Roy Scheider is gone

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Roy Scheider, who had a brilliant eleven-year run as a near-movie star during the '70s and early '80s, portraying a series of anxious, somewhat bruised urban hard guys in a nearly unbroken run of top-drawer films, died this afternoon in Little Rock, Arkansas, according to the N.Y. Times. He was 75 years old.

Scheider had "suffered from multiple myeloma for several years, and died of complications from a staph infection," his wife told the Times.

Scheider's eleven-year hot streak began with his breakout performance as "Cloudy", Gene Hackman's partner in William Freidkin's The French Connection ('71). His next two films, The Seven-Ups and Sheila Levine Is Dead and Living in New York, were substandard but Scheider scored big with his Chief Brody role in Steven Spielberg's Jaws ('75). He was almost as good the following year as Dustin Hoffman's older intelligence-racket brother in John Schlesinger's Marathon Man ('76).

For me, Scheider's peak was his lead role in Freidkin's Sorcerer ('77) in which he played the role that Yves Montand became famous for in Henri-Georges Clouzot's Wages of Fear, the 1955 French film that Sorcerer was a remake of.

His performance in Jonathan Demme's Last Embrace ('78) was emotionally raw and close to the bone. He was even stronger as a Bob Fosse-like character -- a self-destructive womanizing choreographer -- in Fosse's All That Jazz ('79). I saw Scheider give a gripping, first-rate performance as the cuckolded publisher husband in a Broadway production of Harold Pinter's Betrayal, with Blythe Danner and Raul Julia. His last reasonably decent role in this streak was Dr. Sam Rice in Robert Benton's Still of the Night ('82) with Meryl Streep.

From then on things started to go downhill. Scheider worked and stayed in the groove as best he could, but he seemed to take more and more straight-paycheck jobs. I thought Blue Thunder devalued him because it was basically crap despite the money it made. Playing Dr. Heywood Floyd in 2010 was a terrible thing to have done. Every film he made from '82 on was either bad, so-so, "meh" or tolerable. The only half-decent film he did in his getting-older-and-grayer period was Bart Freundlich's The Myth of Fingerprints ('97).

I interviewed him in late '81 or '82 for Us magazine. We met at a coffee shop on either Lexington or Third Avenue somewhere in the mid '70s. He used to go there after his morning run. He was a good egg, an honest cat and a hard worker. I'm sorry for his family's loss. Most actors don't get to flourish with the kind or roles that Scheider was able to land from the early '70s to the early '80s. He had a great run, and we're all richer for that.

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Posted by Jeffrey Wells on February 10, 2008 at 6:20 PM

comment #1

crsryan says ...

This is a shame -- as much as I enjoy Scheider's work from the good old days like everyone else, I can't think of a significant role he had since that RKO281 movie in the late 90s, and that's way too much time in the wilderness for a genuinely effective actor with a great, tough screen presence.

Here's hoping Universal buys up The Shark is Still Working and pushes it out with a nice dedication.

Ryan Stewart

Posted by crsryan at February 10, 2008 7:20 PM

comment #2

Craptastic says ...

Here's to swimmin' with bow-legged women, Chief Brody.

RIP

Posted by Craptastic at February 10, 2008 7:20 PM

comment #3

Josh Massey says ...

Jaws and All That Jazz are two of my very favorite films, and I am genuinely sad to hear this news.

(Oh, and 2010 is very underrated).

Posted by Josh Massey at February 10, 2008 7:21 PM

comment #4

Mikey Filmmaker says ...

Roy Scheider was a great actor. He was in some of my all time favorites (Jaws, Marathon Man, and French Connection).

RIP

Posted by Mikey Filmmaker at February 10, 2008 7:27 PM

comment #5

Wrecktum says ...

...as is Blue Thunder, which is a great piece of genre filmmaking.

Scheider could never hit the big, big time as star, which I attribute in part to his snub-nosed look. He'd have fared better as a 30s-40s WB villain instead of a star of the 70s and 80s.

Great perfs for many years. He will be missed.

Posted by Wrecktum at February 10, 2008 7:27 PM

comment #6

Gabriel says ...

Wow....I watched "Naked Lunch" for the first time this morning and I was wondering what he was up to these days. R.I.P.

Posted by Gabriel at February 10, 2008 7:31 PM

comment #7

BurmaShave says ...

He was brilliant on an episode of 'Law & Order: Criminal Intent' this Spring. And I've always had a soft spot for his miscast but amusing turn as the mob boss in ROMEO IS BLEEDING. He will be missed.

Posted by BurmaShave at February 10, 2008 7:36 PM

comment #8

Josh Massey says ...

This is a much better clip to show today.

Posted by Josh Massey at February 10, 2008 7:38 PM

comment #9

EOTW says ...

I didnt know he was up for the lead in DEER HUNTER. He was ok in 2010. That wasa sequel that never needed to be made.

Posted by EOTW at February 10, 2008 7:41 PM

comment #10

berg says ...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mDpeSwt_pC0

don't dismiss COHEN AND TATE a film Scheider made in the late 80s, co starring Adam Baldwin and the feature debut of writer director Eric Red ... it may not be superb but def beyond mezo ... much of the film centers on two hit men driving in a car with witty banter, eight years before pulp fiction

Posted by berg at February 10, 2008 7:47 PM

comment #11

MDOC says ...

Jaws is my favorite movie and I will always treasure Scheider's performance in it. I'm still not clear on what he was doing in The Punisher a couple years back. Rest in peace Chief Brody.

Posted by MDOC at February 10, 2008 7:48 PM

comment #12

JB Moore says ...

That sucks.

Scheider was my first star sighting during my first trip to LA back in '93. Saw him at the bookstore near the old Tower Records on Sunset (Book Soup?) and I was quite floored, having grown up with Jaws, Blue Thunder (I wanted that watch, and that helicopter), and 2010 - three of my favorites as a kid. He was wearing a black leather coat, looking like a complete badass, probably getting back from the SeaQuest set. I just saw him, logged it in my memory bank, and left him alone.

He also turned in a damn good performance in "Romeo is Bleeding" later that year as a mob boss with a penchant for toe-clipping.

RIP sir.

Posted by JB Moore at February 10, 2008 7:48 PM

comment #13

americanrat says ...

2010 is a good movie. A true sci-fi film. And it was made with the full support of Arthur C Clarke and Kubrick, as I recall.

Blue Thunder was good too, and who can forget Marathon Man? That's about as close to a perfect thriller as you can get.

Good stuff, great career.

Posted by americanrat at February 10, 2008 7:50 PM

comment #14

Joe Leydon says ...

"His last reasonably decent role in this streak was Dr. Sam Rice in Robert Benton's Still of the Night ('82) with Meryl Streep."

What about his film noir anti-hero in John Frankenheimer's 52 Pick-Up?

Posted by Joe Leydon at February 10, 2008 8:07 PM

comment #15

Noah says ...

I really enjoyed his small part as the oily head of the insurance company in The Rainmaker, in addition to his roles in Jaws, Sorcerer, 2010 and countless others. He will really be missed.

Posted by Noah at February 10, 2008 8:09 PM

comment #16

christian says ...

I hope when he gets to St Peter, he looks around and says, "You're gonna need a bigger boat." RIP.

Posted by christian at February 10, 2008 8:24 PM

comment #17

The Hoyk says ...

And Harry respectfully takes off his bad hat.

Posted by The Hoyk at February 10, 2008 8:30 PM

comment #18

BurmaShave says ...

Sorry if anyone has mentioned it yet, but I just remembered how good he was in KLUTE.

Posted by BurmaShave at February 10, 2008 8:39 PM

comment #19

lipranzer says ...

I can name four films past 1982 that were better than "bad, meh, so-so, or tolerable." NAKED LUNCH (which is one of his best performances)ROMEO IS BLEEDING, and THE MYTH OF FINGERPRINTS were already mentioned (though admittedly, all three films are love-em-or-hate-em types), and I would add a fourth: THE RUSSIA HOUSE, where he plays a CIA exec who believes in glasnost but has to be hardline nevertheless. It's a good performance in a highly underrated film. (Oh, and RKO 281, but that was for cable). Yes, he made a lot of crap (LISTEN TO ME, anyone?), but what star from the 70's hasn't?

Oh, and I liked THE SEVEN UPS. Not as substantive as THE FRENCH CONNECTION, perhaps, but quite enjoyable, and one of the best car chases ever on film. I've never seen SORCEROR all the way, through, but while I have my problems with Friedkin, I'm sure Scheider would be good in that.

Posted by lipranzer at February 10, 2008 9:06 PM

comment #20

PerfectTommy says ...

I always liked to think of Russo in "The French Connection" as a cop who chucked everything from his life as a narc in NYC, including his name, and took up a new life in Amity.

Too bad he didn't win Best Supporting Actor for TFC.

Posted by PerfectTommy at February 10, 2008 9:25 PM

comment #21

nemo says ...

The Russia House is far better than just tolerable or half-decent, and Scheider is good in it.

The Seven Ups is not in a class with The French Connection, but it's a still a good 70s New York cop film, and Scheider is good in it as well.

Posted by nemo at February 10, 2008 9:45 PM

comment #22

Rosebudsthesled says ...

Roy Scheider's work on ALL THAT JAZZ is brilliant. An extremely underrated actor. His loss is saddening.

Posted by Rosebudsthesled at February 10, 2008 10:34 PM

comment #23

fielding says ...

RIP, Roy Scheider. One of my favourite actors, solid, dependable and with a great on-screen presence. Loved him in everything he did, including 2010.

Posted by fielding at February 10, 2008 10:51 PM

comment #24

dave l says ...

Sure it's sad, but if you're going to get myeloma and be 75, it's like a form of passive-aggressive almost-suicide. Scheider had this coming.

Right?

Posted by dave l at February 10, 2008 11:19 PM

comment #25

silver says ...

Re: All That Jazz
THANK GOD that after his early rehearsing, Richard Dreyfuss smartly decided that he sucked trying to play that Bob Fosse-like role, and pleaded to be released from the project.
Luckily Roy Scheider came on board and simply owned that part. (Lost out the Best Actor Oscar that year to Dustin Hoffman in Kramer vs Kramer...)

(Just so hard to imagine Dreyfess playing that lithe choreographer)

Posted by silver at February 10, 2008 11:41 PM

comment #26

Walter Sobchak says ...

(I think O'Connor Flood can eulogize him better than I)

"Ladies and gentleman, let me lay on you a so-so entertainer, not much of a humanitarian, and this cat was never nobody's friend. In his final appearance on the great stage of life - uh, you can applaud if you want to - Mr. Joe Gideon!"

At least he finally gets to make it with 1979-era Jessica Lange. Goodbye, Roy.

Posted by Walter Sobchak at February 11, 2008 12:19 AM

comment #27

Marty Melville says ...

The cool cop movies are great and his explorer's inclination to go with stuff like NAKED LUNCH (not to mention ALL THAT JAZZ) showed great committment and integrity... but the unassuming, land-locked Brody will always be his go-to role for me.

He makes Gottlieb's script sing (well, really, all the actors in this wonderfully directed film do), from his touchingly optimistic first meeting with Dreyfuss: "I'm Brody... I'm Brody!", to enduring the horrific slap from a despairing mother to his embarassment over his miniscule "combat wounds" in the drunken roundtable with Quint and Hooper, Scheider is simply believable.

In a film that calls for him to be perched on the mast of a sinking ship while exploding an approaching shark, that's saying a lot.

Like the best studio actors of the forties, when you watched Roy Scheider, you felt like you were seeing the real man, each time.

Posted by Marty Melville at February 11, 2008 1:03 AM

comment #28

frankbooth says ...

I'm trying to imagine Jaws with some big Seventies movie star like Burt Reynold or Ryan O'Neal as the lead. It might have worked, but a lot of the film's warmth and humanity obviously came from Scheider.

And yeah, 52 Pickup was probably the best Leonard-based film until they finally started getting his stuff right in the '90s. It's a nasty little number.

MM, FC, Klute, ATJ and Jaws are indispensible. Sorcerer is not as good as Wages of Fear (how many films are?) but is still pretty damned good, and Roy was perfect in it.

It's a shame he never had a truly great comeback role, but he had a lot to be proud of.

Posted by frankbooth at February 11, 2008 1:50 AM

comment #29

Rich S. says ...

Just caught Jaws again on TCM. To me, Scheider's best scene in that movie is when he's getting drunk at dinner after getting slapped by the dead kid's mother. His interplay with his kid is terrific and some of the best father-son stuff Spielberg ever did.

And, no matter what you think of 2010 (I don't care for it much, myself), none of the faults are really Scheider's. He, Lithgow and Mirren are all very good.

Posted by Rich S. at February 11, 2008 5:20 AM

comment #30

George Prager says ...

He was great and totally interesting and himself in his one scene in LOVING (1970).

Posted by George Prager at February 11, 2008 5:59 AM

comment #31

dixiedugan says ...

Burma, I'm so glad you mentioned his turn on L&O-CI...he was chilling in that. Brilliant, really.

I'll get my hands on All That Jazz...it's been too long since I last watched it.

Posted by dixiedugan at February 11, 2008 6:17 AM

comment #32

joncro says ...

Since it has been mentioned a couple of times I will also throw in some support for RKO281. I was the ADR editor on that film and had a great recording session with Scheider. Very cool person.

Posted by joncro at February 11, 2008 6:23 AM

comment #33

vansmith says ...

Big ups to Roy, a rugged guy all around, i just mailed back 52 pickup yesterday in my netflix, saw it before but wanted another go, i can see a josh broling going his way in terms of screen presence and masculinity. sold his house on long island for a mint as well..RIP..

Posted by vansmith at February 11, 2008 6:57 AM

comment #34

Dave says ...

Fantastic actor, and one who I always wished had gotten more work later on. Just a rock-solid presence in everything he did, with one of the great "faces".

As for 2010, to each their own-- I love the movie, it's that rarest of things, intelligent sci-fi. But it's not a transcendent work of art like 2001, so it will always suffer in comparison. Judged by itself, it's an excellent adaption of Clarke's book, and an interesting piece. Hollywood would be better off making more movies like that.

And echoing Rich S.-- whatever the flaws in that film, Scheider isn't one of them.

Posted by Dave at February 11, 2008 7:20 AM

comment #35

sutter kane says ...

I agree with most of the above postings. I was a big fan, and he will be missed. A good later performance worth checking out is his supporting turn in TNT's KING OF TEXAS.

RIP

Posted by sutter kane at February 11, 2008 9:42 AM

comment #36

Lloyd Dobler says ...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=92yHyxeju1U

Posted by Lloyd Dobler at February 11, 2008 10:27 AM

comment #37

christian says ...

Holy shit Lloyd that was fucking hilarious. Perfect.

Posted by christian at February 11, 2008 11:32 AM

comment #38

Griff says ...

Interesting, Jeff, I saw the same Broadway show back in 1980. Being your basic clueless white boy from Nebraska, I was hanging around backstage to get Raul Julia's autograph for my highschool sweetheart. Roy Scheider was the first one of the three stars to come walking down the alley before the show. I remember he was quiet, intense, probably getting his head into the role. I babbled something about enjoying his work in Sorcerer, and he said politely, "Thanks" before walking backstage (Raul Julia and Blythe Danner both lovely folks, gracious about signing autographs for the geekboy). One thing I noticed about Mr. Schieder: the dude had HUGE hands...they were like Hormel hams at the ends of his arms. He did good, dependable work, with moments of real brilliance from time to time. Best wishes to his family.

Posted by Griff at February 11, 2008 12:52 PM

comment #39

Dave says ...

Oh, one other great underrated movie I can't believe I forgot: Frankenheimer's The Fourth War. Scheider is great in it, ditto Jurgen Prochnow and Harry Dean Stanton.

Posted by Dave at February 11, 2008 3:02 PM

comment #40