‘Jaws 2’ Director Jeannot Szwarc Has Passed Away

A French filmmaker best known to horror fans for directing the first sequel to Steven Spielberg’s Jaws back in 1978, Jeannot Szwarc has passed away at the age of 85 this week.

Jane Seymour, who starred alongside the late Christopher Reeve in Szwarc’s 1980 film Somewhere in Time, writes on Facebook: “Today, we say goodbye to a true visionary. Jeannot Szwarc was not just a brilliant director but a kind and generous soul. He gifted us many timeless stories, including Somewhere in Time, a film that changed my life forever.

“May his memory be a blessing, and may his artistry live on in our hearts.”

Jeannot Szwarc got his start in Hollywood directing for multiple television shows throughout the late 1960s and into the 1970s including “Ironside,” “It Takes a Thief,” “Paris 7000,” “The Virginian,” “Longstreet” and “Marcus Welby, M.D.” He made his feature debut with the 1972 TV movie Night of Terror, wherein a hired killer hunts down a schoolteacher.

From there, Szwarc directed the 1973 made-for-TV horror movie The Devil’s Daughter starring Shelley Winters, as well as the films You’ll Never See Me Again (1973), The Small Miracle (1973), and Bug (1975), and episodes of notable television shows including “Night Gallery,” “Columbo,” “The Six Million Dollar Man,” “Kojak,” “The Rockford Files,” and “Baretta.”

After the previous director exited the project, Jeannot Szwarc was hired to take over directing duties on Jaws 2 in the late 1970s, which made $208 million at the box office in 1978.

Post-Jaws 2, Szwarc directed films including Supergirl (1984), Santa Claus: The Movie (1985), and The Murders in the Rue Morgue (1986), with his career more recently being focused on television work. He directed on shows such as the 1980s version of “The Twilight Zone,” “Boston Public,” “Ally McBeal,” “The Practice,” “CSI: Miami,” “Boston Legal,” “Heroes,” “Cold Case,” “Smallville,” “Fringe,” “Almost Human,” “Supernatural,” “Bones” and “Grey’s Anatomy.”

Jeannot Szwarc celebrated the 45th anniversary of Jaws 2 just last year with a retrospective interview for the outlet The Daily Jaws, which we invite you to watch down below.