Shark expert Ron Taylor dies; helped make 'Jaws'
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Ron Taylor, a beloved Australian marine conservationist who helped film some of the terrifying underwater footage used in the classic shark thriller "Jaws," has died after a long battle with cancer. He was 78.
Close family friend Andrew Fox says Taylor died Sunday after a two-year battle with leukemia.
Fox and his father, famed shark attack survivor Rodney Fox, worked with Taylor on shark conservation efforts for decades.
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In 1974, director Steven Spielberg asked Taylor and his wife, Valerie Taylor, to capture footage of a great white shark for "Jaws." Spielberg used Taylor's footage in a now-iconic scene in which the shark in the film tears apart a cage holding one of the main characters.