Roy Scheider

Not to be confused with Roy Schneider or Rob Schneider.

Roy Richard Scheider (/ˈʃaɪdər/; November 10, 1932 – February 10, 2008) was an American actor and amateur boxer who achieved fame with his leading and supporting roles in celebrated films from the 1970s through to the mid-1980s. He was nominated for two Academy Awards, one Golden Globe, and one BAFTA.^[1]

Roy Scheider
Scheider in 2007
Born	Roy Richard Scheider (1932-11-10)November 10, 1932 Orange, New Jersey, U.S.
Died	February 10, 2008(2008-02-10) (aged 75) Little Rock, Arkansas, U.S.
Other names	Roy R. Scheider Roy Schneider
Education	Rutgers University Franklin and Marshall College
Occupation	Actor
Years active	1952–2008
Spouses	Cynthia Bebout ​ ​ (m. 1962; div. 1986)​ Brenda Siemer ​ (m. 1989)​
Children	3, including Christian Scheider[a]

Scheider's best-known roles include Frank Ligourin in Klute (1971), Martin Brody in Jaws (1975) and its 1978 sequel, "Cloudy" Russo in The French Connection (1971), "Buddy" in The Seven-Ups (1973), Doc Levy in Marathon Man (1976), Scanlon / Dominguez in Sorcerer (1977), Joe Gideon in All That Jazz (1979), Frank Murphy in Blue Thunder (1983), and Dr. Heywood Floyd in the 2001: A Space Odyssey sequel, 2010: The Year We Make Contact (1984). Subsequent credits included Naked Lunch (1991), Romeo Is Bleeding (1993), The Myth of Fingerprints (1997), The Rainmaker (1997), and The Punisher (2004). He also portrayed Captain Nathan Bridger on NBC's seaQuest DSV from 1993–1996.

Early life

Scheider was born in Orange, New Jersey,^[2] the son of Anna (née Crosson) and auto mechanic Roy Bernhard Scheider. Scheider's mother was of Irish descent with an Irish Catholic background, while his father was a Protestant German American.^[3][4] As a child, Scheider was an athlete, participating in organized baseball and boxing competitions, for which he was classed as a welterweight, weighing in at 140 lb (63.5 kg). Scheider competed in the Diamond Gloves Boxing Tournament in Elizabeth, New Jersey. He attended Columbia High School in Maplewood, New Jersey, graduating in 1950, and was inducted into the school's hall of fame in 1985. He traded his boxing gloves for the stage, studying drama at both Rutgers University and Franklin and Marshall College, where he was a member of Phi Kappa Psi fraternity.

Amateur boxing

Between 1946 and 1949, Scheider boxed as an amateur in New Jersey.^[5] Scheider said in a television interview in the 1980s that he took up boxing to lose weight. He said he had no desire to fight, but that his trainer, Georgie Ward, encouraged him to compete.^[6] In his second bout, at the 1946 Diamond Gloves Tournament (Golden Gloves), Scheider suffered a broken nose and lost by technical knockout in two rounds to Myron Greenberg. He went on to post an 11–1 (six knockouts) record,^[5] reversing his defeat by Greenberg in the process.^[5]

Amateur boxing record: Roy Scheider (unverified)[5]
Result	Opponent	Method	Date	Round	Time	Event	Location	Notes
Win	Earl Garrett	KO	March 17, 1949	1			Elizabeth, New Jersey
Win	Ted LaScalza	KO	March 12, 1949	1			Jersey City, New Jersey
Win	Peter Read	KO	February 17, 1949	1			Elizabeth, New Jersey	Scheider suffers nose injury; drops out of tournament.
Win	Nick Welling	KO	July 20, 1948	1			Elizabeth, New Jersey
Win	Jerry Gould	KO	July 2, 1948	1			Orange, New Jersey
Win	Alfonse D'Amore	KO	March 2, 1948	1			Orange, New Jersey
Win	Peter Read	TKO	February 21, 1948	2			Elizabeth, New Jersey
Win	Phillip Duncan	KO	February 19, 1948	1			Elizabeth, New Jersey
Win	Stewart Murphy	KO	April 1, 1947	1	0:16	Golden Gloves	New Jersey
Win	Myron Greenberg	KO	January 10, 1947	1		Golden Gloves	New Jersey
Loss	Myron Greenberg	TKO	January 11, 1946	2		Golden Gloves	New Jersey	Scheider's nose was broken.
Win	Frank Brayden	KO	January 9, 1946	2		Golden Gloves	New Jersey

Military service

Scheider served three years in the United States Air Force as a first lieutenant in air operations from 1955 to 1958. He then became a captain in the Air Force Reserve Command until 1964.^[7]

Acting career

Scheider's first film role was in the horror film The Curse of the Living Corpse (1964). On television, he played running roles on two CBS soap operas, Love of Life and The Secret Storm, and also played character roles in episodes of Camera Three, N.Y.P.D., and Coronet Blue. He was in the TV movie Lamp at Midnight (1966). In 1968, Scheider appeared with the New York Shakespeare Festival, and also won an Obie Award for Distinguished Performance^[8] in James Joyce's play Stephen D, appearing in it 68 times at the East 74th Street Theater.^[9] He appeared in the films Stiletto (1969), Loving (1970), and Puzzle of a Downfall Child (1970), and on television in Where the Heart Is and Cannon.

In 1971, he appeared in two highly popular films, Klute, directed by Alan Pakula, and The French Connection, directed by William Friedkin. The latter, in which he played a fictionalized version of New York City detective Sonny Grosso, gained him an Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actor.^[2] Scheider became much in demand. He went to Europe to have key supporting roles in The French Conspiracy (1972) and The Outside Man (1972).

Scheider's first starring role came in The Seven-Ups (1973), a quasi follow-up to The French Connection, in which Scheider's character is once again based on Grosso. He was second-billed in Sheila Levine Is Dead and Living in New York (1975). Scheider portrayed Chief Martin Brody in the Hollywood blockbuster Jaws (1975), which also starred Robert Shaw and Richard Dreyfuss.^[2] Scheider's ad-libbed line,^[10] "You're gonna need a bigger boat," was voted 35th on the American Film Institute's list of best movie quotes. He appeared as secret agent Doc Levy in Marathon Man (1976), with Dustin Hoffman and Laurence Olivier.^[11]

Scheider was initially set to appear in the lead role in Michael Cimino's never-filmed romantic thriller Perfect Strangers, but the film was canceled due to "political machinations" at Paramount.^[6] Ironically,^[why?] Scheider was later offered the role portrayed by Robert De Niro in Cimino's The Deer Hunter (1978), which was the second film of a three-picture deal with Universal Studios.^[2] He reunited with French Connection director William Friedkin in Sorcerer (1977), the second adaptation of the 1950 French novel The Wages of Fear.^[2] Although the film didn't do well at the box office, it has since acquired a large cult following.

Still under contract after dropping out two weeks before The Deer Hunter started filming, Universal offered him the option of reprising his role as Martin Brody for a Jaws sequel, and would consider his contractual obligations fulfilled if he accepted. Scheider accepted, and Jaws 2 was released in 1978. It was a huge hit.^[2] Scheider starred in Last Embrace (1979), a thriller directed by Jonathan Demme. He received his second Academy Award nomination, this time as Best Actor in All That Jazz (1979), in which he played a fictionalized version of the film's director and co-writer Bob Fosse.^[2] Some of the film's production was portrayed in the FX miniseries Fosse/Verdon, in which Scheider was played by Lin-Manuel Miranda.

He made a thriller with Meryl Streep for Robert Benton, Still of the Night (1982), which was a box-office disappointment. The following year, however, his box office performance improved with Blue Thunder (1983),^[2] a John Badham film about a prototype attack helicopter that provided security over the city of Los Angeles during the 1984 Summer Olympic Games. He made two TV movies, Jacobo Timerman: Prisoner Without a Name, Cell Without a Number (1983) and Tiger Town (1984). This was followed by a role as Dr. Heywood Floyd in Peter Hyams' 2010, a 1984 sequel to Stanley Kubrick's 1968 science-fiction classic 2001: A Space Odyssey, in which William Sylvester originated the role of Floyd.^[12] He provided narration for Mishima: A Life in Four Chapters (1985).

Scheider was in The Men's Club (1986), 52 Pick-Up (1986) for John Frankenheimer, Cohen and Tate (1988), Listen to Me (1989), Night Game (1989), The Fourth War (1990) again for Frankenheimer, Somebody Has to Shoot the Picture (1990), and The Russia House (1990). One of his later parts was that of Dr. Benway in the long-in-production 1991 film adaptation of William S. Burroughs' novel Naked Lunch.^[2] Scheider played a mob boss who meets a horrific fate in the Gary Oldman crime film Romeo Is Bleeding (1994)^[2] and a chief executive of a corrupt insurance company cross-examined by Matt Damon's character in 1997's John Grisham's The Rainmaker, directed by Francis Ford Coppola.

Scheider appeared among an ensemble cast in The Myth of Fingerprints (1997), for which he was nominated for an Independent Spirit Award. He appeared as the crusty father of hero Frank Castle in The Punisher (2004), and in 2007, starred in The Poet and If I Didn't Care. When Scheider died in February 2008, he had two movies upcoming: Dark Honeymoon, which had been completed, and the thriller Iron Cross. In Iron Cross, Scheider plays the leading role of Joseph, a holocaust survivor with a propensity for justice, which was inspired by director Joshua Newton's late father Bruno Newton. Iron Cross was ultimately released in 2011.

Scheider was lead star in the Steven Spielberg-produced television series seaQuest DSV as Captain Nathan Bridger. During the second season, Scheider voiced disdain for the direction in which the series was heading. His comments were highly publicized, and the media criticized him for panning his own show. NBC made additional casting and writing changes in the third season, and Scheider decided to leave the show. His contract, however, required that he make several guest appearances that season. Scheider hosted an episode of Saturday Night Live in the 10th (1984–1985) season and appeared on the Family Guy episode "Bill & Peter's Bogus Journey", voicing himself as the host of a toilet-training video, portions of which were censored on FOX and syndicated broadcasts. He provided voiceover on the Family Guy episode "Three Kings" (which was recorded in September 2007 but aired in May 2009, a year and three months after his death in February 2008), which also featured his Jaws co-star Richard Dreyfuss.

Scheider guest-starred in the Law & Order: Criminal Intent episode "Endgame" as serial killer Mark Ford Brady, who is identified at the episode's end as being the biological father of Detective Goren (played by Vincent D'Onofrio). He narrated and was associate producer of the 2006 Jaws documentary The Shark is Still Working.^[13] In 2007, Scheider received one of two annual Lifetime Achievement Awards at the SunDeis Film Festival in Waltham, Massachusetts.^{[citation needed]} After Scheider's death, a biography entitled Roy Scheider: A Life was released as a tribute, compiling reviews, essays, and narration on his life and career.^{[citation needed]}

Personal life

Scheider married Cynthia Bebout on November 8, 1962.^[14] The couple had one daughter, Maximillia (1963–2006), before divorcing in 1986.^[15] On February 11, 1989, he married actress Brenda Siemer, with whom he had a son, Christian Scheider, and adopted a daughter, Molly.^[16] They remained married until his death.^[2]

Death

In 2004, Scheider was diagnosed with multiple myeloma. In June 2005, he received a bone marrow transplant to treat the cancer.^[17] He died of a staph infection after a nearly 3 year battle with the cancer on February 10, 2008, in Little Rock, Arkansas, at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences Medical Center. He was 75 years old.^[18]

Filmography

Film

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1964	The Curse of the Living Corpse	Philip Sinclair
1968	Paper Lion	Central Park Flag Football Player	uncredited
1969	Stiletto	Bennett
1970	Loving	Skip
1970	Puzzle of a Downfall Child	Mark
1971	Klute	Frank Ligourin
1971	The French Connection	NYPD Detective Buddy 'Cloudy' Russo
1972	The French Conspiracy	Michael Howard
1972	The Outside Man	Lenny
1973	The Seven-Ups	Buddy, Seven-Up
1975	Sheila Levine Is Dead and Living in New York	Sam Stoneman
1975	Jaws	Police Chief Martin Brody
1976	Marathon Man	Agent Henry 'Doc' Levy
1977	Sorcerer	Scanlon / Dominguez
1978	Jaws 2	Police Chief Martin Brody
1979	Last Embrace	Harry Hannan
1979	All That Jazz	Joe Gideon
1982	Still of the Night	Sam Rice
1983	Blue Thunder	LAPD Officer Frank Murphy
1984	2010	Dr. Heywood Floyd
1985	Mishima: A Life in Four Chapters	Narrator (voice)
1986	The Men's Club	Cavanaugh
1986	52 Pick-Up	Harry Mitchell
1987	Jaws: The Revenge	Police Chief Martin Brody	Archive Footage Uncredited
1989	Cohen and Tate	Cohen
1989	Listen to Me	Charlie Nichols
1989	Night Game	Mike Seaver
1990	The Fourth War	Colonel Jack Knowles
1990	The Russia House	Russell
1991	Naked Lunch	Dr. Benway
1993	Romeo Is Bleeding	Don Falcone
1997	The Myth of Fingerprints	Hal
1997	Plato's Run	Senarkian
1997	Executive Target	President Carlson
1997	The Rage	John Taggart
1997	The Peacekeeper	President Bob Baker
1997	The Rainmaker	Wilfred Keeley
1997	The Definite Maybe	Eddie Jacobsen	a.k.a. No Money Down
1998	Evasive Action	Enzo Marcelli
1998	Better Living	Tom
1998	The White Raven	Tom Heath
2000	Chain of Command	President Jack Cahill
2000	Falling Through	Earl
2000	The Doorway	Professor Lamont
2000	Daybreak	Stan Marshall
2001	Time Lapse	Agent La Nova
2002	The Good War	Colonel Gartner	a.k.a. Texas '46
2002	Angels Don't Sleep Here	Mayor Harry Porter	a.k.a. Blakflash 2
2003	Citizen Verdict	Governor 'Bull' Tyler
2003	Dracula II: Ascension	Cardinal Siqueros
2003	Red Serpent	Hassan
2004	The Punisher	Frank Castle Sr.
2005	Dracula III: Legacy	Cardinal Siqueros
2005	Love Thy Neighbor	Fred
2006	Last Chance	Cumberland	short film
2007	Chicago 10	Judge Julius Hoffman (voice)	Documentary
2007	The Poet	Rabbi	a.k.a. Hearts of War
2007	If I Didn't Care	Linus Boyer	a.k.a. Blue Blood
2007	The Shark Is Still Working	Narrator (voice)	Documentary
2008	Dark Honeymoon	Sam	direct-to-video
2009	Iron Cross	Joseph	Released posthumously; final acting role

Television

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1955	The United States Steel Hour	Dancer	Episode: A Wind from the South
1962	The Edge of Night	Kenny
1964	Camera Three	Face	Episode: The Alchemist
1965–1966	Love of Life	Jonas Falk	Various Episodes
1966	Lamp at Midnight	Francesco Barberini	Television Movie
1967	The Secret Storm	Bob Hill #1
1967	Coronet Blue	Apartment Manager	Episode: A Charade for Murder
1968	N.Y.P.D.	Paul Jason	Episode: Cry Brute
1969	This Town Will Never Be the Same	Performer	Television Movie
1971	Cannon	Dan Bowen	Episode: No Pockets in a Shroud
1972	Assignment: Munich	Jake Webster	Television Movie
1983	Prisoner Without a Name, Cell Without a Number	Jacob Timerman	Television Movie
1983	Tiger Town	Billy Young	Television Movie
1985	Saturday Night Live	Host	Episode: Roy Scheider
1990	Somebody Has to Shoot the Picture	Paul Marish	Television Movie
1993	Wild Justice	Peter Stride	Television Movie
1993–1995	seaQuest DSV	Captain Nathan Bridger	47 episodes
1998	Money Play$	Johnny Tobin	Television Movie
1999	Silver Wolf	John Rockwell	Television Movie
1999	The Seventh Scroll	Grant Schiller	Mini-Series
1999	RKO 281	George J. Schaefer	HBO Movie
2001	Diamond Hunters	Jacob Van der Byl	Television movie
2002	King of Texas	Henry Westover	Television movie
2002	Third Watch	Fyodor Chevchenko	6 episodes
2005	Carrier: Arsenal of the Sea	Narrator (voice)	TV documentary
2007	Law & Order: Criminal Intent	Mark Ford Brady	Episode: Endgame
2007–2009	Family Guy	Himself (voice)	2 episodes

Awards and nominations

Year	Award	Category	Nominated work	Result	Ref.
1971	Academy Awards	Best Supporting Actor	The French Connection	Nominated	[19]
1979		Best Actor	All That Jazz	Nominated
1979	Golden Globes	Best Actor – Film Musical of Comedy		Nominated
1980	British Academy Film Awards	Best Actor		Nominated
1980	National Society of Film Critics	Best Actor		Nominated
1997	Independent Spirit Awards	Best Supporting Actor	The Myth of Fingerprints	Nominated