Scott and Jenn are diving into some seriously cool nostalgia today, chatting about the legendary movie *Jaws*. They’ve got an exclusive audio gem from an interview Jenn snagged with Todd Rebello, who was just a kid when he starred in the film. Todd played one of the beach kids who had a close encounter with our favorite great white shark. He shares some wild behind-the-scenes stories about filming and what it was like living in Martha’s Vineyard back in 1975. Even though a tech hiccup wiped out most of Jenn’s footage, we’re still bringing you Todd’s awesome insights.
So, grab your floaties and get ready to ride the wave of Jaws history!
Transcript
Scott
00:00:09.360 – 00:00:54.310
Welcome to Talk with History. I’m your host, Scott. And today we have a special audio exclusive just for our podcast listeners.
In keeping with our look back at 50 years of Jaws and the impact that movie had on American culture and movie history, we have an audio exclusive for you this week. This past summer, Jen was hired to be a historian for American Cruise Lines. This has opened up travel opportunities for her.
And back in July, she filmed a video from Martha’s Vineyard all about the original filming locations of Jaws. She even met a local who was in the movie Mr. Todd Rebelo.
Todd played one of the kids on the beach when Sheriff Brody’s son was almost attacked by Jaws near the bridge and who went into shock as he was pulled out of the water. You may remember that scene.
Jenn
00:00:54.460 – 00:00:54.780
Scene.
Scott
00:00:55.020 – 00:01:40.310
Well, the young boy that played Sheriff Brody’s oldest son, the boy that was pulled out of the water, was also Todd Rebelo’s brother in real life.
Jen happened to run into Todd while she was filming and had a short interview with him as he recounted his experience filming the movie, what it was like in the town as a local in 1975, some of the things his brother said and the lasting impact Joss has had. Unfortunately, we, we had a technical glitch and we lost almost all the footage from that July trip. Jen and I were quite devastated.
But I was able to save the audio from Jen’s conversation with Todd, so we thought we would share that with you today. Here is a short exclusive interview just for our podcast listeners with Mr. Todd.
Jenn
00:01:40.390 – 00:01:52.520
Rebecca, here I am. It can tell me who you are and where we’re at and your connection to the movie.
Todd
00:01:52.520 – 00:02:05.240
Josh, we’re at South Beach Apparel in Oak Bluffs, Mass. On Martha’s Vineyard slash Amity Island. And my connection to the movie was I was in it as well as my brother.
Was Michael Brody the older boy in the movie?
Jenn
00:02:05.240 – 00:02:08.000
So the older son of Chief Brody?
Todd
00:02:08.000 – 00:02:42.210
Yes, was my brother. And it was, it was a very interesting way how we got in the movie. We, my mom had sent in pictures back in 1974.
We got a call back and we went to the casting and we did a couple little short, little skits. We left. We got an immediate call back.
Like a couple days later, we went back in, did another skit for more executives, and then they called back a third time. I was on a school trip. My mom took my brother down and he got the part as Michael Brody. So, yeah, that’s pretty awesome.
Jenn
00:02:42.930 – 00:02:44.890
Now who, who are you in them filming?
Todd
00:02:44.890 – 00:02:57.010
So I’m one of his, the beach friends. So if you can see here that, that would be me with Chief Brody there.
And more importantly, there’s my brother who played Michael Brody, and He passed away 25 years ago.
Jenn
00:02:57.089 – 00:02:58.010
So I’m sorry.
Todd
00:02:58.010 – 00:02:59.690
You know, it’s been nice to honor him.
Jenn
00:02:59.690 – 00:03:00.090
Yes.
Todd
00:03:00.090 – 00:03:16.900
You know, through the documentary, the, the, the jaws at 50, the definitive inside story. So. Which was fabulous. I, I, I watch it.
Of course, I’m biased, but I watched it and learned so much that I didn’t know, you know, you know, through the movie.
Jenn
00:03:16.900 – 00:03:19.300
So, and, and how, how old were you at this time?
Todd
00:03:19.300 – 00:03:24.019
So I was 13. My brother was only 12. So we were, we were 17 months apart, so.
Jenn
00:03:24.180 – 00:03:26.660
Oh, my, my brother and I are 18 months apart. I get that.
Todd
00:03:26.660 – 00:03:27.180
Yeah, very.
Jenn
00:03:27.180 – 00:03:27.900
You feel like twins.
Todd
00:03:27.900 – 00:03:28.980
Yes, exactly.
Jenn
00:03:29.140 – 00:03:32.100
Okay, so what was this, what was the town like during the filming?
Todd
00:03:32.820 – 00:03:52.230
So there were, there, you know, things are always on a slow pace here, so we absorbed it slowly. A lot early on took place at the beach.
So a lot of the beach scenes, the, you know, the, we, we see the bridge and the, the, the first attack on Alex Kittner, a lot of that took place.
Jenn
00:03:52.230 – 00:03:55.430
The second attack. Right. Because the girls killed first.
Todd
00:03:55.590 – 00:04:04.280
Well, she was killed first. Exactly. I stand correcting. So a lot of the early scenes, but of course, that was late May.
Jenn
00:04:04.280 – 00:04:04.640
Yeah.
Todd
00:04:04.640 – 00:04:22.320
And into June. So we were in the water. It was cold. Even, even the air at times was cold. So the, the experience there was building for the island.
They saw all the trucks, the, you know, production crews. So you see, like, oh, my God, this is real. They’re filming a movie here on the island.
Jenn
00:04:22.480 – 00:04:25.160
So your brother, is he the one who’s in the water then?
Todd
00:04:25.160 – 00:04:31.920
So he was the one who walked up and said, I got bit by a vampire. He’s the older boy of the chief of police in the movie.
Jenn
00:04:31.920 – 00:04:32.200
Yes.
Todd
00:04:32.200 – 00:04:34.820
He, the one that went to the hospital. They dragged him up on the beach.
Jenn
00:04:34.820 – 00:04:36.620
Yes. He has, like, the shock.
Todd
00:04:36.780 – 00:04:47.820
He goes into shock. Yeah. And he asked for coffee ice cream. That’s always a big question. Why coffee ice cream? 1975, nobody even heard about coffee ice cream.
Around the country, that’s true, but in New England, it was a, it was a staple.
Jenn
00:04:48.299 – 00:04:50.380
Okay, I’ll make sure I’m getting you in a frame here.
Todd
00:04:50.380 – 00:04:50.700
Y.
Jenn
00:04:50.700 – 00:05:01.340
Okay, so now you live on the island. You operate a, a souvenir shop here. I bought a lot of T shirts for the whole family. So you’ve lived here your whole life?
Todd
00:05:01.420 – 00:05:11.420
I’ve been my entire life. It wasn’t the business that I aspired to or Thought it was the one that worked.
So, you know, I grew up and our family was always in the restaurant business.
Jenn
00:05:11.500 – 00:05:12.060
Very cool.
Todd
00:05:12.060 – 00:05:16.820
We were all very, always very involved in the. In the town and island affairs and.
Jenn
00:05:16.820 – 00:05:17.500
Yeah, yeah.
Todd
00:05:17.500 – 00:05:18.300
True islanders.
Jenn
00:05:18.380 – 00:05:32.730
True islanders. So let me ask you. It’s the 50th anniversary. It has this enduring effect. Jaws is a great movie. I love watching it even. So you play it here, right?
Just tell me about the impact of the movie on your life.
Todd
00:05:33.290 – 00:06:48.370
Well, it was. It’s always been the gift that keeps giving in a sense. You know, it’s kind of like a journey.
It was 50 years and, you know, there was a period where it went into hibernation for a while and, you know, maybe from like 1985 to around 2000. And then you get the resurgence of sharks and Shark Week and the tv. And now every year it’s in everybody’s face for sometimes weeks.
And that kind of was like putting gasoline on a fire. It just, you know, brought the strength of the movie back.
And people started to take a. I mean, there were always people who were fans the whole time, but people started to take a closer look at the movie and the actors. And a lot of the actors were passing and, you know, so. And then they. They took a different look at the island, too.
And, you know, it’s an interactive experience when you come here to the island and you’re a Jaws fan, because you can go to the Jaws bridge. You can jump off the Jaws bridge. You can. You can go to the downtown areas.
You go to the, you know, drive by the house that the Brodies lived in, this access here.
And, and, you know, when you have public access that people can go to these locations and they can take the same pictures that were taken, you know, of the. From the film, you know, play out the same roles and post them on video.
Jenn
00:06:48.770 – 00:06:50.450
You know, you’re in history.
Todd
00:06:50.530 – 00:07:11.130
Yeah, right. So it’s different than any other movie. I mean, you know, a couple of years ago is the 50th anniversary of Godfather, Greatest movies of all time.
But you didn’t see this kind of worldwide kind of experience that’s going on and all the advertising, merchandising, everything that’s going on, and in a couple years from now, it’s going to be. It’s going to be Star Wars.
Jenn
00:07:11.210 – 00:07:11.690
Yes.
Todd
00:07:11.930 – 00:07:35.010
And when Star wars comes out, and that’s the 50th anniversary star. I mean, where are they going to go? Planet Zuma? I mean, you have. There’s no interactive experience.
Doesn’t mean that it Won’t be celebrated as a great all time movie, but.
Yeah, but Jaws has a place you can go and you, and you can come and come talk and talk to people that were in the movie who, you know, there were only eight actors, real actors that were in the movie. The rest were all locusts, you know. So.
Jenn
00:07:35.010 – 00:07:40.290
Okay, so here’s the, the $50,000 question. Did you ever see a great white shark?
Todd
00:07:42.610 – 00:07:58.770
Well, I’ll tell you this. I saw one that was up on blocks that all the local kids in the neighborhood went out and climbed on and played on. So I saw that one.
But actually, as far as live in the water, the answer is no.
Jenn
00:07:59.330 – 00:08:04.050
Okay, and then one last question. Who was the nicest person to work with of all the actors? Who was the nicest?
Todd
00:08:04.610 – 00:08:18.050
You know, it was a hard one because most people didn’t work with Robert Shaw. A lot of his things were done on the water and we, you know, out of the public view. You didn’t see those shots. Similar with Richard Dreyfuss.
Jenn
00:08:18.050 – 00:08:18.450
Yes.
Todd
00:08:19.090 – 00:08:21.210
Roy Scheider would probably be the guy.
Jenn
00:08:21.210 – 00:08:22.610
He was more interact with the people.
Todd
00:08:23.010 – 00:08:24.210
The police chief. Yes.
Jenn
00:08:24.210 – 00:08:26.390
And he’s the dad of your, of your brother.
Todd
00:08:26.390 – 00:08:42.310
Yeah.
And he was, you know, I, I have a few videos where, you know, you’d be down in the, with a little mess area where they had a trailer with food and all that. And he, you know, it wasn’t like he grabbed his food and ran off.
He would come in the set and, you know, so he was, he was, you know, he wasn’t standoffish.
Jenn
00:08:42.310 – 00:08:42.630
Yeah.
Todd
00:08:42.630 – 00:08:45.910
You know, actually the nicest one wasn’t even the actor.
Jenn
00:08:46.070 – 00:08:47.190
Yeah, this Spielberg.
Todd
00:08:47.190 – 00:08:56.700
This Spielberg. Yeah, he was very, you know, he would communicate very well with the kids as well as the adults. He was, you know, maybe it’s his age, you know.
Jenn
00:08:56.700 – 00:08:57.060
Yeah.
Todd
00:08:57.140 – 00:08:59.220
He was still trying to make his name for himself.
Jenn
00:08:59.220 – 00:09:01.380
Exactly. First movie, right? And he.
Todd
00:09:01.380 – 00:09:09.820
Yeah, he would throw the ball around. You know, even with my brother a few times, they would throw the ball around in the morning. Yeah. So it’s, you know. Yeah. Very, very cool.
Jenn
00:09:09.820 – 00:09:13.860
Thank you. Thank you for this interview and like one last time, your name and your location.
Todd
00:09:14.100 – 00:09:25.690
Todd. Todd Rebelo here in Oak Bluffs.
And I have retail stores, but the main one that has been kind of exposed this year in a good way is south beach apparel.
Jenn
00:09:25.690 – 00:09:27.490
Okay, great. And thank you for your time.
Todd
00:09:27.570 – 00:09:27.970
Thank you.
Jenn
00:09:27.970 – 00:09:29.810
It was very nice to meet you. Thank you.
Scott
00:09:34.210 – 00:10:17.170
I hope you enjoyed that short interview with someone connected to a historic movie. You can also see Todd in the Jaws 50 year documentary that is available to viewers now. This has been a walk with his reproduction.
Talk with History is created and hosted by me, Scott Benny. Episode researched by Jennifer Benny. Check out the show notes for links and references mentioned in this episode.
Talk with History is supported by our fans@thehistoryroadtrip.com our eternal thanks go out to those providing funding to help keep us going. Thank you to Doug McLiberty, Larry Myers, Patrick Benny, Gale Cooper, Christy Coates, and Calvin Gifford.
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