Paul_D's Blog

She has a fountain of behind-the-scenes knowledge thanks to her marriage to Oscar-winning producer Richard Zanuck.  Born in Maryland, she was the first runner-up in the 1965 Miss USA pageant. In November of that year, she signed a seven year deal with 20th Century Fox. Her television debut came in back-to-back episodes of Batman in 1966. Linda Harrison


Now divorced from Zanuck,  can talk about lots of interesting stuff. she was originally slated to play the role of the police chief's wife in Jaws. was offered the role. but Universal Studios president Sid Shienberg had offered the part to his wife, actress Lorraine Gary. According to Dick Zanuck, to smooth things out, Shienberg picked up the telephone and called the producer of the upcoming film Airport 1975, William Frye. "Bill," Shienberg said, "you've got another passenger on your airplane."

While she didn't get the part in Jaws, she was on location during the shoot, and although Sid Shienberg is often credited with championing Steven Spielberg, it was Zanuck and his co-producer, David Brown, who kept Spielberg working on Jaws despite the myriad of problems that arose. Prior to Jaws, Spielberg had directed the Zanuck/Brown produced Sugarland Express.