Peter Benchley

Peter Bradford Benchley (May 8, 1940 – February 12, 2006) was an American author, best known for his novel Jaws and its  movie adaptation. The movie was written by Benchley and Carl Gottlieb and was directed by Steven Spielberg. A lot more of his books were also made into movies, including The Deep and The Island.

Life
He was the son of Marjorie (née Bradford) and author Nathaniel Benchley and grandson of Algonquin Round Table founder Robert Benchley. His younger brother, Nat Benchley, is a writer and actor. Peter Benchley was an alumnus of Allen-Stevenson School or now known as The Allen-Stevenson School, Phillips Exeter Academy, and Harvard University.

Benchley died of pulmonary fibrosis on February 12, 2006 in Princeton, New Jersey.BBC News - Jaws author Peter Benchley dies

Books
 Jaws (1974)
 The Deep (1976)
 The Island (1979)
 The Girl of the Sea of Cortez (1982)
 Q Clearance (1986)
 Rummies (1989)
 The Beast (1991)
 White Shark (1994)
 Creature (re-publishing of White Shark) (1997)

Movies
 Jaws, 1975 film adaptation; actor: Interviewer.
 The Deep, 1977 film adaptation
 Jaws 2, based on characters from Jaws
 The Island, 1980 film adaptation
 Jaws 3-D (a.k.a. Jaws 3), based on characters from Jaws
 Jaws: The Revenge, a fourth film based on characters from Jaws
 Dolphin Cove, 1989 TV series
 The Beast, 1996 TV film adaptation
 Creature, 1998 TV film adaptation
 Amazon, 1999 TV series
 Mrs. Parker and the Vicious Circle, 1994 (actor, as Frank Crowninshield)

References

Other websites
 Peter Benchley at the Shark Research Institute 
 The Peter Benchley Shark Conservation Awards 
 Shark Alliance 
 Official site

 Peter Benchley: Rapture of The Deep 
 Peter Benchley: Shark Conservationist (LA Times)

Category:1940 births
Category:2006 deaths
Category:Deaths from pulmonary fibrosis
Category:American novelists
Category:American screenwriters
Category:Disease-related deaths in New Jersey
Category:Harvard University alumni
Category:Writers from New Jersey
Category:Writers from New York City