Richard Bach

Last updated
Richard Bach
BornRichard David Bach
(1936-06-23) June 23, 1936 (age 88)
Oak Park, Illinois. U.S.
OccupationWriter
Alma mater Long Beach State College
GenreAviation, fantasy, philosophy
Years active1963–present
Spouse
Bette Jeanne Franks
(m. 1957;div. 1970)
(m. 1981;div. 1999)
Sabryna Nelson-Alexopoulos
(m. 1999;div. 2011)
Melinda Jane Kellogg
(m. 2020)
Children6, including James Marcus Bach
Signature
Richardbachsignature.png
Website
www.richardbach.com OOjs UI icon edit-ltr-progressive.svg

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 include Jonathan Livingston Seagull (1970) and Illusions: The Adventures of a Reluctant Messiah (1977), both of which were among the 1970s' biggest sellers.

Contents

Most of Bach's books have been semi-autobiographical, using actual or fictionalized events from his life to illustrate his philosophy. 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 a metaphorical 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 at Friday Harbor, Washington, his aircraft clipped some power lines and crashed upside down in a field.

Early life

Bach was born in Oak Park, Illinois, to Roland R. and Ruth Shaw Bach. His father was an American Red Cross chapter manager. [2] Bach attended Long Beach State College in 1955.

Bach's first airplane flight occurred at age 14, when his mother was campaigning for a seat on the council of Long Beach, California. Her campaign manager, Paul Marcus, mentioned that he flew airplanes and invited Richard on a flight in his Globe Swift. [3]

Aviation career

Bach served in the United States Navy Reserve, then in the New Jersey Air National Guard's 108th Fighter Wing, 141st Fighter Squadron (USAF), as a Republic F-84F Thunderstreak fighter pilot. He then worked at a variety of jobs, including as a technical writer for Douglas Aircraft and as a contributing editor for Flying magazine. He served in the USAF reserve and was deployed in France in 1960. He later became a barnstormer.

During the summer of 1970, Bach and his friend Chris Cagle traveled to Ireland, where they participated in flying sequences for Roger Corman's film Von Richthofen and Brown . They flew a variety of World War I aircraft of the Blue Max collection owned by ex-RCAF pilot Lynn Garrison. Bach and Garrison first met when Bach wrote articles for Avian, Garrison's aviation publication.

In 1970, Bach participated in Roger Corman's production Von Richthofen and Brown, in Ireland Dick Bach take off in Lynn Garrison's Fokker D-V11.png
In 1970, Bach participated in Roger Corman's production Von Richthofen and Brown , in Ireland

Most of Bach's books involve flight in some way, from the early stories which are purely about flying aircraft, to Stranger to the Ground, his first book, to his later works, in which he used flight as a philosophical metaphor.

Literary career

Bach's first book, the autobiographical Stranger to the Ground (1963) described his Air National Guard unit's deployment to France. It was received favorably by Edmund Fuller in The Wall Street Journal .

1970's Jonathan Livingston Seagull , a story about a seagull who flew for the love and passion of flying rather than merely to catch food, was released by Macmillan Publishers after the manuscript was turned down by several others. It had first been published in Soaring, the magazine of the Soaring Society of America. The book, which included photos of seagulls in flight by photographer Russell Munson, became a number-one bestseller. Containing fewer than 10,000 words, the book sold more than one million copies in 1972 alone. [4] The surprising success of the book was widely reported in the media in the early 1970s. [5]

Bach (in leather coat) in front of Helio Courier G-ARMU used for Von Richthofen and Brown (1970) Von Richthofen LYNN GARRISON - DICK BACH.jpg
Bach (in leather coat) in front of Helio Courier G-ARMU used for Von Richthofen and Brown (1970)

In 1973, Jonathan Livingston Seagull was adapted into a film of the same name, produced by Paramount Pictures Corporation, with a soundtrack by Neil Diamond. Bach then filed a lawsuit against producer/director Hall 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. [6] Associate producer Leslie 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. [7]

In 1975, Bach was the driving force behind Nothing by Chance , a documentary film based on his book of the same name. The film centers on modern barnstorming around the United States in the 1970s. Bach recruited a group of his friends who were pilots to recreate the era of the barnstormer. [8]

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 on San Juan Island in Washington. He was landing a 2008 Easton Gilbert G Searey (N346PE) that he had nicknamed Puff 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. [9]

The day after the accident, Bach was reported to be in serious but stable condition with a head injury and broken shoulder. [10] Bach was hospitalized for four months. He reported that his near-death experience inspired him to finish the fourth part of Jonathan Livingston Seagull, which had been originally published in three parts. [11]

In December 2012, Publishers Weekly reported that Travels with Puff had been sent to his publisher the day before his accident. [12] Travels with Puff was released on March 19, 2013.

In 2014, Bach published his sequel to Illusions: The Adventures of a Reluctant Messiah, which he called Illusions 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.

Personal life

Bach had six children with his first wife, Bette Jeanne Franks. Also a pilot, she is the author of Patterns: Tales of Flying and of Life, a book about her life as a pilot and single mother. [13] 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 book Above 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." [14]

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 actress Leslie Parrish, whom he met during the making of the film Jonathan Livingston Seagull. She featured significantly in two of his subsequent books: The Bridge Across Forever and One , which primarily focused on their relationship and Bach's concept of soulmates. They divorced in 1999. [15]

Bach married his third wife, Sabryna Nelson-Alexopoulos, in April 1999. They divorced on April 1, 2011. [16]

Bach has been married to his fourth wife, Melinda Kellogg, since November, 2020. [17] [ non-primary source needed ]

Bibliography

The book Curious Lives is in fact the above five Ferret Chronicles books collected in one volume, the only changes being changes to the titles of each of the five.

Related Research Articles

<i>Jonathan Livingston Seagull</i> 1970 novella by Richard Bach

Jonathan Livingston Seagull is an allegorical fable in novella form written by American author Richard Bach and illustrated with black-and-white photographs shot by Russell Munson. It is about a seagull who is trying to learn about flying, personal reflection, freedom, and self-realization. It was first published in book form in 1970 with little advertising or expectations; by the end of 1972, over a million copies were in print, the book having reached the number-one spot on bestseller lists mostly through word of mouth recommendations.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Leslie Parrish</span> American actress

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<i>Illusions</i> (Bach novel) 1977 novel by Richard Bach

Illusions: The Adventures of a Reluctant Messiah is a novel by writer and pilot Richard Bach. First published in 1977, the story questions the reader's view of reality, proposing that what we call reality is merely an illusion we create for learning and enjoyment. Illusions was the author's follow-up to 1970's Jonathan Livingston Seagull.

This is a list of bestselling novels in the United States in the 1970s, as determined by Publishers Weekly. The list features the most popular novels of each year from 1970 through 1975.

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<i>Jonathan Livingston Seagull</i> (soundtrack) 1973 soundtrack album by Neil Diamond

Jonathan Livingston Seagull is the soundtrack album to the 1973 American film Jonathan Livingston Seagull, recorded by singer-songwriter Neil Diamond and produced by Tom Catalano. The album marked Diamond's return to Columbia Records, and grossed more than the film itself. It is Diamond's ninth studio album, and his first album after his successful 1972 live album Hot August Night. It won the 1974 Grammy as Best Original Score Written for a Motion Picture or a Television Special.

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Jack Craig Couffer A.S.C. was an American cinematographer, film and television director, and author. Couffer specialized in documentary films, often involving nature and animal cinematography. Couffer was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Cinematography for his work on the film version of the novel Jonathan Livingston Seagull (1974).

<i>Jonathan Livingston Seagull</i> (film) 1973 US drama film by Hall Bartlett

Jonathan Livingston Seagull is a 1973 American drama film directed by Hall Bartlett, adapted from the 1970 novella of the same name by Richard Bach. The film tells the story of a young seabird who, after being cast out by his stern flock, goes on an odyssey to discover how to break the limits of his own flying speed. The film was produced by filming actual seagulls, then superimposing human dialogue over it. The film's voice actors included James Franciscus in the title role, and Philip Ahn as his mentor, Chiang.

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<i>Women in the Wind</i> 1939 film directed by John Farrow

Women in the Wind is a 1939 film directed by John Farrow and starring Kay Francis, William Gargan and Victor Jory. The plot concerns women pilots competing in the so-called "Powder Puff Derby", an annual transcontinental air race solely for women.

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Illusions II: The Adventures of a Reluctant Student is the 2014 novel by writer and pilot Richard Bach. The first Illusions book was published in 1977 and was an international best-seller, telling the story of a pilot who encounters a messiah who has absconded from the "job" of being a messiah. The sequel is in author Bach's own voice, as his "imaginary" literary characters help him in his recovery from his real-life plane crash in August 2012.

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<i>Nothing by Chance</i> 1975 American film

Nothing by Chance is a 1975 American documentary film based on the 1969 book by Richard Bach, Nothing by Chance: A Gypsy Pilot's Adventures in Modern America. The film centers on modern barnstorming around the United States in the 1970s. One of the driving forces behind the production, star Richard Bach, is a pilot in real life, and recruited a group of his friends who were also pilots to recreate the era of the barnstormer.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cultural depictions of weasels</span>

Weasels are mammals belonging to the family Mustelidae and the genus Mustela, which includes stoats, least weasels, ferrets, and minks, among others. Different species of weasel have lived alongside humans on every continent except Antarctica and Australia, and have been assigned a wide range of folkloric and mythical meanings.

The Ferret Chronicles is a series of short novels set in a fantasy world mostly similar to the real world except in which intelligent animals live alongside humans. It primarily focuses on ferret characters with only occasional references to humans or other intelligent animal species. The author and illustrator of the series is Richard Bach, and the five novels were originally published by Scribner Publishing. Condensed versions of the novels have since been republished first by Hampton Roads Publishing Company. and more recently by Jaico Publishing House. The first two novels share the same publication date leading to Amazon and GoodReads disagreeing on the numbering of the novels. The books themselves do not explicitly state a sequence.

References

Citations

  1. "Richard Bach (Biographical sketch)." butler-bowdon.com. Retrieved: December 11, 2015.
  2. Science Fiction and Fantasy Literature, vol. 2, R. Reginald, 1979, pg 803
  3. Scott, Phil. "My First Time." Air & Space/Smithsonian , Vol. 17, No. 2, June/July 2002, p. 47.
  4. "Jonathan Livingston Seagull". Archived 2006-04-26 at the Wayback Machine 20th-Century American Bestsellers. Retrieved: December 11. 2015.
  5. Walters, Raymond, Jr. "Book Review: 'Jonathan Livingston Seagull'." The New York Times, July 23, 1972, p. 43.
  6. "'Seagull' Author Sues". The Evening News. Vol. 12, no. 210. Newburgh, NY. Associated Press. 12 October 1973.
  7. "Jonathan Livingston Seagull (1973) | Via Vision Entertainment - info relayed by Leslie Parrish for the Blu-ray commentary track".
  8. Pendo 1985, p. 58.
  9. "Author Richard Bach injured in Washington plane crash". Fox News , September 1, 2012. Retrieved: December 11, 2015.
  10. Valdes, Manuel. "'Jonathan Livingston Seagull' author crashes plane". MSNBC (Associated Press), September 1, 2012. Retrieved: December 11, 2015.
  11. Sullivan, Jennifer. "Author Richard Bach, recovering from plane crash, returns to inspirational tale". Seattle Times, January 17, 2013. Retrieved: December 11, 2015.
  12. Werris, Wendy. "Despite crash, new Bach book set for March". Publishers Weekly, December 14, 2012. Retrieved: December 11, 2015.
  13. Bach Fineman, Betty. Patterns: Tales of Flying and of Life Editorial and Aviation Service, 2007. ISBN   978-0979629808.
  14. Bach, Jonathan. Above the Clouds: A Reunion of Father and Son. New York: William Morrow & Co., 1993. ISBN   978-0-6881-1760-3.
  15. Leagle.com, Bach vs Parrish "Bach vs Parrish" Retrieved: `January 17, 2021.
  16. King County Superior Court, Seattle, Washington; case number 10-3-05920-6, decree of dissolution issued April, 1, 2011.
  17. "Richard Bach » Who is Melinda Jane Kellogg". melindajanekellogg.com. 20 July 2018. Retrieved 22 October 2023.

General and cited references

  • Pendo, Stephen. Aviation in the Cinema. Lanham, Maryland: Scarecrow Press, 1985. ISBN   0-8-1081-746-2.