Frank Mundus Sep 16, 2008
Peter Benchley, who wrote the novel and co-wrote the movie, fished with Mundus in the late 60s. Over the decades, Mundus caught a number of great white sharks, including harpooning a 4,500-pound great white in 1964 and helping catch a 3,427-pound great white on a rod and reel in 1986. (Los Angeles Times)
Heart attack takes famed Montauk fisherman Sep 15, 2008
In the 1960s, one of Mundus' customers was the author Peter Benchley, who later penned the novel that would inspire Steven Spielberg's 1975 blockbuster about a megashark terrorizing a cozy island village. Both the book and the film are memorable for the Quint character, a salty captain obsessed with killing the great white. (Newsday)
Fisherman said to have inspired Jaws' Quint dies Sep 15, 2008
On his Web site, Mundus said events from the 1964 catch influenced Peter Benchley, who wrote Jaws. But Benchley maintained that Quint was a composite character. (SportsIllustrated.CNN -- More)
Famed shark fisherman Frank Mundus dies, was 82 Sep 15, 2008
On his Web site, Mundus said events from the 1964 catch influenced Peter Benchley, who wrote "Jaws." But Benchley maintained that Quint was a composite character. The best-selling book was turned into the 1975 film, a blockbuster that left many beachgoers thinking twice about taking a dip in the ocean. (Yahoo News)
Albinism in Literature Jul 5, 2008
Peter Benchley, The Island (1979). Franklin Dixon, The Infinity Clue (1981). (Suite101.com)
Summers (not to mention beaches) haven't been same since 'Jaws' Jun 22, 2008
Steven Spielberg's Jaws (it opened June 20, 1975), based on the best-selling novel by Peter Benchley and starring Roy Scheider, Richard Dreyfuss and Robert Shaw, was and still is the ultimate summer movie. Everyone saw it. (San Diego Union-Tribune)
Its a sea monster! (Sort of) (989) Jun 5, 2008
The World Link: Its a sea monster. Its a sea monster. (Coos Bay-North Bend The World, OR)
Great white lies: The hard truth about sharks May 16, 2008
Peter Benchley once said he could not have written Jaws, his best-selling 1974 novel about a giant white shark terrorizing a New England beach town, if he knew then what he later learned. CALLAGHAN FRITZ-COPE/ Pelagic Shark Research Foundation White sharks, such as this 17-foot female, have a fearsome reputation, but they are less aggressive than bull sharks or tiger sharks, experts say. (San Diego Union-Tribune)
Hits and misses Apr 5, 2008
Her late husband, Peter Benchley, was the author of the best-selling novel, "Jaws," which was turned into a blockbuster movie about a killer shark. Before he died, Mr. Benchley decried the random hunting and killing of the fierce fish. (NJ.com -- Times)
From 'Jaws' to a plea to save sharks Apr 2, 2008
Her late husband, Peter Benchley, made a fortune as author of the 1974 bestseller "Jaws." ... But Benchley said that after the book and movie came out, she and her husband saw shark hysteria grow and increasingly began to view the tournaments as "killing for killing's sake." Peter Benchley, who died two years ago, had grown increasingly dedicated to ocean conservation issues. (Boston Globe)
Politics & Fish Feb 8, 2008
That was nothing compared with what happened cruising the placid waters and mangrove islands of Estero Bay last Tuesday as most Floridians cast their ballots, and I battled on light spinning tackle the most terrifying fish since Peter Benchley conjured up his toothy menace in Jaws. The Parade magazine sales meeting wasn't bad either. (Forbes)
Unwired pulls the plug - for a bit - on trading Sep 27, 2007
In a piece of prose worthy of Peter Benchley, the note warned: "The great white is now there and when you least expect it it can turn on you and tear you to pieces.". Myer implications. (Sydney Morning Herald -- Business)
Where you're dinner Aug 16, 2007
Nobody really paid that much attention to great white sharks until the 1970s, when writer Peter Benchley penned a little ditty called Jaws that Steven Spielberg later transformed into a movie that kept millions of people out of the water for years. The number of shark deaths each year is actually quite small. (MSNBC -- Travel)
New on DVD: Miller's '300' gets graphic Aug 3, 2007
A rare documentary that caught on back then in the way documentaries more frequently do today, this spectacularly shot true-life shark experience is said to have inspired novelist Peter Benchley to write you-know-what. Moneyed Peter Gimbel (as in the department store) financed this global pursuit of great white adversaries, using bloodied whales as bait. (USA Today -- Life)
Spielberg on Spielberg Jul 6, 2007
The theme was repeated four years later when he directed the film version of Jaws, based on a bestseller by Peter Benchley. It still seems to rankle him that he was the second choice to direct the movie. (Globe and Mail -- Entertainment)
Shark Diving in South Africa: Nose-to-nose with a great white Jun 21, 2007
Like many people, I've been fascinated by great white sharks since even before Peter Benchley and Steven Spielberg stirred up our primal fears back in the 1970s. But until I ventured out on this shark safari in South Africa, I'd never seen one of these fearsome creatures in the flesh. (International Herald Tribune -- Travel)
Writer's Paradise Jun 7, 2007
" Annis derived the name "Morven" from the term for a mythical Gaelic kingdom in a poem by Ossian, the supposed narrator and author of a cycle of poems by the Scottish poet James Macpherson. Just around the corner, on Boudinot Street, is where Peter Benchley lived, with his famous shark mural painted on the floor of the pool. But even as the old guard passes on, new young writers are starting out, such as the Hodder Fellows at Princeton University. Just three summers ago, writers from Fran... (Manville News, NJ)
Legends, leaders, and legacies: The year in farewells Jan 1, 2007
Novelist Peter Benchley wrote the bestseller "Jaws," then became an ardent conservationist and shark protector. Muriel Spark crafted spare novels laced with dark humor. (Boston Globe -- Nation)
