Roy Scheider Dies at Age 75; “Jaws” Actor had Multiple Myeloma

Roy Scheider, the actor who is best known for his part in the 70’s blockbuster “Jaws,” has died at the age of 75.

According to CNN.com, Scheider died at the University or Arkansas for Medical Sciences hospital in Little Rock, Arkansas, on Sunday, February 10.

Scheider’s most famous line of Jaws-“You’re going to need a bigger boat”-became number 35 on the American Film Institute’s most famous quotes list.

The actor received two Oscar nominations during his movie career, one for best-supporting actor in the 1971 thriller “The French Connection” and the other for best-actor in the 1979 Bob Fosse biopic “All That Jazz.

The cause of death is unknown, but Scheider had been undergoing treatment for multiple myeloma for the past two years.

According to MedlinePlus, Multiple myeloma is a type of cancer that starts in the plasma cells, attacking the white blood cells that fuel the body’s immune system. The exact causes of multiple myeloma are not known, but it is more common in African-Americans and older people. Early symptoms could include bone pain in the back or ribs, broken bones, tiredness, repeated infections, and/or weight loss.

I’ve had personal experience with this disease through a family member, as my dad’s aunt suffered from multiple myeloma before she passed away. This was years back when I was a child, but I remember it vividly (as many people remember hospital visits). She was well over the age of 70, and lived in a town about 100 miles south of where we lived. She had been in the hospital for a few weeks when we drove down to visit her, not as a last goodbye-though that was undoubtedly in the back of our minds during the entire trip.

I remember visiting her in the hospital, and looking at her she didn’t appear to be sickly; she was upbeat and happy and talked nicely with everyone and laughed and smiled, but she was bed-ridden and didn’t have a great deal of energy. I remember thinking to myself what she could possibly have, as she seemed tired but not much else, and that she would definitely pull out of it if we could let her rest for a few days. I noticed that she looked pale, but what hospital patient doesn’t?

On the way back home I asked my dad what was wrong with her, and he didn’t really know himself other than she had a bad disease. I asked if she would be alright and he said he didn’t know, but told me to pray for her and that God would watch over her.

In the end she didn’t make it-she passed away a few weeks later, and as we made our way back down for the funeral I was surprised that she didn’t pull through. But the experience gave me my first introduction to death and loss, and taught me to appreciate life and realize how many diseases out there can end it.

I was only a child when we visited my dad’s aunt, and had never heard the term multiple myeloma before. Even yesterday when I heard that Roy Scheider had died of it I didn’t know too much about it, other than it was a serious medical condition that old people get and can result in loss of life.

But now that I’ve read the Roy Scheider story and done a little research about the disease, I’m more knowledgeable and educated about it than I was before. I’ve learned that even though it’s a hard disease to cure, treatment can greatly improve symptoms of the disease and can help those suffering from it to live a better and longer life.

Roy will be sadly missed, and my thoughts and prayers go out to his family and friends.