‘The Unforgettable Impact of Lee Fierro’s Mrs. Kintner’

By Shade Rupe

“Chief Brody?”

“Yes?”

SLAP!

“I just found out that a girl got killed here last week. And you knew it. You knew there was a shark out there. You knew it was dangerous. But you let people go swimming anyway. You knew all those things. But still, my boy is dead now.

And there’s nothing you can do about it. My boy is dead.  I wanted you to know that.”

In 1975, at the tender age of seven, my father took me to see JAWS on its opening weekend at the Crossroads Theatre in Bellevue, Washington. He made me promise not to look away, but when Ben Gardner’s one-eyed gory head rolled into view, I did rotate my own head on my neck it was just that intense.

My father chuckled, but that moment, along with Mrs. Kintner’s raw, anguished slap across Chief Brody’s face, seared itself into my memory. Lee Fierro’s portrayal of a grieving mother, whose child was needlessly lost to a preventable tragedy, haunts me more than any of the film’s visceral shark attacks. Her performance, though brief, is a masterclass in conveying profound loss.

Small roles in cinema rarely receive the acclaim they deserve, yet certain performances transcend their brevity to become iconic. Lee Fierro’s Mrs. Kintner in JAWS is one such moment. Fierro’s 82 seconds and 67 words as Mrs. Kintner delivers an emotional gut-punch that lingers for decades. Her portrayal of a mother whose son, Alex, is torn from her just steps from the shore transforms a fleeting role into one of the most memorable in film history.

Born Elizabeth Lee Beers in New York on February 13, 1929, Fierro’s journey to this iconic role was circuitous. She began studying acting in 1946 under Andrew Jilinsky, a mentor from the Moscow Art Theatre. In 1949, she married actor Marvin Stephens, with whom she had four children. In the role of being a good mother, she was kept her away from her beloved stage. After their divorce, she wed Bernard Fierro, adopting the surname that would later become synonymous with her JAWS character.

In 1974, Fierro relocated to Vineyard Haven, the main port of Martha’s Vineyard, Massachusetts. This move serendipitously aligned with the filming of JAWS in the area. Initially, the role of Mrs. Kintner was underwritten—a grieving mother pinning warning signs to bulletin boards. Fierro nearly declined the part when a later draft of script, laden with profanity, offended her sensibilities.

In an interview with the Vineyard Gazette, she recalled telling casting assistant Shari Poole, “I won’t swear. I don’t think it’s well written because there’s a scene just before it where they swear. I thank you very much. I appreciate Universal offering me the part, but I can’t play it.”

A week later, Poole called back, offering a revised script without the objectionable language. When asked if she’d mind “spitting at the shark,” Fierro agreed, unaware that the action would evolve into the now-iconic slap across Roy Scheider’s face.

Fierro’s performance is a study in authenticity. The veil she lifts, the trembling fury in her voice, the sting of her slap, and the pained reactions of Brody and Hooper (Richard Dreyfuss) coalesce into a scene of devastating power. Fierro later revealed she slapped Scheider seventeen times during filming, once accidentally sending his glasses flying. Her training—delivering a loose-wristed slap—ensured the scene’s intensity without causing harm. This moment, born of collaboration and improvisation, cemented her place in cinema history.

Fierro’s legacy extends far beyond JAWS. She co-founded the Island Theatre Workshop in Martha’s Vineyard in 1974, serving as its artistic director and board president for over 40 years. Mentoring over 1,000 children as a director, writer, and teacher, she built a lasting community theater that thrives to this day. Though she briefly reprised Mrs. Kintner in the lackluster JAWS: The Revenge (1987), Fierro preferred her work with young performers over Hollywood fame.

Mrs Taft (Fritzi Jane Courtney) and Mrs. Kintner (Lee Fierro) reunite in JAWS: The Revenge.

A charming anecdote underscores her enduring connection to the role: years after JAWS, she visited The Wharf Pub in Edgartown, Massachusetts, and noticed an “Alex Kintner Sandwich” on the menu. Upon mentioning her role, she was reunited with Jeffrey Voorhees, who played her on-screen son Alex and remains today as the manager of the restaurant.

In 2017, Fierro’s friend and colleague Kevin Ryan drove her to Ohio to be closer to her family. Following her passing on April 5, 2020, Ryan reflected in a Martha’s Vineyard Times dedication: “I want people to remember that she helped to build a community company that after 52 years is still here. As they’re closing around the country, we’re still here, and that’s because of Lee Fierro’s dedication.”

Lee Fierro’s Mrs. Kintner is more than a fleeting role; it’s a testament to the power of small moments in cinema. Her performance, etched in pain and truth, ensures that her boy—and her legacy—will never be forgotten.

Elizabeth Lee Fierro, February 13, 1929 – April 5, 2020. Forever.

ABOUT SHADE RUPE:
Shade Rupe is the author of Funeral Party, Funeral Party 2, and the interview collection Dark Stars Rising, in addition to appearing in over 80 Hollywood films, including Steven Spielberg’s West Side Story, as background talent. Shade remembers every second of JAWS as his father took him to see it in a packed theater when he was 7 years old and had the 8-track of the soundtrack to relive it all at home. Shade promised his dad he wouldn’t turn his head during the film, but the Ben Gardner scene broke him.