Leaving a legacy of hope
“Writingis sweat and drudgery most of the time. And you have to love it in order toendure the solitude and the discipline.” – Peter Benchley
Born on this date in 1940, Benchleymade his mark with his breakthrough novel Jaws, subsequently made into ablockbuster movie by Steven Spielberg. Several more of his bestselling works also were adapted for cinema,including The Deep.
Benchley was seemingly born towriting, the third generation of family authors. His father was Nathaniel and grandfatherRobert, one of the founders of the famed writing group known as the AlgonquinRound Table. But Peter struggled to gethis foot in the publishing door and nearly decided against it. After working as a speechwriter for PresidentLyndon Johnson, he was knocking around as a part-time freelancer beforepitching the idea for Jaws, “onefinal attempt to stay alive as a writer.”
The shark novel attracted aDoubleday editor who offered him an advance of $1,000 to put together the first100 pages. Jaws was published in1974 and became a huge success, staying on the bestseller list for 44 weeks.Spielberg said he initially found many of the characters unsympathetic andactually wanted the shark to win.
While Benchley didn’t have“personal” experience with Great White Sharks, he learned all he could aboutthem and subsequently wrote about extensively about both protecting sharks and oceanconservation. In 2004 the Blue FrontierCampaign established the annual “Peter Benchley Ocean Awards” to recognizethose efforts.
Benchley died in 2006 but his legacylives on. The annual Peter BenchleyOcean Award ceremony annually brings together world leaders, scientists andpolicy makers to elevate marine conservation and promote actions that serve toprotect and restore our oceans.
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