Lee Fierro, Who Slapped Roy Scheider In ‘Jaws,’ Dies Of Coronavirus Complications

Lee Fierro, a Martha’s Vineyard community theater champion who found fame as the actor who slapped Roy Scheider in “Jaws,” has died of coronavirus complications at 91, according to outlets.

In Steven Spielberg’s 1975 movie classic about a beach town terrorized by a great white shark, Fierro played the grieving Mrs. Kintner, who blamed Roy Scheider’s Police Chief Brody for her son being killed by the predator.

Kintner lifted her veil and struck the chief across the face.

“You knew there was a shark out there, you knew it was dangerous, but you let people go swimming anyway,” the sobbing Mrs. Kintner said in the movie. “You knew all those things. But still my boy is dead now. And there’s nothing you can do about it.”

Fierro returned to the role in 1987′s “Jaws: The Revenge.”

Fierro, who worked for decades with Island Theatre Workshop on the Massachusetts island ― where “Jaws” was shot ― resided at an assisted living facility in Ohio, where she died on Saturday, the Martha’s Vineyard Times reported.

Fierro was known in Martha’s Vineyard for teaching drama to more than 1,000 children, artistic director Kevin Ryan told the local newspaper. 

But she earned her place in cinema lore with one swipe of her hand.

Local novelist Nicki Galland said Fierro was “tickled” by the recognition and recounted an anecdote Fierro told her about Spielberg’s directing.

“Lee, you’re not on Broadway, tone it down,” the famed filmmaker was said to have told Fierro.

Fierro is survived by five children, seven grandchildren and seven great-grandchildren, Entertainment Tonight noted.