the shark attack in which Backlinie was involved had to be shot several times, because she was unable to produce the intended reaction. Therefore, the next filming day, the attack scene was shot again, only this time, Backlinie was not told when she would be "attacked". When the diver below her grabbed onto, and pulled her leg to pull her under, she gave a genuine scared reaction, and the shot was left into the final product, as it was exactly what Spielberg was looking for.
[edit] Filmography
| Film | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Film | Role | Notes |
| 1975 | Jaws | Christine 'Chrissie' Watkins | |
| The Grizzly and the Treasure | Eve | ||
| 1976 | Grizzly | Victim | (uncredited) |
| Two-Minute Warning | Pretty blonde woman in crowd | (uncredited) | |
| 1977 | Day of the Animals | Mandy Young | |
| 1979 | 1941 | Polar Bear Woman | |
| 1981 | The Great Muppet Caper | Charkie's Water Ballet Performer | |
| 1988 | A Stranger in My Forest | Unknown | |
| Television | |||
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 1976 | The Quest | Girl in Brawl | (1 episode) |
| 1978 | Quark | Guard #1 | (2 episodes) |
[edit] Other
She appeared in her own pictorial ("The Lady and the Lion") in the January 1973 issue of Penthouse magazine.
[edit] External links
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