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.

Peter Benchley
Benchley in 1974
Born	Peter Bradford Benchley (1940-05-08)May 8, 1940 New York City, New York, U.S.
Died	February 12, 2006(2006-02-12) (aged 65) Princeton, New Jersey, U.S.
Cause of death	Pulmonary fibrosis
Nationality	American
Alma mater	Harvard University
Occupation	Author, screenwriter
Years active	1975–2006
Known for	Creator of Jaws
Spouse(s)	Winifred "Wendy" Wesson (1964-2006; his death)
Website	www.peterbenchley.com

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.

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)

Other websites

• Peter Benchley at the Shark Research Institute Archived 2008-07-16 at the Wayback Machine
• The Peter Benchley Shark Conservation Awards Archived 2009-02-12 at the Wayback Machine
• Shark Alliance Archived 2012-03-04 at the Wayback Machine
• Official site
• Peter Benchley on IMDb
• Peter Benchley: Rapture of The Deep Archived 2006-07-10 at the Wayback Machine
• Peter Benchley: Shark Conservationist (LA Times)