RIP Peter Benchley (1940-2006)

Peter Benchley, the author of the bestselling novel Jaws , that was made into a film in 1975 has died. He was 65.

The author passed away on Saturday night, at his home in Princeton N.J. due to complications from idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis, or a scarring of the lung.

As a writer, Benchley was obviously fascinated with the Creatures of The Deep , with many of his books using those themes and settings. As a screenwriter, he himself adapted both Jaws (with Carl Gottlieb) and the highly underrated movie The Deep (with Tracy Keenan Wynn) , for the big screen. Several of his other novels were turned into TV movies and mini series, but none of those turned out as good as Jaws did. Under the leadership of a young Steven Spielberg, the film took the nation and the world by storm--making the term "Blockbuster" part of the cinema landscape ever since.

Click here to read more on the life of Peter Benchley, including his job working for former President Lyndon Johnson, as a speech writer.