Author who demonised sharks yet became an ocean conservationist

Peter Benchley, who died on 11 February, 2006, aged 65, was the author of Jaws, the book which demonised sharks, yet he adored the ocean predators and spent much of the last 30 years of his life campaigning for a better understanding of the creatures.

Movie director Steven Spielberg quickly recognised the potential interest of cinema audiences and with what seems like undue haste given the time taken to develop the idea to that point put the finished film on screen within a year. However, the rights had actually been sold prior to publication.

Peter Bradford Benchley was born on 8 May 1940, in New York City, USA. A family tradition of writing was preceded by an equally hereditary bout of wanderlust. Just like his father Nathaniel after completing his college education at Harvard he spent time travelling and had a spell as a reserve in the Marine Corps before embarking on a career in journalism.

Six months at The Washington Post were followed by three years as a television editor at Newsweek. Then something of a departure as he became a speechwriter for US President Lyndon Johnson. His contributions included many challenging addresses to an increasingly sceptical and dispirited American public during the Vietnam War.

Mr Benchley who adapted Jaws into a screenplay appeared in a cameo as a journalist looking for a story soon after the shark began terrorising the packed beach at Amity Island.

Like Mr Spielberg he wisely shied away from many sequels to his original work as did cinema-goers who quickly tired of the franchise but further novels and non-fiction titles about the sea followed including many aimed at children.

Junior reading had been the impetus behind his first book ‘Jonathan Visits the White House’ written prior to his posting at the Oval Office.

During a prolific writing career Peter Benchley adapted three more of his novels for the big screen and appeared in a number of documentaries which he also often wrote and narrated.

He remained passionate about fiction across many mediums and years before the cult phenomenon of TV series ‘Lost’ Mr Benchley spotted the popularity of a show about survivors of a plane crash penning the drama ‘Amazon’ which drew in millions of viewers without the need for mysterious clouds of smoke or polar bears.

His articles and essays appeared in many newspapers and magazines. A passion for the deep also saw him become a member of the National Council for Environmental Defense and a spokesperson for the organisation’s Oceans Programme.

Of his time spent on conservation and highlighting just how dependant the world is on every aspect of the marine life Mr Benchley acknowledged one or two close encounters but insisted that with the exception of jellyfish and sea urchins he had never been hurt by an inhabitant of the seas.

During a lecture to the Smithsonian Institute in the early 1990s he admitted that Jaws could not have been written in the same vein after so many years of research and that his work had been based on creating a great read rather than reality.

He commented: “Every time you get into the water with a Great White, you feel completely insignificant. Not only from the fear but also from the sense of how absolutely perfect that animal is in its environment, and how out of place you are.”

Complications from the lung disease pulmonary fibrosis he had been diagnosed with less than six months prior to his death claimed a life which was said to have ended peacefully at his family home in Princeton, New Jersey.