Actor Roy Scheider Dies

[Gummy 0]

LITTLE ROCK, Arkansas (AP) -- Roy Scheider, the actor best known for his role as a police chief in the blockbuster movie "Jaws," has died. He was 75.

 

Scheider died Sunday at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences hospital in Little Rock, hospital spokesman David Robinson said. The hospital did not release a cause of death.

 

However, hospital spokeswoman Leslie Taylor said Scheider had been treated for multiple myeloma at the hospital's Myeloma Institute for Research and Therapy for the past two years.

 

Scheider received two Oscar nominations, for best-supporting actor in 1971's "The French Connection" in which he played the police partner of Oscar winner Gene Hackman, and for best-actor for 1979's "All That Jazz," the autobiographical Bob Fosse film.

 

However, he was best known for his role in Steven Spielberg's1975 film, "Jaws," the enduring classic about a killer shark terrorizing beachgoers and well as millions of moviegoers.

 

Widely hailed as the film that launched the era of the Hollywood blockbuster, it was also the first movie to earn $100 million at the box office. Scheider starred with Richard Dreyfuss, who played an oceanographer.

 

In 2005, one of Scheider's most famous lines in the movie -- "You're gonna need a bigger boat" -- was voted No. 35 on the American Film Institute's list of best quotes from U.S. movies.

 

That year, some 30 years after "Jaws" premiered, hundreds of movie buffs flocked to Martha's Vineyard, off the southeastern coast of Massachusetts, to celebrate the great white shark.

 

The island's JawsFest '05 also brought back some of the cast and crew, including screenwriter Carl Gottlieb and Peter Benchley, who wrote the novel that inspired Spielberg's classic. Spielberg, Scheider and Dreyfuss were absent.

 

Scheider was also politically active. He participated in rallies protesting U.S. military action in Iraq, including a massive New York demonstration in March 2003 that police said drew 125,000 chanting activists.

Edited February 11, 2008 by Takara_Soong

[VaBeachGuy 12]

That's too bad, I enjoyed him in a few movies. Blue Thunder, 2010 and Jaws to name a few.

[Itchygomba69 0]

that sucks, I loved Seaquest DSV

[VaBeachGuy 12]

that sucks, I loved Seaquest DSV

I had forgotten about that show, I was more of an Earth 2 person back then though lol.

[Gummy 0]

that sucks, I loved Seaquest DSV

I had forgotten about that show, I was more of an Earth 2 person back then though lol.

I didn't forget. It was one of my favorites back then.

[Captain Armstrong 0]

Sad, sad news. Roy was an amazing actor. I just watched my Jaws DVD about a week ago (I was going through a 70s kick, also watched Close Encounters). That movie still works after all these years. Classic.

[Stephen of Borg 2]

dragonwrangler took the words right out of my mouth, this sucks. He was just one of the coolest actors that have ever lived. It's a real shame

[Theunicornhunter 2]

Yes, this is sad - I enjoyed his work and he was a great actor.

[TJ Phaserman 2]

he will be missed, that much is for sure.

[Kor37 9]

I am embarrassed to admit that I thought he had died some years ago. I enjoyed him in JAWS as well as Seaquest.

[Theunicornhunter 2]

A few years ago he was in a tv movie on TNT with Patrick Stewart - King of Texas

[VaBeachGuy 12]

that sucks, I loved Seaquest DSV

I had forgotten about that show, I was more of an Earth 2 person back then though lol.

I didn't forget. It was one of my favorites back then.

 

The thing about Seaquest that I didn't like was their "Wesley Crusher" character. I watched it from time to time but never really got into it. It was a Sunday night show, wasn't it?

 

[Dabo Queen 0]

 

 

The thing about Seaquest that I didn't like was their "Wesley Crusher" character. I watched it from time to time but never really got into it. It was a Sunday night show, wasn't it?

 

 

 

Oh!!! SeaQuest! <333

 

 

The show where I first developed my crush on Ted Raimi! :blush 2:

[VaBeachGuy 12]

 

 

Oh!!! SeaQuest! <333

 

 

The show where I first developed my crush on Ted Raimi! :blush 2:

Which one is he?

[Theunicornhunter 2]

Which one is he?

 

Joxer the mighty - oh wait wrong show... <_<

 

He was the communications Lieutentant - forgot the name - but he is Sam Raimi's little brother and Bruce Campbell used to babysit for him.

 

As for the "Wesley Crusher" type kid - Lucas was far less annoying than Wesley and what is truly sad - the young actor that played him committed suicide a couple of years ago.

[VaBeachGuy 12]

Which one is he?

 

Joxer the mighty - oh wait wrong show... <_<

 

He was the communications Lieutentant - forgot the name - but he is Sam Raimi's little brother and Bruce Campbell used to babysit for him.

 

As for the "Wesley Crusher" type kid - Lucas was far less annoying than Wesley and what is truly sad - the young actor that played him committed suicide a couple of years ago.

I didn't know that, I also didn't know until a couple of weeks ago that the girl that played "True Danziger" from Earth 2, J. Madison Wright died in 2006 of a heart attack. She was only 22 when she died.

 

[KIMIMELA 1]

Don't know who he was <_< . It is sad news, though <_<

[trekz 7]

A solid entertaining actor. More info King of Texas, which I remember watching (it was interesting, but not a classic imo):

 

Turner Network Television (TNT) continues its rich tradition of presenting Original Western films as Emmy ® -nominated actor Patrick Stewart stars in KING OF TEXAS, a dramatic Western twist on the great Shakespearean tragedy King Lear. KING OF TEXAS also stars Oscar ® winner Marcia Gay Harden as Lear's oldest daughter, Susannah, Lauren Holly as Lear's middle daughter, Rebecca, and Julie Cox as Lear's loyal youngest daughter, Claudia.

 

Oscar ® -nominated Roy Scheider stars as Westover, a rival rancher who tries to save Lear from himself, and Patrick Bergin stars as Rebecca's brutish husband, Highsmith. In addition, David Alan Grier plays Lear's razor-tongued ranch hand, Matt Letscher is the ruthless son of Westover, Liam Waite plays Westover's younger son, Thomas, and Steven Bauer portrays Mexican officer Menchaca.

 

Stewart, his producing partner Wendy Neuss-Stewart and Robert Halmi Sr. are the executive-producers for Flying Freehold and Hallmark Entertainment Productions, respectively. The script is by Stephen Harrigan (Rin Tin Tin). Uli Edel (TNT's The Mists of Avalon) is the director.

 

In KING OF TEXAS, Stewart plays John Lear, a wealthy, egomaniacal Texas rancher who challenges his three daughters to prove their love for him to claim their inheritance. When his youngest daughter refuses to take the challenge, Lear banishes her from his ranch and from his life. He divides his estate between his two remaining daughters and makes plans to continue overseeing the huge family holdings while shuttling between their two homesteads. But venom proves thicker than blood when his daughters betray Lear and force him off his own land. Lear's sudden downfall leaves him emotionally wrecked and fighting for his life, his honor and the one daughter who loves him.

 

This vicious family drama is set against the backdrop of the old West shortly after the great battle of the Alamo, when Texas was a republic of its own and some Texans had their sights set on acquiring more land south of the border -- by any means necessary.