Actress Lee Fierro passed away from health complications after contracting the novel coronavirus, according to multiple reports.
The 91-year-old was most well-known for her role as the mourning mother Mrs. Kintner in the 1975 Steven Spielberg classic “Jaws.” Her character famously slapped Chief Brody, played by Roy Schneider, for failing to warn swimmers about a great white shark after her son Alex was the animal’s second victim.
“You knew there was a shark out there, you knew it was dangerous, but you let people go swimming anyway,” Lee’s character Mrs. Kintner said. “My boy is dead. I wanted you to know that.”
Fierro later reprised her role in “Jaws: The Revenge” in 1987.
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Lee lived most of her life on Martha’s Vineyard, where the first “Jaws” movie was shot, before moving to a care facility in Ohio, according to Martha’s Vineyard Times. She had long served on the board of The Island Theater Workshop where she mentored young actors, according to the outlet.
Artistic director Kevin Ryan remembered Lee as a dedicated performer, and added, “Though she really did steal that (“Jaws”) scene from a lot of big actors…I want people to remember that she helped to build a community company that after 52 years is still here.,” the report continued. “As they’re closing around the country, we’re still here and that’s because of Lee Fierro’s dedication.”
“The one word I would think of when I think of Lee is dedication. I’ve watched her as a performer, director and business woman and then we became friends. She was my teacher and mentor,” Ryan told Martha’s Vineyard Times.
“I would still call Lee for artistic discussion and commentary … She was fiercely dedicated to the mission of teaching. She, no matter what it was, would stay at it and get the job done.”
May she rest in peace.
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