Can ‘Jaws’ Help Solve a 44-Year-Old Murder Mystery?
Novelist Joe Hill — son of Stephen King — believes a woman who appears in “Jaws” may be the unidentified “Lady of the Dunes”
Tim Molloy | July 30, 2018 @ 5:39 PM
Last Updated: July 31, 2018 @ 9:42 AM
An artist's rendering of the Lady of the Dunes, and the woman who appears as an extra in "Jaws"
Childhoods don’t get much more New England than Joe Hill’s: He’s the son of Maine’s most famous author, Stephen King, and he grew up loving “Jaws,” set in a fictionalized Martha’s Vineyard.
But his childhood was also haunted by the discovery of a body found in Provincetown, Massachusetts, in July 1974, just two years after Hill was born — and around the time Steven Spielberg was shooting “Jaws” nearby. Known as the “Lady of the Dunes,” the victim was never identified.
In June 2015, Joe Hill was watching “Jaws” for its 40th anniversary when he saw something onscreen that had him “half-lunging out of my seat, prickling with gooseflesh,” as he later wrote on his blog.
He believed an unidentified woman who appeared briefly in a crowd scene almost perfectly resembled the Lady of the Dunes.
Hill’s chilling observation provides the climax of the sixth episode of the “Inside Jaws” podcast, which concludes this week. You can listen to the episode here.
Additionally, Mark Ramsey, the host of “Inside Jaws,” spoke with us about many aspects of the making of “Jaws” on our podcast, “Shoot This Now.” You can can listen to on Apple or right here.
Hill noted on his blog that little is known about the Lady of the Dunes, whose body was found in a badly decomposed state.
It appeared that someone had tried, and failed, to remove her head. Hill offered this additional description:
Her jeans and a blue bandana had been folded and placed beneath her head. … We know about the blue bandana and the Wrangler jeans. We know she was between the ages of 25 and 49 years old… although 30 seems a particularly good bet. She had expensive dental work. Her hair was auburn or red. She was fit, 145 pounds, and when she was discovered her hair was in a ponytail, captured by a holder with gold sparkles in it.
Hill noted that “Jaws” shot very close to where the Lady of the Dunes was found, at around the same time she was found. He was struck by how much the woman in “Jaws” — an extra who appears briefly in a crowd scene — resembles the Lady of the Dunes. He wrote on his blog:
Blue bandana. About 30. Fit, 145 pounds. I don’t believe those are Wrangler jeans, but a lady presumably owns more than one pair of jeans.
Hill also noted that “Jaws” drew many people interested in being extras in the film, which dragged on long past schedule and became a source of intense local fascination.
Despite Hill’s digging — including talking to a friend in the FBI — the mystery of the Lady in the Dunes remains unsolved.
Perhaps “Inside Jaws” will expand awareness of his theory, and bring forward someone who can conclusively identify the woman who appears in “Jaws.”
And we highly recommend the conclusion of “Inside Jaws,” which drops Tuesday.
From 'Inside Jaws' to 'The Gateway': 10 Perfect Summer Podcasts
Need summer podcast recommendations? We've got 10 good options.
Before we start, can we suggest our own podcast, "Shoot This Now"? We've interviewed the people behind two of the podcasts that follow, "Inside Jaws" and "The Gateway." People also like our episode about Bruce Lee.
Our all-time favorite podcast is finally back after a long hiatus. This season, host Karina Longworth fact-check's Kenneth Anger's ferociously gossipy "Hollywood Babylon," a collection of the entertainment industry's most enduring legends.
Mark Ramsey's story of Steven Spielberg's struggles to create "Jaws" -- and the horrifying shark attacks that helped inspire the film -- is a masterful look at creation and destruction. Ramsey told us on "Shoot This Now" that he's already getting interest from Hollywood about turning the show into a TV series.
Summer is a great season for horror, from slumber party massacres to sleepaway camp slashers, which makes Marshall Hicks and Kat Wells' deeply researched, frequently funny dissections of classic (and lost) horror movies feel perfectly on-point. They dive deep into themes like the glory of gory VHS box covers and the best horror films about Los Angeles.
That abbreviation stands for "Get Out the Motherf---ing Vote." I'm friends with one of the Michigan progressives who co-hosts the show, and started listening because of how funny he is. But I've stuck around for the pragmatic, grassroots discussions of politics in a key battleground state and nationwide. This may be a long, hot summer of wondering who will join the Supreme Court, and the fall elections are only a few months away. "GOTMFV" will keep you motivated to GOTMFV. (Tweet @timamolloy if you've figured out how the image on the left is connected to another podcast on this list.)
Do we think "The RFK Tapes" will change everything we think we know about the assassination of Robert F. Kennedy? No, but we're suckers for old audiotapes, and the creators of "Crimetown" have done a tremendous job of tracking down and presenting rare recordings of Sirhan Sirhan after he was arrested for Kennedy's murder. They're a fascinating time capsule of a paranoid age that obviously bears no resemblance to the one we live in now.
Hosts Brittany Luse and Eric Eddings pivot beautifully each episode from comedy to politics to history in their examination of many aspects of African-American life. The "Good for the Blacks" segment will make you laugh even as you rethink essentials like "Coming to America," and episodes like "The Legend of RZA and The Last Airbender" and "Moooo and Oink!" are narrative masterpieces that charm as they inform. It's a perfect summer podcast: warm, breezy, and reflective.
The legal discussions have always been wise and hilarious, and the audio quality and musical drops just keep getting better. The upcoming Supreme Court fight just made this even more essential listening.
Gizmodo's excellent investigative podcast takes one of those YouTube personalities you wonder about -- self-help guru Teal Swan -- and examines whether she's one of countless "influencers" or an extremely dangerous one who may be encouraging some of her followers to consider suicide. It can be a tough listen, but it raises important questions about who, if anyone, should regulate the people who offer advice online. Play it during your next road trip and expect hours of debate after each episode ends.
You need to go on Patreon to pay for new episodes, but it's worth it. The "American Psycho" author will push your buttons, whatever they are. But listening to people you disagree with is healthy. And it's hard to argue with his passionate, eloquent celebration and defense of film -- and especially the kinds of thoughtful films for grown-ups that seem lost between Hollywood blockbusters and TV shows built for binging.
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Planning a road trip? Zoning out by the pool? We’ve got your ears covered
Need summer podcast recommendations? We've got 10 good options.
