By Marion Filler
Peter Benchley wrote Jaws when he was 33 years old, and half a century later it is still an unforgettable cinematic phenomenon.
The two-note score alone can recall the terror of the giant man-eating shark that tried to destroy the fictional little town of Amity. It also ruined the reputation of sharks for the foreseeable future.
Approximately 150 pieces of Benchley memorabilia relating to both the book and the movie Jaws, as well as paintings, carvings and scuba gear, will be auctioned this Thursday, Oct. 29, 2026, online and in person at the Willow Auction House in Lincoln Park.
Before Jaws, Benchley wore many hats. Among other things, he was a journalist, a speech writer for President Lyndon Johnson, and an avid scuba diver. He loved the sea, and was a collector of nautical art and artifacts.
“Last year, this collection toured the LBJ Museum at the University of Texas for the 50th anniversary of Jaws.This is the first time it will be auctioned,” said Jill Lorio of Willow, noting that all proceeds will benefit five conservation organizations: The Peter Benchley Ocean Awards, WildAid, Beneath the Waves, Blue Frontier and the Environmental Defense Fund.
In one way or another, everything in the auction relates to the sea. There are reference books on sharks, maps of Turks and Caicos, a cassowary dagger, and several paintings and drawings by Benchley’s father Nathaniel, a novelist and accomplished artist.
Jaws-related items are likely to be the main attraction. Photographs captured on the set include one of Benchley in his cameo role as a reporter interviewing actor Richard Dreyfuss.
Benchley had a cameo role in the movie as a television reporter and is seen here interviewing Richard Dreyfuss who plays oceanographer Matt Hooper. Spielberg coached Bentley through the scene.
Peter kept these black-and-white production stills from the shoot on Martha’s Vineyard, where a 27-year-old Steven Spielberg, not yet famous, was directing, and Peter, then 34, was co-writing the screenplay and making his cameo. Several show Bruce, the mechanical shark the crew named after Spielberg’s lawyer, Bruce Ramer. Three Bruces were built, one to be filmed from its left side, one from its right, and one for head-on shots with the jaws open. All three kept rusting and failing in the salt water while the bullhorn blared, “The shark is NOT working.”
Souvenirs such as mugs, keychains, even shark skin baby shoes are affordable and fun, as are movie posters, and Jaws paperbacks in foreign languages.
There also are hats and jackets belonging to Benchley and several typewriters he used during his career, including the ones he used to write the novel and screenplay.
The most expensive item is likely to be an autographed (albeit faded and worn) T-shirt given by director Steven Spielberg to Benchley estimated to fetch between $5,000 and $10,000. Its counterparts in bright orange and yellow are in much better shape and less expensive.
Peter Benchley’s personal Jaws T-shirt, gifted to him by director Steven Spielberg during the era of the 1975 film production. Accompanied by a note from Wendy Benchley reading: “Peter’s Jaws T-shirt given to him by Spielberg. Peter completely wore it out!” Tagged Mayo Spruce size XL 46-48. The front of the garment is blank with a Jaws graphic on the reverse.
The shirt a young, still-unknown Steven Spielberg gave Peter on the set in the summer of 1974, the same shirt he gave his crew. Worn with love for decades. This may be the most personal piece of JAWS memorabilia in the October 2026 sale.
Spielberg was 27 years old when making Jaws, his third film. He streamlined the script, eliminating several subplots to focus on the shark. John Williams wrote the score, and because the artificial shark was often out of order and could not be activated, the pulsating music was used to indicate its presence. Faster meant it was getting closer and closer, enough to traumatize the audience who got the message.
Released in the summer of 1975, Jaws became the highest grossing film up to that time, giving way to Star Wars two years later. Williams won an Academy Award for Best Original Dramatic Score.
The story was inspired by a series of shark attacks on the Jersey shore in July 1916.
Benchley passed away at age 65 in 2006 in Princeton, NJ, where he lived for most of his life. His childhood summers were spent in the village of Siasconset on Nantucket Island, where he eventually met his wife, Wendy.
Career moves took them from Washington, D.C., to New York City and then to Pennington, NJ. It took about a year and a half to write Jaws. During the winter, Benchley set up a makeshift office above the Pennington Furnace Supply Company and in summer months, relocated to a converted turkey coop on his in-laws’ seaside property in Stonington, Connecticut.
After the success of Jaws, the Benchleys moved to Princeton, their primary residence until Peter’s death.
The story doesn’t stop here.
Wendy Benchley has been a scuba diver for more than 50 years. Accompanying her husband around the globe, she witnessed dramatic changes to aquatic wildlife. She is a trustee of several NGOs that will receive proceeds of this auction, which she initiated with Willow.
Carrying the mantle of her late husband, she co-founded the Peter Benchley Ocean Awards to honor exceptional conservation work by marine scientists and policy makers in the U.S. and internationally.
Benchley regretted the bad rap that followed sharks after Jaws. Through articles and talks, he tried to educate the public that they are not all killers. Recent studies concur. Of approximately 500 known species of sharks, only about a dozen are associated with unprovoked attacks on humans.
Hmm….. if we could just forget that music we might give them a chance.
The Peter Benchley Collection: Jaws, A Life of Writing, A Legacy of Ocean Conservation is available online here for viewing and bidding. The auction starts at 11 a.m. on Oct. 29, 2026.
Morristown has a long history of people stepping forward in pivotal moments.
When you chip in to Morristown Green, you’re helping your neighbors stay informed, strengthening our civic backbone, and carrying on the spirit that’s defined this town since its earliest days.
Rally for local news.
