Roy Richard Scheider was an American actor and amateur boxer. He is best known for playing Martin Brody in the thriller film Jaws (1975), and playing the role again in its sequel Jaws 2 (1978). Scheider was also known for playing Captain Nathan Bridger in the science-fiction television series SeaQuest DSV. He is described by AllMovie as “one of the most unique and distinguished of all Hollywood actors”. Scheider was nominated for two Academy Awards, a Golden Globe Award, and a BAFTA Award.
How was his early life?
Scheider was born in Orange, New Jersey. His parents were Anna and Roy Bernhard Scheider, who was an auto mechanic. Scheider’s mother was of Irish descent with an Irish Catholic background, while his father was a Protestant German American.
As a child, Scheider was an athlete, participating in organized baseball and boxing competitions, for which he was classed as a welterweight, weighing in at 140 lb. Scheider competed in the Diamond Gloves Boxing Tournament in Elizabeth, New Jersey. He attended Columbia High School in Maplewood, New Jersey, graduating in 1950, and was inducted into the school’s hall of fame in 1985. He traded his boxing gloves for the stage, studying drama at both Rutgers University and Franklin and Marshall College, where he was a member of Phi Kappa Psi fraternity.
How did he get fame?
Scheider’s first film role was in the horror film The Curse of the Living Corpse (1964). On television, he played running roles on two CBS soap operas, Love of Life and The Secret Storm, and also played character roles in episodes of Camera Three, N.Y.P.D., and Coronet Blue. He was in the TV movie Lamp at Midnight (1966).
In 1971, he made a breakthrough with his films, Klute and The French Connection. For playing as a detective in ‘Sonny Grosso’, he gained an Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actor.
How much is his Net Worth?
Roy’s estimated net worth is around $15 million. He earned this fortune through amateur boxing and films like Jaws, Klute, The French Connection, and Sonny Grosso’.
