Blue Thunder
Actor Roy Scheider died a week ago, on February 10. Although I do not write much about movies and actors, in this case I felt compelled to write something about him.
Everyone seems to remember Roy from is role as police chief Martin Brody in Jaws. I am not sure that the producers of that movie understood what kind of hit that movie would turn out to be. What I am totally sure about is that nobody could have predicted it by just reading the script. The story line is pretty much in the same league as Die Hard 2 or Speed 2 in terms of credibility (hint: absolutely unbelievable). Sure, nobody will ever forget the initial scene when the shark approaches his prey, but there wasn’t much else in that movie.
However, Roy Scheider participated in many other movies, often as a supporting character (that is how he received his single Oscar nomination). His performance in Marathon Man as Dustin Hoffman’s tough older brother was memorable as it highlighted just how vulnerable Dustin’s character, Thomas Levy, was.
In my case, I remember Roy for his principal role in Blue Thunder a John Badham movie from the eighties. The movie script and dialogues were not remarkable, but somehow the movie worked.
That is what really makes Roy’s work stand out. He wasn’t only a great actor, he made the movies he participated in better. Scheider belonged to a small category of great actors (Brian Dennehy comes also quickly to mind) that while not being major movie stars could improve a scene just by being part of it. The movie industry really needs more strong supporting characters like them as they can often turn a B-Movie into a really memorable flick.
Rest In Peace, Roy.