Jay Stein, mastermind of the Universal Studios tram tour, dies at 88

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“Can you just give me one of your leftover sharks?”It was early in Jay Stein’s tenacious pursuit to turn a throwaway business into a sweet spot for Universal Studios, then owned by Lew Wasserman’s powerhouse entertainment firm MCA.In 1975, Steven Spielberg’s “Jaws” was a cultural sensation and Stein wanted to capitalize on the movie’s success.

He asked his colleagues in film production for props so his crews could re-create the fictional Amity Island coastline in the studio’s hilly back lot miles from downtown L.A.“He convinced them: ‘Can you just give me one of the leftover sharks and I’ll put it on the studio tour, and we’ll get some promotion out of that,’ ” author Sam Gennawey told The Times, recalling Stein’s brilliance and his pioneering use of intellectual property.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’s disease and prostate cancer.

“He left a big hole — but he also left a wonderful legacy,” she said in an interview Sunday.“Not a lot of people have the opportunity to leave a legacy that touches generations.

But he’s still making people smile every day.”The tram tour’s shark attack, which terrified tourists when it debuted in 1976, has long been a staple.It was among Stein’s many theme park enhancements during his more than 30 years as a top MCA executive, which included Universal’s push into Florida to compete with Walt Disney Co.

Entertainment & Arts The most important theme park ride ever created? It may just be the Universal Studios tram tour, which dates to the silent film era.Once primarily a behind-the-scenes tour, the trek has evolved to define the modern theme park.The “Jaws” attraction helped cement Universal’s decades-long relationship with Spielberg, a span that would include such ...