Peter Benchley dead at 65 - Jaws author

[Hoyden]

NEW YORK (AP) _ Peter Benchley, whose novel "Jaws" terrorized millions of swimmers even as the author himself became an advocate for the conservation of sharks, has died at age 65, his widow said Sunday.

Wendy Benchley, married to the author for 41 years, said he died Saturday night at their home in Princeton, N.J. The cause of death, she said, was idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis, a progressive and a fatal scarring of the lungs.

Thanks to Benchley's 1974 novel, and Steven Spielberg's blockbuster movie of the same name, the simple act of ocean swimming became synonymous with fatal horror, of still water followed by ominous, pumping music, then teeth and blood and panic.

"Spielberg certainly made the most superb movie; Peter was very pleased," Wendy Benchley told The Associated Press.

"But Peter kept telling people the book was fiction, it was a novel, and that he no more took responsibility for the fear of sharks than Mario Puzo took responsibility for the Mafia."

Besides his wife, Peter Benchley is survived by three children and five grandchildren. A small family service will take place next week in Princeton, Wendy Benchley said. "

Peter was a a strong voice for the conservation of sharks and if you have not read his "Shark Trouble" you should.

Jackie Cooper

 

[Mike Veitch]

Wow! Very sad news, i had the pleasure of spending a week with Peter and his family onboard the Tahiti Aggressor in 2003 and enjoyed their company immensely. He was a great person with a fantastic sense of the story and truly passionate about the conservation of sharks.

He will be missed

 

[Scubakevdm]

He did seem to have lived an very interesting life though. He was a speechwritter for the Whitehouse for a while, I don't remember for whom. He did seem to care alot for his family too. Sad.

 

[StSomewhere]

Benchley was the worst thing to happen to shark populations since the invention of sharkfin soup. Whatever he tried to do later in life, in no way did it make up for the harm he caused earlier.

 

[TwoBitTxn]

Benchley was the worst thing to happen to shark populations since the invention of sharkfin soup. Whatever he tried to do later in life, in no way did it make up for the harm he caused earlier.

Give the man a break. Benchley stated in his book "Shark Trouble" that if he knew when he wrote Jaws what he knew a few years ago about sharks, he never would have written the book.

TwoBit

 

[Al Mialkovsky]

No use bashing a dead guy. Almost as bad as beating a dead horse.

For it's time, that was a scary movie.

 

[Cacia]

We took him to Roosevelt Rhodes naval recompression chamber via heli in the late
80's after he suffered from case of the bends after diving in the BVI.

I am sure he could have had no inkling of the profound magnitude his book had on recreational water culture...

 

[SeaHorseWoman]

Just heard on the BBC that Peter Benchley has died at age 65 after suffering from lung disease. They mentioned that in spite of Jaws, he was a lover of sharks and all sea life. His writing has been an inspiration to me. May his soul find peace and pleasure.

 

[Ishie]

Just heard; that is really sad.

 

[nauifins73]

I too was sadden to hear of his death. Besides Jaws he had some other great books.