enate candidate Jack E. Robinson says he won't know until next week if he'll get his televised debate with Senator Edward M. Kennedy. But if you can't wait that long to see Robinson on the small screen, you can check him out on videotape, in your anniversary edition of ''Jaws.''
Yes, years before he cast himself as relentless political challenger, Robinson had a less heralded role as shark bait. His 30 seconds in the sun come in the Fourth of July beach scene, when a slender boy in blue swim trunks runs in and out of the water, then paddles across the screen on an inflatable raft. You can't really make out his face, but according to Robinson, that's 13-year-old Jack.
On his Web site, Robinson describes his film debut as ''a cameo role as a teenager.'' Robinson, who spent summers on the Vineyard as a boy, said he got $5 and a ''Jaws'' T-shirt. But when he saw how long he was on screen, he realized, ''I should have gotten royalties.''
Maybe so, but Robinson should count his blessings; his Martha's Vineyard experience was considerably quieter than his Democratic opponent's. And according to his office, Kennedy has never had a comparable role in a major motion picture. (He was billed as a star in a 1991 mock movie poster of ''Will and Ted's Excessive Adventure,'' spoofing his Palm Beach exploits with nephew William Kennedy Smith.)
Kennedy does have at least one acting credit, though: He appeared in a 1997 episode of TV's ''Chicago Hope.'' He even had a speaking part.
That's what happens when you are a senator.
JOANNA WEISS
