
Swimmer circumnavigates Martha's Vineyard ahead of 'Jaws' 50th anniversary
An endurance swimmer crossed the finish line of his 62-mile, multi-day swim around Martha's Vineyard, becoming the first person to swim around the island. Lewis Pugh, 55, completed the challenge ahead of the 50th anniversary of the release of "Jaws" to advocate for the protection of sharks. NBC News' Joe Fryer and Savannah Sellers spoke with Pugh about his swim in waters known for their shark population.May 27, 2025

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I do signings. They fly me all over the world and pay me in cash at those things - around £10,000 a time. "There are Jaws tours and people pay double if I'm on them and next month I'm appearing at three Meet, Greet and Mingle Parties. "I still get paid every time the film appears on TV. My brother lives in Portugal and I'll get texts from him going: 'good news, you just died on TV over here. You'll get another cheque.'". Until recently, Jeffrey was running a restaurant where he sold Alex Kintner burgers and fans would pay him to record personal Cameo videos. He shares: "I did one yesterday from the beach where I died and said: 'Hey! From your dear wife and the dead Alex Kintner – happy birthday!''People seem to enjoy it, although I had a peculiar request last year. A family contacted me and said: 'our father was a big Jaws fan and he passed away on the couch watching the film, can you send your condolences.'"I thought: 'what on earth is this? 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'""We all ran up and he sounded just like he did in the movie. We could smell booze and he went: 'get away from me you little s***s! ' He wanted nothing to do with us! "The iconic film, set in the made-up Amity Island beach resort, saw its production on Martha's Vineyard, which is still home to Jeffrey, and he mentions the buzz around town at the time." We heard rumours that they were making a movie and were paying $40 a day to be an extra," Jeffrey recalls." We all signed up and then a few days later I was called in by Steven Spielberg, who asked me to read a few lines and then made me sign a ton of papers. ""He said I was joining the Screen Actors Guild because I'd got a speaking part and was going to be paid $140 a day. That's pretty good when you're 12 years old. 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