Roy Scheider: biography, films, awards

2024 Author: Henry Conors | [email protected]. Last modified: 2024-02-12 02:55

Roy Scheider is an American film and theater actor. Worked as an actor from 1961 to 2007. Scheider was twice nominated for an Oscar.

Childhood

The full name of the actor is Roy Richard Scheider. He was born on November 10, 1932 in Orange, New Jersey. His father is German by nationality, Roy Bernard Scheider worked as an auto mechanic. Mother - Irish Anna Crosson.

The future actor was a very sickly child. He was ill with rheumatism. To strengthen the body, Scheider went in for sports since childhood. As a teenager, he even thought about a sports career. Roy was most attracted to boxing and baseball.

Guy graduated from Maplewood High School in 1985

College and military service

Scheider's parents dreamed of their son becoming a lawyer, so after school, Roy studied at Rutgers University in Newark, then at a college in Lancaster at the Faculty of Law. In college, Scheider joined a theater company.

After that, Roy served as an air traffic controller for the US Air Force in Korea. In 1961 he was demobilized.

Acting career

Returning from the service, Roy Scheider (then he was less attracted to films than theatrical productions) got a job in a theater troupe and playedthe role of Mercutio in "Romeo and Juliet" in New York at the park festival, and then remained with the troupe on a permanent basis.

He won an Obie in 1968 for his performance in Stephen D.

Roy played his first film role in 1963. It was the horror film Curse of the Living Dead.

Success came to the actor after filming in Steven Spielberg's "Jaws". Roy Scheider played a police officer in it. Then there were the tapes "Marathon Man" with Laurence Olivier and Dustin Hoffman and "The French Connection" directed by William Friedkin. For his role in The French Connection, Scheider received several prestigious awards.

Another significant role in the actor's career - Joe Gideon in the movie "All That Jazz". Directed by Bob Fossey, the film won four Oscars and two BAFTAs.

Interestingly, during his career, Roy had to play the role of American president three times during his career.

Horror movie "Jaws"

In 1975, Steven Spielberg's thriller "Jaws" was released. The screenplay was written by Peter Benchley and Carl Gottlieb, based on the novel by Peter Benchley. The film tells the story of the confrontation between a man and a gigantic man-eating shark. The chief of police of the city, an oceanologist and a shark hunter are fighting the predator.

The shooting took place on the island of Martha's Vineyard. The music for the film was composed by John Williams.

The budget of the picture was 9 million dollars, and fees exceeded 470million. This film brought a resounding success to both Steven Spielberg and the actors who played in the film: Roy Scheider, Richard Dreyfuss, Robert Shaw, Lorraine Gary and others.

The film was voted the greatest movie ever and won three Oscars.

Private life

Roy was married from 1962 to 1989 to an actress named Cynthia Scheider. Their daughter Maximilia died in 2006. She left two children - the grandchildren of Roy and Cynthia.

In 1989, Scheider married Brenda Seemer, also an actress by profession. From this marriage, two children were born - a son named Christian and a daughter named Molly.

Awards

Roy Scheider - Academy Award winner in 1971 and 1979, Golden Globe in 1979, Independent Spirit Award in 1997. He received them for his roles in the films The French Connection, All That Jazz and The Myth of Fingerprints.

Death

Roy died on February 10, 2008 in Little Rock, Arkansas at the age of 75. The cause of death was multiple myeloma.

Filmography

Roy Scheider devoted 43 years to the work of the actor. During this time, he starred in 145 films:

in 1964 - "The Curse of the Living Dead";
in 1968 - "Star!" and "Paper Lion";
in 1970 - "To Love" and "The Riddle of the Illegitimate";
in 1971 - "French Connection" and "Klute";
in 1973 - "From seven years and above" and "A man died";
in 1975- "Jaws" and "Sheila Levine is dead and lives in New York";
in 1976 - "Marathon Runner";
in 1977 - "Sorcerer";
in 1978 - "Jaws 2";
in 1979 - "All That Jazz";
in 1982 - "In the Still of the Night";
in 1983 - "Blue Thunder";
in 1984 - "Space Odyssey 2010";
in 1986 - "Men's Club" and "Hooked Big";
in 1988 - "Cohen &Tate";
in 1989 - "Night game", "Listen to me";
in 1990 - "Somebody's got to film this", "Russian House" and "The Fourth War";
in 1991 - "Naked Lunch";
in 1992 - "Terrorist Hunter";
in 1993 - "Underwater Odyssey";
in 1994 - "Romeo bleeds";
in 1997 - "Shadows of the Past", "Benefactor", "Driver", "Peacemaker" and "Fury";
in 1998 - "Silver Wolf";
in 1999 - "Project 281";
in 2000 - "Gates of Hell", "Execution of Order", "At the Turn of the Day" and "Visa to Death";
in 2001 - "Diamond Hunters" and "Angels Don't Live Here";
in 2002 - "Red Kite", "Texas 46" and "King of Texas";
in 2003 - "People's Verdict" and "Dracula 2:Ascension";
in 2004 - "Punisher";
in 2005 - "Dracula 3: Legacy";
in 2006 - "Last Chance";
in 2007 - "Chicago 10", "Poet" and "Dark Honeymoon".