Man behind 'Jaws' character dead at 82

HONOLULU, Sept. 14 (UPI) -- New York fisherman Frank Mundus, reputed to be the inspiration for a key character in the novel "Jaws," has died at the age of 82, a business owner says.

Dick Gosman said he remembered operating Gosman's Dock in Montauk, N.Y., when the popularity of "Jaws" drew tourists to the town in hopes of meeting the alleged inspiration for the book's character Captain Quint, the New York Post reported Sunday.

"I remember tourists running down to the boat ... when he'd come in with a shark," Gosman said of Mundus, who died Wednesday, five days after suffering a heart attack in Hawaii. "It was a show every day."

While "Jaws" author Peter Benchley never officially credited Mundus with being the inspiration for the grizzled fisherman in his novel, Mundus repeatedly took credit. He mentioned on his Web site how he always saw part of himself in the character made famous by the 1974 novel and 1975 movie, the Post said.

"He (Quint) knew how to handle the people the same way I did. He also used similar shark-fishing techniques based on my methods," wrote Mundus, who leaves no reported survivors.