Richard Bach | |
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| Born | Richard David Bach (1936-06-23)June 23, 1936 (age 89) Oak Park, Illinois. U.S. |
| Occupation | Writer |
| Alma mater | California State University, Long Beach |
| Genre | Aviation,fantasy,philosophy |
| Years active | 1963–present |
| Notable works | Jonathan Livingston Seagull Illusions: The Adventures of a Reluctant Messiah |
| Spouse | |
| Children | 6, includingJames Marcus Bach |
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Richard David Bach (born June 23, 1936)[1] is an American writer. He has written numerous flight-related works of fiction and non-fiction. His works includeJonathan Livingston Seagull (1970) andIllusions: The Adventures of a Reluctant Messiah (1977), both of which were among the 1970s' biggest sellers.
Most of Bach's books have been semi-autobiographical, using actual orfictionalized events from his life to illustrate hisphilosophy. His books espouse his philosophy that our apparent physical limits and mortality are merely appearance. Bach is noted for his love of aviation and his books related to flying in ametaphorical context. He has flown as a hobby since the age of 17. In late August 2012, Bach was severely injured when on approach to landing atFriday Harbor, Washington, his aircraft clipped some power lines and crashed upside down in a field.
Bach was born inOak Park, Illinois, to Roland R. and Ruth Shaw Bach. His father was an American Red Cross chapter manager.[2] Bach graduated fromCalifornia State University, Long Beach in 1955.[3]
Bach's first airplane flight occurred at age 14, when his mother was campaigning for a seat on the council ofLong Beach, California. Her campaign manager, Paul Marcus, mentioned that he flew airplanes and invited Richard on a flight in hisGlobe Swift.[4]
Bach served in theUnited States Navy Reserve, then in theNew Jersey Air National Guard's 108th Fighter Wing,141st Fighter Squadron (USAF), as aRepublic F-84F Thunderstreak fighterpilot. He then worked at a variety of jobs, including as a technical writer forDouglas Aircraft and as a contributing editor forFlying magazine. He served in the USAF reserve and was deployed in France in 1960. He later became abarnstormer.[citation needed]
During the summer of 1970, Bach and his friend Chris Cagle traveled to Ireland, where they participated in flying sequences forRoger Corman's filmVon Richthofen and Brown. They flew a variety ofWorld War I aircraft of the Blue Max collection owned by ex-RCAF pilotLynn Garrison. Bach and Garrison first met when Bach wrote articles forAvian, Garrison's aviation publication.[citation needed]
Most of Bach's books involve flight in some way, from the early stories which are purely about flying aircraft, toStranger to the Ground, his first book, to his later works, in which he used flight as a philosophical metaphor.
In 1963 Bach published his first book,Stranger to the Ground, which describes a mission flight he undertook fromWethersfield,England, toChaumont,France. It was favorably received byMartin Caidin inThe New York Times Book Review[5] and by Edmund Fuller inThe Wall Street Journal, and mixedly by Peter W. Brooks inThe Journal of the Royal Aeronautical Society.[6] By 1972 it had sold 17,000 copies, making it the best-selling of Bach's first three books.[7]
Jonathan Livingston Seagull, 1970s story about a seagull who flew for the love and passion of flying rather than merely to catch food, was released byMacmillan Publishers after the manuscript was turned down by several others. It had first been serialized inPrivate Pilot magazine,[8][9] as well as inSoaring, the magazine of theSoaring Society of America. The book, containing fewer than 10,000 words, and featuring photos of seagulls in flight by photographer Russell Munson, became a number-onebestseller, selling more than one million copies in 1972 alone.[10] The surprising success of the book was widely reported in the media in the early 1970s.[7]
In 1973,Jonathan Livingston Seagull was adapted into afilm of the same name, produced byParamount Pictures Corporation, with a soundtrack byNeil Diamond. Bach then filed a lawsuit against producer/directorHall Bartlett, alleging that Bartlett had destroyed Bach's screenplay for the film and that Bartlett had violated a clause in Bach's contract which stated that the film could not be released in theaters without Bach's approval.[11] Associate producerLeslie Parrish was appointed to be a mediator between Bach and Bartlett, but the mediation failed. The lawsuit ended with the film being released in theaters with some changes made to the final cut, while Bach had his name removed from the film's screenwriting credits.[12]
In 1975, Bach was the driving force behindNothing by Chance, a documentary film based on his book of the same name. The film centers on modernbarnstorming around the United States in the 1970s. Bach recruited a group of his friends who were pilots to recreate the era of the barnstormer.[13]
The second novel,Illusions: The Adventures of a Reluctant Messiah, published in 1977, tells of an encounter with a modern-day messiah who has decided to quit.
On August 31, 2012, Bach was injured in an aircraft landing accident onSan Juan Island inWashington. He was landing a 2008 Easton Gilbert G Searey (N346PE) that he had nicknamedPuff at a private airport when the landing gear clipped some power lines. He crashed upside down in a field about two miles from Friday Harbor, taking down two poles and sparking a small grass fire.[14]
The day after the accident, Bach was reported to be in serious but stable condition with a head injury and broken shoulder.[15] Bach was hospitalized for four months. He reported that hisnear-death experience inspired him to finish the fourth part ofJonathan Livingston Seagull, which had been originally published in three parts.[16]
In December 2012,Publishers Weekly reported thatTravels with Puff had been sent to his publisher the day before his accident.[17]Travels with Puff was released on March 19, 2013.
In 2014, Bach published his sequel toIllusions: The Adventures of a Reluctant Messiah, which he calledIllusions II: The Adventures of a Reluctant Student. The book incorporates the story of Bach's real-life aircraft crash, with the author imagining he is being visited by the "messiah", Don Shimoda, who helps him through his difficult medical recovery.
Bach had six children with his first wife, Bette Jeanne Franks. Also a pilot, she is the author ofPatterns: Tales of Flying and of Life, a book about her life as a pilot and single mother.[18] She typed and edited most of Richard's aviation writing. They divorced in 1970, and Bach spent years without seeing his children.
His and Bette's son Jonathan, named after the titular character in Bach's bestseller,Jonathan Livingston Seagull, is a software engineer and journalist. He wrote the 1993 bookAbove the Clouds, about growing up without knowing his father and then later meeting him as a college student. Richard gave his approval, although he noted that it included some personal history he would "rather not see in print."[19]
Their other children are Robert, Kristel,James Marcus Bach, Erika, and their youngest daughter, Bethany, who died in an accident at the age of 15 in 1985.
In 1981, Bach married the actressLeslie Parrish, whom he had met during the making of the filmJonathan Livingston Seagull. She featured significantly in two of his subsequent books:The Bridge Across Forever andOne, which primarily focused on their relationship and Bach's concept of soulmates. They divorced in 1999.[20]
Bach married his third wife, Sabryna Nelson-Alexopoulos, in April 1999. They divorced on April 1, 2011.[21]
Bach has been married to his fourth wife, Melinda Kellogg, since November, 2020.[22][non-primary source needed]
Then came acceptance in Private Pilot magazine.
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