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In 1974, my wife, Bracha, wasn't my wife yet. That's probably a good thing because I was only ... [redacted in case my wife reads this] ... years old.
About 10 years earlier, Bracha had moved with her family to the US from Israel. In 1974, she was married to her first husband and visiting her in-laws on Martha's Vineyard. Steven Spielberg and his film crew were in town making Jaws. Bracha joined her in-laws on their boat to watch the moviemakers at work.
The filmmakers were having trouble with the mechanical shark. A man on a boat some distance away jumped into the water to work on the shark for a while. After he swam back to his boat, Bracha turned to the others on their boat and stated that she had gone to school with that man in Israel.
"That man" was ween by them only at a distance and it had been some time since Bracha had gone to school in Israel. "That man" would have been a child the last time she saw him. But, Bracha insisted that she recognized him.
So, someone on the boat handed her a bullhone and, during a break in the filming, Bracha called out in Hebrew, "Eddie, is that you?"
The man on the other boat looked confused. He looked up at the sky. He looked down at water. he looked all around. Finally, he spotted the woman on the distant boat waving a bullhorn. The man jumped into the water and swam to the boat Bracha was in.
Although in good shape, he was tired by the time he made it to Bracha's boat. After taking a minute to catch his breath, he asked "Who spoke Hebrew?" Bracha replied that she was the one who had called and asked him if he was "Eddie from Netanya."
He cocked his head and thought for a second before replying, "Bracha? Is that you?"
That was back in 1974. A few years later, Bracha saw Eddie briefly again in Los Angeles. But, they hadn't met or talked since.
About a month ago, she received an email from her former sister-in-law asking if she had seen the new book about the filming of "Jaws" in Martha's Vineyard. Bracha replied that she hadn't. A few days later, we received a package containing a thick, glossy paperback book called JAWS: Memories From Martha's Vineyard. A Post-It marked one page. We turned to the page and read the story of Bracha spotting Eddie on the other boat ....
So, a couple of weeks ago, I found Eddie's contact info on the internet and Bracha called them. They hadn't talked in more than 20 years, but he remembered her. Bracha told him about the book and he said that he had been contacted by the writers, but was too busy to get back to them.
He explained that Jaws was the first film that he'd worked on and that he'd continued to do special effects work for film and TV until recently. He's retired now, but his son is in the business, so he's almost as busy helping him out as he was working for himself.
They talked for a while and Bracha mentioned that we build and fly rockets.
Eddie said that he had done some work with rockets for movies and TV. They made plans for us to meet when he comes to Florida or we visit LA.
I looked at the list at IMDB.com of things he's worked on, and some of the shows and films had rockets in them. I'm looking forward to meeting him and hearing about his rocketry, and other filmmaking, experiences.
-- Roger
About 10 years earlier, Bracha had moved with her family to the US from Israel. In 1974, she was married to her first husband and visiting her in-laws on Martha's Vineyard. Steven Spielberg and his film crew were in town making Jaws. Bracha joined her in-laws on their boat to watch the moviemakers at work.
The filmmakers were having trouble with the mechanical shark. A man on a boat some distance away jumped into the water to work on the shark for a while. After he swam back to his boat, Bracha turned to the others on their boat and stated that she had gone to school with that man in Israel.
"That man" was ween by them only at a distance and it had been some time since Bracha had gone to school in Israel. "That man" would have been a child the last time she saw him. But, Bracha insisted that she recognized him.
So, someone on the boat handed her a bullhone and, during a break in the filming, Bracha called out in Hebrew, "Eddie, is that you?"
The man on the other boat looked confused. He looked up at the sky. He looked down at water. he looked all around. Finally, he spotted the woman on the distant boat waving a bullhorn. The man jumped into the water and swam to the boat Bracha was in.
Although in good shape, he was tired by the time he made it to Bracha's boat. After taking a minute to catch his breath, he asked "Who spoke Hebrew?" Bracha replied that she was the one who had called and asked him if he was "Eddie from Netanya."
He cocked his head and thought for a second before replying, "Bracha? Is that you?"
That was back in 1974. A few years later, Bracha saw Eddie briefly again in Los Angeles. But, they hadn't met or talked since.
About a month ago, she received an email from her former sister-in-law asking if she had seen the new book about the filming of "Jaws" in Martha's Vineyard. Bracha replied that she hadn't. A few days later, we received a package containing a thick, glossy paperback book called JAWS: Memories From Martha's Vineyard. A Post-It marked one page. We turned to the page and read the story of Bracha spotting Eddie on the other boat ....
So, a couple of weeks ago, I found Eddie's contact info on the internet and Bracha called them. They hadn't talked in more than 20 years, but he remembered her. Bracha told him about the book and he said that he had been contacted by the writers, but was too busy to get back to them.
He explained that Jaws was the first film that he'd worked on and that he'd continued to do special effects work for film and TV until recently. He's retired now, but his son is in the business, so he's almost as busy helping him out as he was working for himself.
They talked for a while and Bracha mentioned that we build and fly rockets.
Eddie said that he had done some work with rockets for movies and TV. They made plans for us to meet when he comes to Florida or we visit LA.
I looked at the list at IMDB.com of things he's worked on, and some of the shows and films had rockets in them. I'm looking forward to meeting him and hearing about his rocketry, and other filmmaking, experiences.
-- Roger
