Today in History: 'Jaws' and Universal Changed Hollywood Forever

36 years ago today, Steven Spielberg, Universal Studios and a shark nicknamed "Bruce" changed Hollywood forever when Jaws was released.

The film became one of the most successful of all time and is credited with creating the concept of the summer blockbuster. As Business Week wrote, "The birth of what we know now as the summer blockbuster was in June, 1975, when Jaws was released. The thriller about a giant man-eating shark is not only credited as the first-ever summer blockbuster, it also set the tone for summer movies for years to come."

Patch had its own encounter with Jaws back in January when we in Sun Valley, home of the only remaining shark in existence made from the original mold used in the movie. See the attached video for more.

Four sharks were made for the film and nicknamed "Bruce" after Spielberg's lawyer. Three were used in the film and then destroyed, but a fourth was made and hung in Universal Studios for years. It eventually ended up at U-Pick Parts, which has been around since 1961 and often supplies cars to film productions.

"My dad was able to get one of the last remaining sharks that was affiliated with the movie. He put it up on a pole and stuck it in the middle of the yard," Nathan Adlen, the owner of U-Pick Parts, told Patch. "There’s a lot of interest in the shark, but I don’t wanna sell it. It’s irreplaceable."