\u201cCan you just give me one of your leftover sharks?\u201d<\/p>\n
It was early in Jay Stein\u2019s tenacious pursuit to turn a throwaway business into a sweet spot for Universal Studios, then owned by Lew Wasserman\u2019s<\/a> powerhouse entertainment firm MCA. <\/p>\n In 1975, Steven Spielberg\u2019s \u201cJaws\u201d<\/a> was a cultural sensation and Stein wanted to capitalize on the movie\u2019s success. He asked his colleagues in film production for props so his crews could re-create the fictional Amity Island coastline in the studio\u2019s hilly back lot miles from downtown L.A. <\/p>\n \u201cHe convinced them: \u2018Can you just give me one of the leftover sharks and I\u2019ll put it on the studio tour, and we\u2019ll get some promotion out of that,\u2019 \u201d author Sam Gennawey told The Times, recalling Stein\u2019s brilliance<\/a> and his pioneering use of intellectual property.<\/p>\n Jay Stein with his wife, Connie, in Oregon. <\/p>\n (Connie Stein)<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/figure><\/div>\n Stein died Nov. 5 at his home in Bend, Ore., according to his wife, Connie Stein. He was 88 and had been suffering from complications related to Parkinson\u2019s disease and prostate cancer. <\/p>\n \u201cHe left a big hole \u2014 but he also left a wonderful legacy,\u201d she said in an interview Sunday. \u201cNot a lot of people have the opportunity to leave a legacy that touches generations. But he\u2019s still making people smile every day.\u201d<\/p>\n The tram tour\u2019s shark attack, which terrified tourists when it debuted in 1976, has long been a staple. It was among Stein\u2019s many theme park enhancements during his more than 30 years as a top MCA executive, which included Universal\u2019s push into Florida to compete with Walt Disney Co. <\/p>\n The \u201cJaws\u201d attraction helped cement Universal\u2019s decades-long relationship with Spielberg, a span that would include such films as \u201cE.T. the Extra-Terrestrial,\u201d \u201cJurassic Park,\u201d \u201cSchindler\u2019s List\u201d and \u201cThe Fabelmans.\u201d It also spawned other movie-themed attractions that included a \u201cWaterworld\u201d live show and a \u201cKing Kong\u201d ride<\/a>. <\/p>\n Stein insisted that the ape would spew \u201cbanana breath,\u201d his wife said. <\/p>\n Within Universal, such jolts and flourishes became known as \u201cJayBangs,\u201d which Gennawey used as the title for his 2016 book about Stein\u2019s contributions to the industry, \u201cJayBangs: How Jay Stein, MCA, & Universal Invented the Modern Theme Park and Beat Disney at Its Own Game.\u201d <\/p>\n \u201cJay wanted to put you in the movie,\u201d Gennawey said. \u201cHe wanted to grab you by the collar and shake you a bit<\/a>.\u201d<\/p>\n The \u201cRunaway Train\u201d attraction on the Universal Studios backlot tour, one of its many exhilarating \u201cJayBangs.\u201d<\/p>\n (NBCUniversal Archives & Collections)<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/figure><\/div>\n Stein was born in New York City on June 17, 1937, to Samuel and Sylvia \u201cSunny\u201d (Goldstein) Stein. <\/p>\n His father was a watch salesman who moved the family to Los Angeles when Stein was young. As a teenager, he occasionally skipped school to go to Hollywood Park Racetrack to bet on horses. He had finagled some blank report cards and used them to bring home self-inserted high marks.<\/p>\n But the scam was revealed when the family briefly moved back to New York and Stein was nearing the end of high school. His parents were summoned for a conference, where they learned Stein lacked the credits to graduate. Summer school remedied that.<\/p>\n The family returned to L.A. Stein attended UC Berkeley, majoring in political science, but he left about a semester shy of graduating.<\/p>\n He served in the Army National Guard and near the end of his service, in 1959, he began working in MCA\u2019s mailroom. Initially he wanted to get into film production, but by the mid-1960s, he was steered into the fledgling tour unit.<\/p>\n The company had launched the tram tour in 1964 to make a little money from its ample real estate. But some executives viewed the endeavor as tacky. Its prospects looked dim.<\/p>\n \u201cIt started out as two trams and a Quonset hut on Lankershim Boulevard,\u201d Stein told The Times in a 2023 interview. <\/p>\n \u201cQuite frankly, the tram was considered something that interfered with television production,\u201d Stein said. \u201cI worked for the production office and was given the task of trying to coordinate how close we could come on the backlot without interfering. Everyone I worked for said it was an annoyance and disruptive and will not ever be welcomed.\u201d<\/p>\n Stein was able \u201cto convince others of the benefits of having the studio tour,\u201d Gennawey said. \u201cThat\u2019s what saved it.\u201d <\/p>\n Early signage advertising Universal Studios as a tourist attraction.<\/p>\n (NBCUniversal Archives & Collections)<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/figure><\/div>\n Gennawey considers Stein a key pioneer of U.S. theme parks. <\/p>\n \u201cHe was remarkably competitive. He recognized that Disney had its thing \u2014 but Universal could create something different and complimentary, particularly in the early days,\u201d Gennawey said.<\/p>\n Disneyland was, of course, a top draw. <\/p>\n \u201cBut if you are a Los Angeles resident and had relatives coming in town, you knew they [also] wanted to see Hollywood,\u201d Gennawey said. \u201cBut Hollywood was kind of scary, so you took them to Universal Studios.\u201d<\/p>\n Stein\u2019s contributions have only recently been appreciated, according to Gennawey.<\/p>\n That\u2019s largely because Stein subscribed to Wasserman\u2019s edict<\/a> that the \u201cstars were the stars,\u201d and executives should blend into the background. Stein also retired early, leaving Universal by the mid-1990s, after Japanese electronics giant Matsushita bought MCA<\/a>. <\/p>\n Visitors line up for the studio tour of Universal Studios.<\/p>\n (Genaro Molina \/ Los Angeles Times)<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/figure><\/div>\n Stein worried that Universal\u2019s new owner (and a string of subsequent buyers) would fail to recognize the value of the theme parks, Gennawey said, an observation that proved correct. <\/p>\n That changed in 2011 when Comcast acquired NBCUniversal and began investing heavily<\/a>.<\/p>\n![\"A](\"https:\/\/ca-times.brightspotcdn.com\/dims4\/default\/bd171ea\/2147483647\/strip\/true\/crop\/4672x3210+0+0\/resize\/320x220!\/format\/webp\/quality\/75\/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fcalifornia-times-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2F21%2F0f%2Fe30e0bfa46b0b95873e277f7436b%2Fet-universal-studios-tram-tour-archive-06.jpg)
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