Jonathan Livingston Seagull (film) his beliefs. Eventually, Jonathan himself ends up becoming a mentor for other seagulls who are suffering the same fates in their own flocks as he once did. Director Hall Bartlett first read the book "Jonathan Livingston Seagull" in a San Fernando Valley barbershop when he impulsively decided to call the publisher, Macmillan, and then author Richard Bach, to buy the film rights. Bartlett suggested that the story needed to be told simply, without animation or actors, and acquired the property for $100,000 and fifty percent of the profits. He granted Bach final approval rights on the film and all advertising
John H. Livingston John H. Livingston John H. Livingston (1897–1974) was an American aviator and air race pilot of the 1920s and 1930s. Livingston placed first in 80 national air races. John Livingston was born in 1897 in Cedar Falls, Iowa. His first profession was as an automobile and motorcycle mechanic. Livingston first soloed an aircraft in 1920 and started work with The Iowa Airplane Company, later purchasing and managing it as Midwest Airways Corporation. Iowa's first airline with service starting in 1928. In 1928 Livingston won first place in the Transcontinental Air Derby, flying a Waco 10T from New York to Los