In 1974 Allison Maher Stern posed horizontally on stools & pretended to swim for a cover of this book

The Final Jeopardy clue for Monday, June 16, 2025, fell under the category Book Covers and offered a fascinating look at a distinctive image from publishing history. The clue read: “In 1974 Allison Maher Stern posed horizontally on stools & pretended to swim for a cover of this book.”

What is Jaws?

This clue pulled from a lesser-known anecdote behind one of the most memorable cultural touchstones of the 1970s. While most associate Jaws with Steven Spielberg’s blockbuster film, the original novel by Peter Benchley was released in 1974. Its first edition featured a dramatic and minimalistic cover, but promotional materials and later publications also included visual reinterpretations—one of which involved the now-notable photo shoot with Allison Maher Stern.

The Book That Spawned a Phenomenon

Jaws was published in 1974 and became an immediate sensation. Peter Benchley’s novel about a great white shark terrorizing a fictional resort town captured the public imagination and was quickly adapted into the 1975 film that effectively created the summer blockbuster. The book spent 44 weeks on the bestseller list and sold millions of copies worldwide, driven in part by striking promotional imagery.

While the most widely recognized visual is the artwork by Roger Kastel—featuring a swimmer at the water’s surface with a shark rising ominously below—that wasn’t the only visual material used to market the book. For certain media appearances and marketing efforts, the publisher commissioned promotional photos to convey the sense of suspense and vulnerability that the novel embodied. It’s in this context that Allison Maher Stern, a model and wife of publisher J. Whitney Ellsworth, posed for one of the more unusual and memorable promotional shots.

A Photo Shoot Unlike Any Other

In a creative and resourceful moment of marketing, Stern was positioned on stools in a studio, mimicking the movement of swimming. The illusion was completed with strategic lighting and camera angles to suggest she was gliding through water. Her horizontal pose captured the tension and vulnerability of the novel’s central theme—a lone swimmer unaware of an impending threat.

This particular image was not the final cover art for the widely released version of Jaws, but it did appear in some editions and promotional materials. It has since become a notable piece of trivia for fans of the novel and film alike. Stern’s participation in the shoot added a unique behind-the-scenes story to a book that was already making waves across literary and entertainment circles.

Why This Image Matters

What makes this clue compelling is how it shines a light on the importance of book marketing and visual storytelling. Even in an era dominated by cover illustrations, publishers recognized the power of photographic imagery to enhance public interest. The photo of Stern, stylized and suspenseful, was one of several creative assets used to reinforce the tone of the story and connect with readers beyond the written word.

The fact that Stern wasn’t a professional model but the spouse of a publishing executive adds an extra layer of charm to the story. It speaks to the grassroots, somewhat improvisational nature of book publicity in the 1970s, a time when publishers were exploring more dynamic ways to engage readers in a competitive market.

From Page to Pop Culture Icon

The success of Jaws as a book and film changed how both industries approached storytelling, suspense, and mass appeal. While the final cover most associated with the title remains the shark-and-swimmer painting by Roger Kastel, the photo session with Allison Maher Stern endures as a memorable piece of publishing history.

For Jeopardy viewers, this clue served as a reminder of how much cultural resonance can be packed into a book cover—and how the choices made during marketing and promotion can leave a lasting legacy. The inclusion of this anecdote in Final Jeopardy not only tested contestants’ knowledge of literary history but also gave a nod to a time when creativity behind the scenes helped shape a pop culture phenomenon.