Roy Richard Scheider (; November 10, 1932 – February 10, 2008) was an American actor who achieved fame with his leading and supporting roles in celebrated films from the 1970s to the mid-1980s. He was nominated for two Academy Awards, one Golden Globe, and one BAFTA Award, and won both an Obie and Drama League Award for his stage performances.
Scheider's best-known film roles include Frank Ligourin in Klute (1971), Police Chief 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 starred as Captain Nathan Bridger on the NBC television series seaQuest DSV (1993–96).
Early life and education
Scheider was born in Orange, New Jersey, the son of Anna (née Crosson; 1906–1984) and auto mechanic Roy Bernhard Scheider (1903–1976). Scheider's mother was of Irish descent with an Irish Catholic background. His father was a Protestant German American. 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 & Marshall College, where he was a member of Phi Kappa Psi fraternity.
Military service
From 1955 to 1958, Scheider served in the United States Air Force as a first lieutenant in air operations. He then became a captain in the Air Force Reserve Command until 1964.
Amateur boxing
Between 1946 and 1949, Scheider boxed as an amateur in New Jersey. 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.
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 (ten knockouts) record, in Hugh Leonard's play, which was adapted from the works of James Joyce, Stephen D, appearing in it 68 times at the East 74th Street Theater. 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. "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.
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. 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. 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. In 2007, Scheider received one of two annual Lifetime Achievement Awards at the SunDeis Film Festival in Waltham, Massachusetts. 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.
Personal life
Scheider married Cynthia Bebout on November 8, 1962. The couple had one daughter, Maximillia (1963–2006), before divorcing in 1986. On February 11, 1989, he married actress Brenda Siemer, with whom he had a son, Christian Scheider, and adopted a daughter, Molly. They remained married until his death. He died of a staphylococcal infection after a nearly three-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.
Filmography
Film
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
! Year
! Title
! Role
! class="unsortable" | Notes
|-
| 1964 || data-sort-value="Curse of the Living Corpse, The" | The Curse of the Living Corpse || Philip Sinclair ||
|-
| 1968 || Paper Lion || Central Park Flag Football Player|| Uncredited
|-
| 1969 || Stiletto || Bennett ||
|-
| rowspan="2" | 1970 || Loving || Skip ||
|-
| Puzzle of a Downfall Child || Mark ||
|-
| rowspan="2" | 1971 || Klute || Frank Ligourin ||
|-
| data-sort-value="French Connection, The" | The French Connection || Det. Buddy 'Cloudy' Russo||
|-
| rowspan="2" | 1972 || data-sort-value="French Conspiracy, The" | The French Conspiracy || Michael Howard ||
|-
| data-sort-value="Outside Man, The" | The Outside Man || Lenny ||
|-
| 1973 || data-sort-value="Seven-Ups, The" | The Seven-Ups || Buddy, Seven-Up ||
|-
| rowspan="2" | 1975 || Sheila Levine Is Dead and Living in New York || Sam Stoneman ||
|-
| Jaws || Police Chief Martin Brody ||
|-
| 1976 || Marathon Man || Henry 'Doc' Levy ||
|-
| 1977 || Sorcerer || Scanlon / Dominguez ||
|-
| 1978 || Jaws 2 || Police Chief Martin Brody ||
|-
| rowspan="2" | 1979 || Last Embrace || Harry Hannan ||
|-
| 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) ||
|-
| rowspan="2" | 1986 || data-sort-value="Men's Club, The" | The Men's Club || Cavanaugh ||
|-
| 52 Pick-Up || Harry Mitchell ||
|-
| 1987 || Jaws: The Revenge || Police Chief Martin Brody || Archive footage; uncredited
|-
| rowspan="3" | 1989 || Cohen and Tate || Cohen ||
|-
| Listen to Me || Charlie Nichols ||
|-
| Night Game || Mike Seaver ||
|-
| rowspan="2" | 1990 || data-sort-value="Fourth War, The" | The Fourth War || Colonel Jack Knowles ||
|-
| data-sort-value="Russia House, The" | The Russia House || Russell ||
|-
| 1991 || Naked Lunch || Dr. Benway ||
|-
| 1993 || Romeo Is Bleeding || Don Falcone ||
|-
| 1997 || data-sort-value="Myth of Fingerprints, The" | The Myth of Fingerprints || Hal ||
|-
| rowspan="6" | 1997 || Plato's Run || Senarkian ||
|-
| Executive Target || President Carlson ||
|-
| data-sort-value="Rage, The" | The Rage || John Taggart ||
|-
| data-sort-value="Peacekeeper, The" | The Peacekeeper || President Bob Baker ||
|-
| data-sort-value="Rainmaker, The" | The Rainmaker || Wilfred Keeley ||
|-
| data-sort-value="Definite Maybe, The" | The Definite Maybe || Eddie Jacobsen || a.k.a. No Money Down
|-
| rowspan="3" | 1998 || Evasive Action || Enzo Marcelli ||
|-
| Better Living || Tom ||
|-
| data-sort-value="White Raven, The" | The White Raven || Tom Heath ||
|-
| rowspan="4" | 2000 || Chain of Command || President Jack Cahill ||
|-
| Falling Through || Earl ||
|-
| data-sort-value="Doorway, The" | The Doorway || Professor Lamont ||
|-
| Daybreak || Stan Marshall ||
|-
| 2001 || Time Lapse || Agent La Nova ||
|-
| rowspan="2" | 2002 || data-sort-value="Good War, The" | The Good War || Colonel Gartner || a.k.a. Texas '46
|-
| Angels Don't Sleep Here || Mayor Harry Porter || a.k.a. Blakflash 2
|-
| rowspan="3" | 2003 || Citizen Verdict || Governor 'Bull' Tyler ||
|-
| Dracula II: Ascension || Cardinal Siqueros ||
|-
| Red Serpent || Hassan ||
|-
| 2004 || data-sort-value="Punisher, The" | The Punisher || Frank Castle Sr. ||
|-
| rowspan="2" | 2005 || Dracula III: Legacy || Cardinal Siqueros ||
|-
| Love Thy Neighbor|| Fred ||
|-
| 2006 || Last Chance || Cumberland || short film
|-
| rowspan="4" | 2007 || Chicago 10 || Judge Julius Hoffman (voice) || Documentary
|-
| data-sort-value="Poet, The" | The Poet || Rabbi || a.k.a. Hearts of War
|-
| If I Didn't Care || Linus Boyer || a.k.a. Blue Blood
|-
| data-sort-value="Shark Is Still Working, The" | The Shark Is Still Working || Narrator (voice) || Documentary
|-
| 2008 || Dark Honeymoon || Sam || direct-to-video
|-2008 The Punisher
| 2009 || Beautiful Blue Eyes || Joseph || Released posthumously; final acting role
|-
|}
Television
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
! Year
! Title
! Role
! class="unsortable" | Notes
|-
|1955 || data-sort-value="United States Steel Hour, The" | The United States Steel Hour || Dancer || Episode: A Wind from the South
|-
|1962 || data-sort-value="Edge of Night, The" | The Edge of Night || Kenny ||
|-
|1964 || Camera Three || Face || Episode: The Alchemist
|-
|1965–66 || Love of Life || Jonas Falk || Various Episodes
|-
|1966 || Lamp at Midnight || Francesco Barberini || Television Movie
|-
| rowspan="2" |1967 || data-sort-value="Secret Storm, The" | The Secret Storm || Bob Hill #1 ||
|-
| 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
|-
| rowspan="2" |1983 || Prisoner Without a Name, Cell Without a Number || Jacob Timerman || Television Movie
|-
| 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
|-
|1993–95 || seaQuest DSV || Captain Nathan Bridger || 47 episodes
|-
| 1998 || Money Play$ || Johnny Tobin || Television Movie
|-
| rowspan="3" | 1999 || Silver Wolf || John Rockwell || Television Movie
|-
| data-sort-value="Seventh Scroll, The" | The Seventh Scroll || Grant Schiller || Mini-Series
|-
| RKO 281 || George J. Schaefer || HBO Movie
|-
| 2001 || Diamond Hunters || Jacob Van der Byl || Television movie
|-
| rowspan="2" | 2002 || King of Texas || Henry Westover || Television movie
|-
| 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
|-
|2007–09 || Family Guy || Himself (voice) || 2 episodes
|-
|}
Partial stage credits
{| class="wikitable"
|+
!Year
!Title
!Role(s)
!Venue
!Notes
!
|-
|1961
|Romeo and Juliet
|Mercutio
|New York Shakespeare Festival
|
|
|-
| rowspan="2" |1964
|The Alchemist
|Face
|Gate Theatre, New York
|
|
|-
|The Chinese Prime Minister
|Oliver, Tarver (understudy)
|Royale Theatre, New York
|Broadway debut
|
|-
|1966
|Serjeant Musgrave's Dance
|Pvt. Hurst
|Lucille Lortel Theatre, New York
|
|
|-
|1969
|Year Boston Won the Pennant
|Marcus Sykowski
|Vivian Beaumont Theater, New York
|
| rowspan="4" |
|-
|1979 || Best Actor || rowspan="2" |All That Jazz ||
|-
| British Academy Film Award
|1980 || Best Actor ||
|-
|Drama League Award
|1980
|Distinguished Performance
|Betrayal
|
|
|-
| Golden Globe
|1979 || Best Actor – Film Musical of Comedy
|All That Jazz||
| rowspan="3" |