Roy Scheider: 1932-2008

Bye, Bye Roy…

Yes, he was 75 and yes, this is the way it happens, but the news of Roy Scheider's death made me so sad last night that his brilliant, sexy, grizzled depiction of the ultimate macho fey Joe Gideon in All That Jazz acquired an extra level of poignancy. Though the movie’s Dexedrine fueled refrain of Gideon facing his sinewy and handsome image in the mirror every morning with “It’s Showtime folks!” still made me smile (I rewatched it, at 3 AM this morning), it was with an even more curious blending of morbidity and freaky inspiration. Maybe it’s not so unhealthy -- maybe that’s how real life is supposed to feel -- self medicated and eyes blazingly alive. Revel in all your mistakes and regret! Fuck 'em if they can’t take a joke! "Bye Bye Life" indeed.

I’m sure this emotional reaction would have been to Bob Fosse's immense delight, and certainly to Scheider’s, whose gritty dose of razz-ma-tazz revealed just what an actor and entertainer he was --  just how much physical presence his ex-boxer, intelligent, malleable mug, body and voice commanded on screen.  And dear God that fantastic profile! I fear I’m being effusive but, sincerely, Scheider’s potent masculinity mingling with all those layers of sensitivity makes me so giddy that I can only become depressed.  Is there any man like Scheider? On screen or off?

One of the '70s greats (and he was terrific after the 1970’s as well), Scheider's best remembered by the movie-going public for his role as Martin Brody, the gentle yet undaunted police chief in Steven Spielberg's Jaws. I love this performance (would you see anything as natural and lived-in from a monster movie today?) and though his most memorable line is "You're gonna need a bigger boat" (reportedly created by Scheider), one of my favorite moments comes when he asks his kid for a kiss. "Why?" his young son asks. "'Cause I need it," he answers.  It's so off the cuff and touching, showing a sad-eyed paternalism that remains strong and healthy and brimming with real love dammit!  (Read an ode to Scheider's performance in Jaws at Acidemic, lovingly written before he passed away).

But there are so many brilliant Scheider performances that go a little unnoticed and underrated through time.  Sorcerer, The French Connection, Marathon Man, Still of the Night, The Seven-Ups, 52 Pick-Up, Naked Lunch and Klute (the film's greatest scene finds Jane Fonda's Bree staggering across a dance floor to the twisted, comforting arms of her pimp Scheider, who grabs her hair, looks into her eyes, then soothes her as only a predatory pimp/daddy figure can --  a genius scene of manipulation that didn't require one word of dialogue  -- it makes me insalubriously swoon) are among some of his most outstanding.   

Even with his dazzling, womanizing, pill popping triumph in All That Jazz and that iconic showdown with the world’s most famous shark, I can’t think of any bells and whistles and "I’m walking here!" moments associated with Scheider.  He typically wasn’t a scene chewer and chose to mark his territory with a unique, subtle (and uniquely subtle) power that was so world-weary and frequently moving (even when playing a psycho) that he resonated with a curious mixture of timeless recognition and absolute mystery.  Like how we know ourselves but…not really.

Whatever Scheider was processing when he gazed at our complicated, corrupt world, we’ve similarly attempted to handle (and still do), and like him, we often keep it a secret. He didn’t have to explain any further why he needed that kiss, it was as simple and complex and profound as he stated: "I need it." Everyone needs it.

Comments

[Will Errickson]

Good stuff, a great tribute to a terrific actor. In the last year alone I discovered how good Scheider was in All That Jazz, The Seven-Ups, and especially Sorcerer. But your point about his "lived-in" performance in Jaws, and how we won't find its like again today in monster movies, is dead-on, and it's Scheider's naturalism anchors that most phenomenal of movies.

[Erich K.]

Great eulogy and great point about his understated approach - I'd forgotten all about how great he was in KLUTE - quietly showing up Sutherland's taciturn shamus by being everything he's not - cool, comfortable and just a bit snazzy while underneath it all radiating a heavy malevolence. Your phrase "macho fey" sums it up best - the rough sensitivity, the un-fussy showmanship, the bragadaccio-free swagger... you nailed it, and bless you for it.

[low-tech cyclist]

Damn.

Scheider was one of those underrated greats. All That Jazz has long been one of my favorite movies, and his performance in Jaws gave that movie its center. But he was great to watch in almost anything - I've seen Still of the Night a couple of times, and is worth watching yet again.

[Dan Canyon]

Very nice eulogy. I think you've just made him smile in that wry manner of his. You swooned at his Pimp poise, that's all we ask for!

RIP Role Model Roy

ps I enjoy your blog a lot, I've got compilations on mine you might like to download, erm.... check it out

[catherine]

Perhaps you don't watch TV, and why should you, but he was also great in two bad-guy roles recently, a gangster in "Third Watch" and a serial killer and perhaps Bobby Goren's father in "Law and Order: CI."

Will miss you, Mr. Schneider.

[Matt Blankman]

My Dad knew Scheider from doing theater at Franklin & Marshall College, and they had been in touch from time to time over the last 10 years or so. I was living with the folks at one point, and I had stayed up late christening my then-new DVD of Jaws. The next morning, I poured cup of coffee as the phone rang. I picked up and a strangely familiar voice asked for my Dad. After I explained that he was at his office, the caller stated, "Oh...this is Roy Scheider, he had asked me to call..." Amazingly, I calmly gave him the office number and that was about it. I wanted like hell to say "Man, these DVD special features are just incredible!"

I told the story that night to my mother who commented, "If Robert Shaw calls, you're in trouble."

[George Schmidt]

Nice tribute Kim; I am sad to admit I have not seen so many of Scheider's films but he was a fave and JAWS in my top 10; his humanity truly propels that "B-Movie Monster Flick" from beginning to end - he kills me when @ the hospital sequence he tells his wife to take their youngest son home and she says, "New York?" and without missing a beat says, "No...home" - his Sheriff Martin Brody is a true cinematic icon/reluctant hero - the sane man in an insane world wanting to do the right thing @ the wrong time - not unlike HIGH NOON's conflicted lawman Gary Cooper's Will Kane either; food for thought

[Steve-O]

I already miss him. He'll always be the age he was in Jaws in my mind. Strange to see movie stars fade and die away.

I wanted to do a Noir of the Week on him so I did 52 Pick-Up which I love to death. Then I read your blog and was reminded of Klute! That would be a great neo-noir for Noir of the Week!

Hope all is well Kim...

[Kevin Hou]

No mention of 2010: The Year We Made Contact? Roy totally made that movie in the aerobraking scene where he's hugging the cosmonaut.

[Will Keightley]

And you know what else I remember him for? Oddly? 2010: Odyssey Two. Scheider, Mirren, Lithgow... that flick actually had some class.

I was gonna write something about Scheider. I'll just send people here instead.

[linda]

I too felt bad when I heard the news of Roy's death. I LOVED him in Jaws. I have watched that film maybe a hundred times............You know what? I think I'll watch it now.

[Stewart]

The weird thing about this is when I heard about his death, I had just finished watching him as Dr. Benway in Naked Lunch. Not a massive role for him, but still memorable if only for the fake woman rubber suit he wears near the end...

[Fiona]

Kim - your tribute to Roy Scheider is the one which I wish I'd written! Fantastic. His masculinity, that great profile and real acting. I love watching Roy and only wish I'd written to him in appreciation.
As you say, is there a man such as Scheider, on or off the screen? He will be missed.
Fiona