Posted on 02/10/2008 6:00:57 PM PST by lunarbicep
Roy Scheider, a stage actor with a background in the classics who became one of the leading figures in the American film renaissance of the 1970s, died on Sunday afternoon in Little Rock, Ark. He was 75 and lived in Sag Harbor, N.Y.
Mr. Scheider had suffered from multiple myeloma for several years, and died of complications from a staph infection, his wife, Brenda Seimer, said.
Mr. Scheiders rangy figure, gaunt face and emotional openness made him particularly appealing in everyman roles, most famously as the agonized police chief of Jaws, Steven Spielbergs 1975 breakthrough hit, about a New England resort town haunted by the knowledge that a killer shark is preying on the local beaches.
Mr. Scheider conveyed an accelerated metabolism in movies like Klute (1971), his first major film role, in which he played a threatening pimp to Jane Fondas New York call girl; and in William Friedkins French Connection (also 1971), as Buddy Russo, the slightly more restrained partner to Gene Hackmans marauding police detective, Popeye Doyle. That role earned Mr. Scheider the first of two Oscar nominations.
Born in 1932 in Orange, N.J., Mr. Scheider earned his distinctive broken nose in the New Jersey Diamond Gloves Competition. He studied at Rutgers and at Franklin and Marshall College in Lancaster, Pa., where he graduated as a history major with the intention of going to law school. He served three years in the United States Air Force, rising to the rank of first lieutenant. When he was discharged, he returned to Franklin and Marshall to star in a production of Richard III.
(Excerpt) Read more at nytimes.com ...
“Also starred in Seaquest years ago.’
Also played Dustin Hoffman’s brother in “Marathon Man”. Tthat’s one of my favorites.
Saw the movie when I was 15ish and on my way to spend a summer on the Island of Samar PI
Luckily we had a huge reef surrouning that part of the island.
So the worst that happen was corral cuts when venturing out to the Japeneses ghost war ship.
That movie definitely had an effect on people.
Wow. How time flies.
RIP Roy. Great actor.
He was a great actor. I'm glad he eventually hit it big with The French Connection and Jaws.
?
I always figured offset he was a cocky type guy, but that could just have been his persona.
He really didn't seem to be a regular on the big screen. He's make a few high profile movies and then just disappears for a few years.
Oh what a shame
he was a good acter
Prayers for his family
I remember going to see Jaws then Orca, what was that 75, 77, 78? I was just a little one seeing those movies (born 70), if those were the correct dates. I just remember being very young and very afraid!
Wow... was JAWS really 32 years ago??? I cannot believe it...
I loved him Jaws. He played Chief Brody perfectly.
Wow... was JAWS really 32 years ago??? I cannot believe it...
Really liked Roy....here is his bio from Internet Movie Data Base:
http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0001702/bio
Ah man!
RIP...
This sucks. Rest in Peace, Roy.
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