Sheriff Jones

"Hi, little buddy!"

- Jones greeting Dave Roberts

Sheriff Jones is a secondary protagonist of the 1975 movie The Giant Spider Invasion.

He was portrayed by Alan Hale Jr., who was most notably known for playing the Skipper on Gilligan's Island.

Jones was a sheriff in a semi-rural northern Wisconsin county. A large man, he enjoyed eating and hanging out at Dutch's Cafe and making jokes both in person and over the telephone when people called him.

One day in 1975 a meteor struck near the farm of Dan Kester, a local farmer that Jones considered to be a strange man working up a big head of steam. A number of people called in to report that various pieces of equipment such as their cars, phones, etc had stopped working during this time. Additionally there was a visiting preacher who was keeping the townspeople awake.

Other strange things began happening around town, including the disappearance of a local man out riding his motorcycle. A Doctor Vance from NASA arrived to investigate some unusual radiation readings in town, working with local scientist Dr. Jenny Langer. Plus there were spiders all over the place now.

Pretty soon all hell broke loose as the Sheriff's department found what was left of the missing motorcyclist. The giant spiders began their invasion in earnest, attacking Gleason during the middle of the town's annual picnic. The spiders killed Dan Kester and his wife Ev, and severely injured Ev's sister Terry. They destroyed the farm. Dutch and some of the townspeople got some beer in them, and decided to fight back against the spiders. Realizing his small department was completely outmatched, Jones called for assistance from the National Guard.

Meanwhile Vance and Langer had tracked the source of the Spiders back to the Kester's farm. Jones did his best to keep the angry townspeople away from the farm while Vance and Langer destroyed the mother spider, which caused all the other alien spiders to die.