Roy Scheider, star of Jaws and The French Connection, dies aged 75

Published on 11/02/2008 09:29

ROY Scheider, a two-time Oscar nominee best known for his role as the police chief in the blockbuster Jaws, has died, it was announced today.

Scheider, 75, died at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences hospital in Little Rock.

The hospital did not release a cause of death but spokeswoman Leslie Taylor said Scheider had been treated for multiple myeloma at the hospital's Myeloma Institute for Research and Therapy for the past two years.

He was nominated for an Oscar for best-supporting actor in 1971's The French Connection, in which he played the police partner of Oscar winner Gene Hackman and for best actor for 1979's All That Jazz, the autobiographical Bob Fosse film.

But he was best known for his role in Steven Spielberg's 1975 film, Jaws, the enduring classic about a killer shark terrorising beachgoers – and millions of film fans.

Widely hailed as the film that launched the era of the Hollywood blockbuster, it was also the first movie to earn 100 million dollars (52.5m) at the box office. Scheider starred with Richard Dreyfuss, who played an oceanographer.

In 2005, one of Scheider's most famous lines in the movie – "We're gonna need a bigger boat" – was voted No 35 on the American Film Institute's list of best quotes from US movies.