Jaws Writer’s Widow Returns to Iconic Shore: 50 Years On
Okay, picture me jittering on my porch swing with espresso in one hand and this scoop in the other—this is bonkers but also heartwarming! Nancy Benchley, the widow of Jaws author Peter Benchley, still makes her pilgrimage to the very spot where Spielberg’s shark thriller splashed onto screens half a century ago. According to the New York Post, Nancy recently traveled back to Martha’s Vineyard—yes, that sun-soaked island in Massachusetts where Amity Island wasn’t so imaginary after all—to soak up the same salty breeze and shoreline that inspired Peter’s 1974 bestseller and Spielberg’s 1975 masterpiece.
Nancy spilled to Page Six that she had to slip past the new-fangled tourist traps and selfie-sticks to find the old dock where Quint’s bitterness and Brody’s dread played out on-screen. She got a lump in her throat standing on those creaking boards, recalling when Peter huddled with Spielberg’s crew over that wooden plank. Variety confirms Spielberg even visited Nancy years later for a reunion dinner, swapping anecdotes over clam chowder. It’s like history served with a side of nostalgia!
And get this: Nancy says she doesn’t just visit once in a blue moon. She’s made this trek every five years since Peter’s passing in 2006, treating it like a quirky family holiday tradition. She’s even started a little photo album—quaint black-and-white Polaroids of her pointing at the church steeple that doubled as the Amity police station, or strolling past the very house where Brody’s kids got that iconic nosebleed scare. If you’re wondering how she resists buying every Jaws-themed souvenir in sight—spoiler—she doesn’t. She’s got towels, mugs, shark fin bottle openers—the works!
Insiders tell People Magazine that Nancy’s annual visits have put Martha’s Vineyard back on the map for cinephiles worldwide. She lobbied local shops to pin an official “Jaws Trail” plaque near the original film locations, so now there’s a self-guided tour complete with QR codes linking back to Peter’s initial manuscript notes (some of which Nancy still guards in her Park Avenue brownstone). This mix of old-school storytelling and 21st-century tech is giving new life to the tale of a great white that terrorized more than just Amity’s waters.
Word on the street is Nancy might be teaming with a small archival team to digitize Peter’s personal letters, photos, and reel-to-reel recordings from the Jaws script sessions. If that happens, expect a treasure trove of behind-the-scenes gold next summer—perfect timing for the 51st anniversary. I swear, I could chat about this all day, but I need another latte before I spiral further into shark trivia. Whew, that was a LOT to process!
Sources: Celebrity Storm and New York Post, Page Six, Variety, People Magazine
Attribution: Creative Commons Licensed
