Remember those rascals in Jaws that terrified the beach-goers on Amity Island and almost gave Chief Brody and Mayor Vaughn a heart attack?
Well, believe it or not, one of the two shark fin pranksters cast in the original film, Jonathan Searle, has just been named the Chief of Police for Martha’s Vineyard (where Jaws was originally filmed in 1975).
According to the Vineyard Gazette, the board of selectmen of the island town voted in favor of Searle, 3-1 (with one member recusing himself because he is a police sergeant on the Vineyard, not because of Searle’s on-screen hijinks), making him the new top cop, where he has worked since 1986.
Back in 2008, life began imitating fiction when Officer Searle’ charged a man with disorderly conduct for trying to perpetrate his own hoax involving Great White sharks.
Good luck to the newly named Chief and be sure not to take any guff from the Mayor or Board of Selectmen if you think a killer shark may be on the loose this summer!