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Biography
Roy Richard Scheider (born November 10, 1932) is an Academy Award nominated American actor.
Born in Orange, New Jersey, Scheider was an athlete as a child, participating in organized baseball and boxing competitions. 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. After three years in the United States Air Force, he appeared with the New York Shakespeare Festival, and won an Obie Award in 1968.
Scheider's first film role was in a forgettable horror film in 1963 called Curse of the Living Corpse (he was billed as "Roy R. Sheider"). In 1971 he appeared in two highly popular movies, Klute and The French Connection, the latter garnering him an Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actor.
In 1975, Scheider starred in Jaws, and in 1978 its first sequel. In 1979, he broke the tough-guy stereotype he had found himself in by starring as musical theater director Joe Gideon in Bob Fosse's autobiographical movie All That Jazz, for which he was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Actor.
He was originally cast as Michael in The Deer Hunter, as the second movie of a three movie deal with Universal Studios. Because he did not believe that the character would travel around the world to find his friend, he quit the picture. Universal executives were furious, but they agreed to let him out of his Universal contract if he made Jaws 2, which he did.
Roy Scheider and Steven Spielberg on the set of NBC's seaQuest DSV (1993)
In 1993, Scheider signed on to star in the Steven Spielberg-produced television series seaQuest DSV. The show was set in 2018, when mankind had already begun colonizing the oceans and utilizing them for their abundant resources. A new treaty among the various confederations of countries on Earth resulted in a shaky, tenuous peace and the newly-formed United Earth Oceans Organization (UEO) was created to administer this peace. Capt. Nathan Bridger (Scheider's character) was hauled out of retirement/solitude to command the flagship submarine of the UEO, the seaQuest DSV 4600.
The show was intended to be an intelligent blend of action and education. For the first season, the writers managed to build on this premise and it slowly gained an audience. After season one however, the studio execs were not satisfied with the ratings and major changes occurred. Four of the original nine cast members were changed (Stephanie Beacham, Stacy Haiduk, Royce D. Applegate, and John D'Aquino) and the writers took the show in a more fantasy-oriented direction. The show immediately lost viewers. Scheider was very vocal about his disdain for the new direction in which the series was heading. His comments were highly publicized and the media criticized him for critizicing his own show. Many seaQuest fans, however, felt Scheider was only putting to voice what everyone was thinking. NBC attempted to save the show for season three by instituting even more changes (both in casting and writing) and Scheider decided to exit the show. His contract however, required that he make several guest appearances in season three.
Scheider went on to star in films such as The Myth of Fingerprints (1997) and Silver Wolf (1998). He has also repeatedly guest starred on the NBC television series Third Watch. Among his most recent films is the crusty father of hero Frank Castle in The Punisher (2004).
In 2004 Scheider was diagnosed with multiple myeloma, a cancer of the plasma cells. In June 2005 he underwent a bone marrow transplant to successfully treat the cancer.
Filmography
Paper Lion (1968)
Stiletto (1969)
Puzzle of a Downfall Child (1969)
Klute (1971)
The French Connection (1971)
The Seven-Ups (1973)
Jaws (1975)
Marathon Man (1976)
Sorcerer (1977)
Jaws 2 (1978)
All That Jazz (1979)
Still of the Night (1983)
Blue Thunder (1983)
Tiger Town (1983)
2010 (1984)
The Men's Club (1986)
52 Pick-Up (1986)
Cohen and Tate (1988)
Listen to Me (1989)
Night Game (1989)
The Fourth War (1989)
The Russia House (1990)
Somebody has to Shoot the Picture (1990)
Naked Lunch (1991)
Wild Justice (1993)
Romeo is Bleeding (1994)
The Peacekeeper (1996)
Excecutive Target (1997)
The Myth of Fingerprints (1997)
The Rainmaker (1997)
The Rage (1997)
Evasive Action (1998)
Falling Through (1999)
Daybreak (2000)
The Doorway (2000)
Dracula II: Ascension (2003)
The Punisher (2004)
