The director of Jaws 2 and Santa Claus: The Movie, Jeannot Szwarc, has reportedly died, aged 85.
The French-American director, famed for his work in both film and television, is said to have passed away on 15 January, as per the dedicated Jaws website, The Daily Jaws.
News of Szwarc’s passing was confirmed on Instagram by actor and producer Jeffrey Kramer, who starred in the first two Jaws movies. Kramer wrote: “RIP my dear Jeannot Szwarc. One of the finest most talented souls I was privileged to know!”
Jane Seymour, who worked with Szwarc on Somewhere in Time, wrote on Instagram: “Today, we say goodbye to a true visionary. Jeannot Szwarc was not just a brilliant director but a kind and generous soul. He gifted us many timeless stories, including Somewhere in Time, a film that changed my life forever. May his memory be a blessing, and may his artistry live on in our hearts.”
Supernatural producer Jim Michaels added on X/Twitter: “Very sad to disclose Jeannot Szwarc who directed 5 episodes of Supernatural has passed away. His other credits are too many to list. The film & television world sends a virtual group hug to his family.”
Fellow director Robert Meyer Burnett said in tribute: “RIP film and television director Jeannot Szwarc, best known for Somewhere in Time, the William Castle production Bug, Jaws 2, Supergirl, the 1986 TV movie version of Murders in the Rue Morgue (starring George C. Scott) and 19 episodes of Night Gallery.”
Born on 21 November 1939, in Paris, France, Szwarc was actually raised in Argentina before moving to the United States where he studied political science at Harvard University, earning a master’s degree.
Despite this, his love of cinema and television led him to work in the entertainment industry, starting out as a director on TV series such as Ironside, Columbo, Kojak, The New Perry Mason, Night Gallery and The Six Million Dollar Man in the late 1960s and 1970s.
Szwarc directed his first film, Bug, in 1975 before making Jaws 2 in 1978. The sequel to the Steven Spielberg classic was not as well received as the original but was still a huge hit at the box office, earning more than $200m.
He would then go on to direct Supergirl and Santa Claus: The Movie as well as the Christopher Reeve fantasy romance Somewhere in Time, which received an Oscar nomination for Costume Design and has since earned a cult following.
Later in his career, Szwarc would establish himself as a prominent director of many top TV shows in the 2000s and 2010s including Ally McBeal, CSI: Miami, Without a Trace, Smallville, Fringe, Supernatural, Bones and Grey’s Anatomy.
Szwarc is survived by his wife Cara de Menual, a production coordinator, and his family.
