Richard Bach facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Richard Bach
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| Born | Richard David Bach June 23, 1936 Oak Park, Illinois. U.S. |
| Occupation | Writer |
| Alma mater | Long Beach State College |
| Genre | Aviation, fantasy, philosophy |
| Years active | 1963–present |
| Spouse |
Bette Jeanne Franks
(m. 1957; div. 1970)Leslie Parrish
(m. 1981; div. 1999)Sabryna Nelson-Alexopoulos
(m. 1999; div. 2011)Melinda Jane Kellogg
(m. 2020) |
| Children | 6, including James Marcus Bach |
| Signature | |
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Richard David Bach (born June 23, 1936) is an American writer. He has written many books about flying, both made-up stories and true ones. Two of his most famous books are Jonathan Livingston Seagull (1970) and Illusions: The Adventures of a Reluctant Messiah (1977). Both of these were huge bestsellers in the 1970s.
Most of Bach's books are based on his own life. He uses real or imagined events to share his ideas about life. His books often suggest that our physical limits are not as real as they seem. Richard Bach loves aviation, and his books often use flying as a way to talk about deeper meanings. He has enjoyed flying as a hobby since he was 17. In 2012, he was seriously hurt when his plane crashed while landing.
Contents
Early Life and First Flight
Richard Bach was born in Oak Park, Illinois. His parents were Roland R. and Ruth Shaw Bach. His father worked for the American Red Cross. Richard went to Long Beach State College in 1955.
He had his first airplane flight when he was 14 years old. His mother was running for a position on the council in Long Beach, California. Her campaign manager, Paul Marcus, flew airplanes. He invited Richard to fly with him in his Globe Swift plane.
Aviation Career and Love for Flying
Bach served in the United States Navy Reserve. He also served in the New Jersey Air National Guard as a fighter pilot. He flew a Republic F-84F Thunderstreak jet. After this, he worked at different jobs. He was a writer for Douglas Aircraft and an editor for Flying magazine.
In 1970, Bach and his friend Chris Cagle went to Ireland. They helped film flying scenes for the movie Von Richthofen and Brown. They flew old World War I airplanes. Bach's books often involve flying. Some are purely about flying planes. Others use flying as a way to explore big ideas about life.
Writing Career and Famous Books
Bach's first book was Stranger to the Ground (1963). It was about his time in the Air National Guard. The book was well-liked by critics.
His most famous book, Jonathan Livingston Seagull, came out in 1970. It tells the story of a seagull who loves to fly for the joy of it. He doesn't just fly to find food. Many publishers first turned down the book. But when it was finally released, it became a huge success. The book included photos of seagulls by Russell Munson. Even though it was short, it sold over a million copies in 1972 alone.
In 1973, Jonathan Livingston Seagull was made into a movie. Paramount Pictures Corporation produced it. The music was by Neil Diamond. Bach had some disagreements about the movie.
In 1975, Bach helped create Nothing by Chance. This was a documentary film based on his book of the same name. The film showed modern barnstorming in the United States. Barnstorming is when pilots travel around and perform flying stunts. Bach gathered pilot friends to recreate this old flying tradition.
His second famous novel, Illusions: The Adventures of a Reluctant Messiah, was published in 1977. It tells about meeting a modern-day messiah who wants to quit his job.
Aircraft Accident and Later Works
On August 31, 2012, Richard Bach was hurt in a plane crash. This happened on San Juan Island in Washington. He was landing his plane, which he called Puff. The landing gear hit some power lines. His plane crashed upside down in a field.
Bach was seriously injured and spent four months in the hospital. He later said that this experience helped him finish the fourth part of Jonathan Livingston Seagull. This part had not been published before.
In 2013, his book Travels with Puff was released. He had sent it to his publisher just before his accident. In 2014, Bach published Illusions II: The Adventures of a Reluctant Student. This book includes his real-life plane crash. In the story, the "messiah" from his earlier book visits him and helps him recover.
Family Life
Richard Bach has six children with his first wife, Bette Jeanne Franks. She is also a pilot. She wrote a book called Patterns: Tales of Flying and of Life. It is about her life as a pilot and a single mom. She also helped Richard by typing and editing his early aviation writings. They divorced in 1970.
Their son Jonathan was named after the seagull in Bach's famous book. Jonathan is a software engineer and journalist. He wrote a book in 1993 called Above the Clouds. It was about growing up without knowing his father and meeting him later.
Richard and Bette's other children are Robert, Kristel, James Marcus Bach, Erika, and Bethany. Bethany sadly passed away in an accident when she was 15 years old in 1985.
In 1981, Bach married actress Leslie Parrish. They met while making the Jonathan Livingston Seagull movie. She is an important part of two of his books: The Bridge Across Forever and One. These books focus on their relationship and Bach's ideas about soulmates. They divorced in 1999.
Bach married his third wife, Sabryna Nelson-Alexopoulos, in 1999. They divorced in 2011. Since November 2020, Richard Bach has been married to his fourth wife, Melinda Kellogg.
Images for kids
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Richard Bach's signature.
See also
In Spanish: Richard Bach para niños
