“Jaws” star Richard Dreyfuss dropped out of an appearance at a fan convention over the weekend after
coming down with viral bronchitis
that appeared to require hospitalization.
The 77-year-old actor was expected at
SharkCon
, an event hosted by National Geographic in Tampa, that took place July 12 and 13.
In
a video posted on the SharkCon Instagram page
, Dreyfuss — in what appears to be a hospital bed and draped in a “Jaws” blanket — announces he is too sick to travel.
“Hello cons, I’m very, very sorry to tell you that I’ve been diagnosed with viral bronchitis,” he said in the video. “And I’ve been told by my doctors I cannot fly, and I would have to fly five hours to get there. I’m terribly sorry because I had planned to be there and had been looking forward to it.”
Dreyfuss “didn’t want to get anyone else sick” and didn’t “want to get sicker myself,” he added.
“I feel terrible about not showing up, and I’d feel worse about exposing you to this apparently very viral illness,” he continued. “But there will be other times and I will make it my business to show up and I want to wish you all good luck and happiness.”
“I want you all to feel very sorry for me,” Dreyfuss quipped. “And very sorry for yourselves. I’m in a lot of pain, and that has to come first, my health, and I feel very good about having the time and enough health.”
SharkCon said in a statement that any fans who paid upfront for autographs or photos with Dreyfuss would
receive automatic refunds
. Panels for
“Jaws”
and
“Jaws 2”
went on as scheduled.
This year marks the 50th anniversary of the release of Steven Spielberg’s blockbuster, which also starred Roy Scheider and Robert Shaw as a ragtag group trying to hunt a great white shark terrorizing a New England beach town.
