After the excitement of the BAFTAs last night comes the sad news that Roy Scheider, the star of films including The French Connection, All That Jazz and of course Jaws, has passed away. He was 75.
Scheider was born in New Jersey in 1932, and started film acting in a Z-movie called The Curse of the Living Corpse in 1956. However, it was in 1971 that his career really took off - a role in Klute was the first of a one-two punch that he followed with an Oscar-nominated supporting turn in The French Connection. However, it was 1975's Jaws that has ensured his place in the hearts of film fans forever - as police chief Martin Brody he was responsible for the iconic "bigger boat" line and, lest we forget, for finally bringing down the monster shark. A further Oscar-nominated leading turn in All That Jazz, and the leading role in shortlived deep-sea sci-fi series SeaQuest DSV only cemented his popularity.
Although a cause of death was not formally released, it's known that Scheider had been battling a form of bone marrow cancer for some time, and died yesterday. He is survived by a wife and three children.