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Roy Scheider, RIP

Dirty Harry says:

Jaws is unimaginable without Roy Scheider. Bookended by two scenery chewers (Robert Shaw and Richard Dreyfus), Scheider is the heart and soul of the film, my favorite character in the film, and as necessary to its success as the shark.

And that is absolutely true. He also notes Scheider's performance in All That Jazz:

Nominated for two Oscars, to understand the breadth of Scheider’s talent you need only watch him as Bob Fosse in All That Jazz where Chief Martin Brody’s nowhere to be found.

Scheider is one of my all-time favorite actors. (I say is rather than was because film allows his legacy to carry on.) He won me over completely in Jaws, not just with what might his singlemost famous line ("We're gonna need a bigger boat.) but with his quite intensity as a father. The scene where his son imitates his every move, coming on the tail of being accused of causing the death of a woman's son, is wonderful.

And then I saw Scheider in All That Jazz, and became convinced of two things: 1) It was the best film of the year, by far. And 2) Scheider should have taken home the gold. Yet, as Harry points out, Scheider's performance as Gideon was night and day different from Brody.

Rest in peace, Chief.

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