'Jaws' Author Peter Benchley Dies at 65

[Sydnie]

AP - 19 minutes ago
NEW YORK - 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.

http://news.yahoo.com/fc/entertainment/literature_and_authors

[LiberalinNC]

1. That book and movie still scare me to this day!!

RIP Mr. Benchley!

[Sydnie]

2. they have been running a Jaws marathon all day today

kind of a coincidence huh? Things that make your go hmmmmmmmmm.

[rodeodance]

3. hey, i actually watched the first show--enjoyed it as had not seen for

years.

[chat_noir]

4. eerily-related news: "Shark Frenzy Closes Aussie Beaches"

AP) Several tourist beaches along Australia's popular Gold Coast were closed again Sunday because of a massive feeding frenzy involving more than 100 sharks, a lifeguard official said.

Several beaches in Queensland state were closed for the second straight day after more than 100 hammerhead, gray nurse and whaler sharks were spotted feeding close to shore, said Sue Neil, spokeswoman for Surf Lifesaving Queensland.

Neil said most swimmers were staying out of the water, but some surfers were putting themselves at risk by coming within yards of the feeding frenzy.

“When they (sharks) feed on the bait fish they do close their eyes and there is a danger of collision,” she said. “If they are chomping, they could very easily chomp on humans.”

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2006/02/12/world/main1307893.shtml

[leftchick]

5. Q Clearance is my all time favorite of his

He wrote a lot of great books and was a great person. :(

<snip>
Q Clearance
by Benchley, Peter

About this title: Multi-million copy #1 bestselling author, Peter Benchley puts as much bite into Q Clearance as he did in his novels Jaws and The Deep. An anxiety-ridden presidential speechwriter is suddenly given "Q Clearance"--access to enough classified secrets to attract the unwanted attention of society women, spies, officials and the President himself.

[jobycom]

6. Author and environmentalist. RIP.

He was a member of the National Council for Environmental Defense and was a spokesperson for ocean conservation, including sharks.

65 is too young, but he lived a worthwile life. Condolences to his family.

[adriennui]

7. too young

too depressing

[Olney Blue]

8. Thank you, Mr. Benchley. RIP.

[GregW]

9. Try living in a small, tourist beach town when Jaws came out ...

Caloundra was never the same for me!

:scared:

[Gloria]

10. This is so sad! I used to see Mr. Benchley fairly regularly when I

worked in an office in Princeton. It was a podiatry office and he came in once in a while. This was about 6 years ago, just before I moved from the Princeton area to NM. He was very nice and had no airs at all.

Another "famous" person who came in was the mother of actor Jon Tenney. He was still married to Teri Hatcher at the time, the baby was a year or so old, and his mother, a psychiatrist, would chat about what they were up to...She lived in a very modest split level, 50's era, a few blocks from the office...

[Robb]

11. Good book, and sexy too

...at least to a teenager. :blush: I remember being rather moved by the funny business scenes in that book. :D