---
name: "Peter Benchley"
canonical: "https://film.one/person/peter-benchley"
fi1m_id: "peter-benchley"
imdb_id: "nm0001940"
tmdb_id: 8554
wikidata_id: "Q333251"
roles: ["Writer"]
born: "8 May 1940"
died: "11 February 2006"
reviewed_on_fi1m: 3
average_fi1m_score: 34
average_as: "writer"
average_over: 2
updated: "2026-10-04T18:11:04.745775+00:00"
licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL."
---

# Peter Benchley

## Identity

Peter Benchley

- **Canonical:** https://film.one/person/peter-benchley
- **Type:** Person
- **Fi1m ID:** peter-benchley
- **IMDb ID:** nm0001940
- **TMDB ID:** 8554
- **Wikidata ID:** Q333251
- **Same entity:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peter_Benchley, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q333251, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0001940/, https://www.themoviedb.org/person/8554

Writer. Born 8 May 1940 in New York City, New York, USA. Died 11 February 2006.

## Details

- **Work:** Writer
- **Born:** 8 May 1940, New York City, New York, USA
- **Died:** 11 February 2006
- **Active:** 1975–1987
- **Titles on Fi1m:** 3: 1 acting, 2 writing
- **Average Fi1m score:** 34, as writer, over 2 titles
- **Fi1m score by decade:** 1970s 93 (1), 1980s 34 (2)
- **Elsewhere:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peter_Benchley, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q333251, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0001940/, https://www.themoviedb.org/person/8554

## Streaming the US now

- **Netflix:** [*Jaws*](https://film.one/film/jaws.md) (93)

For United States; add `?region=XX` for another country.

## Biography

Peter Benchley was an American author and screenwriter. He wrote the 1974 novel *Jaws* and co-wrote the screenplay for its 1975 film adaptation with Carl Gottlieb.

Benchley was born in New York City and graduated from Harvard University. He came from a literary family; his father was novelist Nathaniel Benchley and his grandfather was humorist Robert Benchley. Several of his other novels were adapted for film, including *The Deep* (1977) and *The Island* (1980). He later became an advocate for ocean conservation.

*Sources: en.wikipedia.org, nytimes.com.*

## On Fi1m (3)

### Performed in (1)

- *Jaws* (1975), Fi1m 93, as Interviewer — [page](https://film.one/film/jaws.md)

### Wrote (2) — the average rests on these

- *Jaws: The Revenge* (1987), Fi1m 32, Characters — [page](https://film.one/film/jaws-the-revenge.md)
- *Jaws 3-D* (1983), Fi1m 36, Characters — [page](https://film.one/film/jaws-3-d.md)

## Complete filmography (19)

Every credit, newest first. Titles without a page can be requested for review on the HTML page.

- *A Quint-mas Carol* (2016), Characters
- *I Love the '70s* (2003), series, Actor
- *Great White Deep Trouble* (2000), Actor
- *Amazon* (1999), series, Executive Producer, Creator
- *Creature* (1998), series, as Exec's Buddy · Novel, Creator
- *E! True Hollywood Story* (1996), series, Actor
- *The Beast* (1996), series, Novel
- *Cruel Jaws* (1995), Story
- *Mrs. Parker and the Vicious Circle* (1994), as Frank Crowninshield
- *Expedition Earth* (1990), series, Writer
- *Dolphin Cove* (1989), series, Writer
- *Jaws: The Revenge* (1987), Characters — Fi1m 32, [page](https://film.one/film/jaws-the-revenge.md)
- *Jaws 3-D* (1983), Characters — Fi1m 36, [page](https://film.one/film/jaws-3-d.md)
- *The Island* (1980), Screenplay, Novel
- *Jaws 2* (1978), Screenplay, Characters
- *Hunters of the Reef* (1978), as Bus Passenger (uncredited) · Characters
- *The Deep* (1977), Novel, Screenplay
- *The Great Houdinis* (1976), Writer
- *Jaws* (1975), as Interviewer · Novel, Screenplay — Fi1m 93, [page](https://film.one/film/jaws.md)

## Gallery

- ![Peter Benchley](https://film.one/media/person/59855/gallery-823ca14cd40d.jpg) Peter Benchley — Back jacket photo by Alex Gotfryd, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons (https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/da/Jaws_%281974%29_back_cover_featuring_a_portrait_photograph_of_Peter_Benchley_by_Alex_Gotfryd%2C_first_edition.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail_unscaled)
- ![Peter Benchley](https://film.one/media/person/59855/gallery-389da816050f.jpg) Peter Benchley — Image via TMDB

## Awards

### Other awards — 1 won

- New Jersey Hall of Fame 2018: New Jersey Hall of Fame (won)

*From Wikidata, which records wins more completely than nominations.*

---
© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Canonical: https://film.one/person/peter-benchley