"Bruce" is the animatronic great white shark seen in Steven Spielberg's Jaws. The puppet was originally named Bruce by Spielberg after his lawyer, Bruce Raynor, though casual fans of the film have referred to the shark as "Jaws".
History[]
In the summer of 1974, the small island community of Amity was rocked when a series of shark attacks occurred in local waters. Due to imminent Independence Day celebrations, the Mayor of Amity refused to close the beaches as the town relied on summertime tourist trading. After four victims were claimed by the shark, the beaches were finally closed and efforts were made to try and hunt down and destroy the beast.
Shark hunter Sam Quint, captain of the Orca, set out to kill the shark, accompanied by Amity's police chief Martin Brody and marine biologist Matthew Hooper. In the events that followed, Quint tried many tricks to catch the shark over the course of two days, first by recalling it in on rod and reel, then by harpooning it with barrels to keep it at the surface. Though both attempts failed, Quint was incredibly stubborn and resilient.
Quint ultimately tried to kill the shark in a last ditch effort as the shark attacked the Orca. One of Hooper's scuba tanks rolled over his fingers, causing him to lose grip and slide toward the waiting shark. He tried kicking at the shark to no avail. The shark then bit into his waist. Screaming in pain, Quint grabbed a machete and stabbed the fish with it, but still to no avail. With one final crunch, Quint spit up blood and was quickly dragged under the waves.
Death[]
When the shark surfaced again, Martin was able to slide an oxygen tank down into the creature's mouth. The tank became lodged on the shark's razor-sharp teeth and the creature briefly withdrew, giving Martin the time to climb atop the mast of the sinking vessel with a rifle. As the shark came back toward him, Martin fired several shots, the last of which struck the visible oxygen tank and caused it to explode, blasting the shark to pieces.