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| Wildwood Leader clipping (Courtesy of Vince Sculli) |
With the island caught up in the frenzy that surrounded the release of Jaws, the then-14-year old held court daily at the old Blaker Theater. Nicknamed "Joe Jaws," he attended more consecutive showings of the killer shark blockbuster than anyone else (employees included).
In Part 2 of our three-part feature, Sculli talks about how his local celebrity status took off after he was featured in the Wildwood Leader, his only negative experience that summer (and how it ultimately became a positive), going on to work for the Hunts, and more...
Read Part 1 of the interview HERE.
Al Alven: So, the Leader article comes out, and you're no longer just Joe Jaws at the Blaker - you officially become a Wildwood celebrity. How did things change after that?
Vincent Sculli: I started getting noticed even more, not just by the theater employees. All around town, up on the Boardwalk, the beach. People just started coming up to me. At the Blaker, I was always the first in line, two hours before showtime. The long line would form, and I would sign autographs by the box office. Merle Paul always knew how to capitalize on a situation for promotion. They had these posters there, keeping track of how many times I'd seen the movie. Mike Quattrone, the manager of the Blaker, put the Leader article in the box office window. Between shows, I would stand outside the Blaker, talking to people about Jaws. They offered me free admittance to the showings. But, I refused because I wanted those ticket stubs. I had to pay to get them, to keep track and add to my collection. It had to be official; I was really serious about that. But, they did take care of me in other ways. I couldn't pay for food at the concession stands, things like that.
AA: You were the Blaker VIP.
VS: (laughs) Yeah, you could say that. Funny story, though. When Jaws first opened, I used to go to the box office and really battled with the ticket lady. In those days, kids 12 and under got in for... I think it was under a buck. Everyone else was $3.50. I always told the lady I was 12 to try to get in cheaper. Of course, I was 14 and I looked even older, so she wouldn't buy it. But, I tried really hard. A few weeks later, no one ever questioned me. I could have gone to every show for free, if I had wanted to. But, it wasn't that way at first.
AA: Was there ever a point where it hit you, that all of this was pretty cool?
VS: Yeah, it happened a few weeks after the movie came out and after the Leader story. I was on the beach with my family, when one of those banner planes flew overhead. I can't remember exactly what it said, but it was an advertisement for Jaws, asking how many times you've seen the movie. That was because of me, and Merle was playing off of the article. Seeing that really made me think. That was quite a moment.
AA: Were there any drawbacks to being Joe Jaws?
VS: Not really. It was such a fun summer, and I enjoyed every minute of it. It all went by so fast; at least, it seemed that way, looking back on it. I met so many people and most of them were so nice to me. I will tell you about one negative thing that happened... but, there was a positive side to the story in the end.
AA: What happened?
VS: Well, I got jumped one night on the Boardwalk. It was after the last showing of Jaws, pretty late. Two kids, they were a few years older than me. They were very rude to a family waiting in line at the Blaker earlier, and they had a problem with me. This actually happened the same day that I did the interview for the Leader, that night. The hat I'm wearing in that photo, they took and threw it away. I lost it, never got it back.
AA: That's awful. But, you said there was a positive outcome?
VS: There was. I got so much support from the people at the Blaker when they found out the next day. Some of the ushers, they wanted to go out and find these guys who did this. They never did, but just knowing that they all had my back meant the world to me. Like I said before, it was like an extended family there. I'll never forget the way they treated me and took me in.
AA: On that note, in the Leader story, you mentioned wanting to work for the Hunts. Did it happen?
VS: Actually, it did! I started the very next summer, 1976. That was the year Rocky came out. Joe Jaws became an usher. I traded my Jaws t-shirt in for an official Hunt's Theatre uniform. Do you remember them? All ushers wore blue suits with an "H" emblem on the jacket, pants with a gold stripe down the sides. Ushers had a blue braid on the arm, assistant head ushers had a blue and gold braid, and the head ushers had a gold braid. My last year, in 1978, when I finally got promoted to head usher, they went to red jackets and black pants.
AA: Such attention to detail. Hunt's Theatres was a first class operation.
VS: Top notch, all the way.
AA: So, you worked as an usher for three years?
VS: Three summers, and I also worked one year at Hunt's Pier. Merle Paul had a game wheel, which I ran. That was a magical time in Wildwood. Anyone who grew up with Hunt's Pier knows how special it was, with the Golden Nugget, the pirate ship (SKUA), all of those great custom rides. You had the Flyer, Jungleland, the Wacky Shack... remember the Himalaya? It was such a unique atmosphere and so much fun to be a part of.
AA: Do any particular memories stand out from those years, working for the Hunts? Either at the theaters or the pier?
VS: Being a movie nut and having such an almost personal relationship with the Blaker itself, going on to work there was big deal. A real big deal for me. I was still just a teenager, enjoying my summers in Wildwood and now making some extra money working at a job I loved. The excitement of Wildwood in those days... being at the theaters when Rocky came in the year after Jaws, then Star Wars in 1977. These weren't just movies, they were like major events. They were huge then; like I said before, it was a different time. Those lines that wrapped around the corner, people lining up two hours before the movies started... that didn't last forever. In fact, it wouldn't last for much longer than that. But, to be there, in the middle of it all at that time in my life, in Wildwood, it was incredible. I'll never forget it.
To be concluded...
Coming up in Part 3: Sculli discusses summers in Wildwood, then and now. Also, was he ever afraid to go in to the ocean because of Jaws? And, what were his thoughts on the Jaws sequels? Joe Jaws will put it all in perspective in the final part of our interview special on Friday.
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