Shark fisherman Frank Mundus, who said that his exploits inspired Peter Benchley’s Quint character, died of a heart attack last week in Honolulu.
Benchley called Quint a “composite” character, but Mundus maintained that it was his long career in shark hunting, particularly his 1964 capture of a 2-ton great white, that was the basis for Quint, .
While Mundus didn’t exit this world the way Quint did, Robert Shaw predicted Mundus’ “demise” when Jaws the movie was released in 1975:
“Back home we got a taxidermy man – he’s gonna have a heart attack when he sees what I brung him!”
Mundus was 82.
See also: Shark hunting maverick and ‘Jaws’ inspiration dies