Peter Benchley was the grandson of renowned humorist and actor Robert Benchley, and the son of celebrated children's book author Nathaniel Benchley. His own literary works were marked by a distinct shift in tone and style from his father's, often featuring the world's oceans as a backdrop for his intricate and suspenseful plots.
Benchley is undoubtedly best remembered for writing the massive bestseller Jaws, which was later adapted into a blockbuster film by director Steven Spielberg, starring Roy Scheider, Richard Dreyfuss, and Robert Shaw. The 1975 film was a phenomenal commercial success, cementing its place as one of the defining movies of the decade, and spawning numerous lackluster sequels and low-budget imitators featuring various species of sharks.
The success of Jaws also led to the publication of Benchley's other novels, The Deep and The Island, which were both adapted into films, although with less fanfare and box office returns compared to the Jaws phenomenon.
In the years following the intense public hysteria surrounding great white sharks and their perceived man-eating habits, Benchley became a dedicated environmentalist, dedicating himself to learning as much as possible about one of the world's most awe-inspiring apex predators. He openly admitted on numerous occasions that, given what he had learned about the fragility of the species, he would have never written a book like Jaws, which sensationalized the great white shark.
Throughout his life, Benchley remained deeply committed to his passion for studying great whites, and his dedication continued until his passing on February 11th, 2006, due to complications from pulmonary fibrosis.
