Roy Scheider (November 10, 1932-February 10, 2008)

On James' Thoughts and Musings, I try to honor famous people who pass away, even if I don't have much to say. I do so on or near the date of their deaths because that is really the only appropriate time for me to say what they meant to me.

Roy Scheider was on Jaws. That was his famous role. In the movie, he ran the beach resort where the killer shark was attacking.

But I know him more from Stephen Spielberg's SeaQuest DSV. There, he played Captain Nathan Bridger, who commanded some sort of underwater vessel. He had a talking dolphin named Darwin, who used to crack me and my dad up. There were a lot of episodes in which Darwin was not on, and mom said that was because of PETA. My dad and I pictured Darwin in front of a Congressional subcommittee, saying, "Darwin wants to work. PETA says NO."

During my last few years of high school, SeaQuest was practically the only show that I watched. The rest of my time was spent doing homework. So I was always on the go, except when I was sleeping (which took a short amount of time), eating (same story), and watching SeaQuest. So SeaQuest was my hour of downtime. And it was time that I got to enjoy with my family. I did my homework alone, in the basement, which was also where I slept. I could concentrate there.

I also saw Roy Scheider on The Rainmaker. There, he played the rich owner of a corrupt insurance company. It was a bit-part, but I was glad to see him.

And he was on a movie in the 1970's called Marathon Man, which had Dustin Hoffman, Laurence Olivier, and William Devane. I don't entirely remember his role, though. Most of what I remember is Laurence Olivier shoving an instrument into Dustin Hoffman's aching tooth, after asking, "Is it safe?"

So I'm surprised that Roy Scheider passed away. But he helped create work that I happened to enjoy.