My adventures with Roy Scheider
Hello, Islanders.
In the past I have shared some stories around my involvement with Roy Scheider’s official fan club, which I started in September 1977. This Friday, November 10, would have been Roy’s 91st Birthday, and to celebrate I thought I’d share a few stories from the past.
I was overjoyed when Roy gave me permission to start his official fan club. I soon learned that Roy was very fond of his fans. He genuinely appreciated the fact he had made a small impression on people he had never met. As all of Roy’s fan mail was forwarded to me – his publicist would pack envelops into a single box and ship them to me, usually once a month – I was able to read and appreciate so many great stories from both fans and friends alike. Occasionally I would receive a letter from someone that had either attended college with him (he attended both Rutgers and Franklin & Marshall) or served in the United States Air Force with him. These letters I sent back to give to Roy, who would answer every one of them. And, while I had a supply of signed photos to send to fans that requested one, sometimes fans would send in their own photos or drawings. These were also returned to Roy, who would sign them, usually with a personalization.
As the internet age was two decades away, the best way to get information from Roy was through the mail. He would send me the occasional note and I would often send him short “interviews” with questions to answer. These would be included in the quarterly newsletter. Two questions stand out to me. One was when I commented to him that I noticed that he wore the same watch in every film I’d seen him in (this was before Blue Thunder, where the digital watch he wore was instrumental to the plot). He explained that the watch had been given to hm by Sonny Grosso, the real-life detective Scheider played in The French Connection. I told him that if he ever got tired of it, I’d be happy to take it off his hands. He replied that if he ever got tired of it, “it’s yours.” The other came just after he was nominated for an Academy Award as Best Actor for his role in “All That Jazz.” I had asked him how he found out (phone call) and also asked if he would send me the flower he wore on his tuxedo lapel when he won (notice I said WHEN). It was then that he told me that Dustin Hoffman would win because he had “paid his dues. So there goes your flower.” Hoffman won.
I have two favorite memories of personal interaction with Roy:
1. In late December 1977 our phone rang. It was Roy, calling from Navarre Beach, Florida, where JAWS 2 was wrapping up filming. He was calling to tell me he had just “killed the shark” and was heading home for the holidays. This was, of course, before the expression “Spoiler Alert” was coined. He teasingly kept trying to tell me how the shark died. He didn’t. That secret was ruined by an usher at the Britton Plaza Theatre in Tampa, Florida where my friends and I had gone to attend the first showing of JAWS 2 on opening day. He had seen it the night before and let it slip that – SPOILER ALERT –
“the shark goes up like a French fry.” Prick!
2. On January 19, 1985 Roy hosted “Saturday Night Live.” I was living in Baltimore at the time and was invited up to spend the day with him. I brought with me some items that fans had requested Roy to sign and met with him around dinner time. He greeted me with a handshake and a hug and congratulated me on getting married (I had gotten married in 1981 and had sent him an invitation – he did not attend ☺). I told him that, sadly, I was no longer married. He smiled and said, “well, congratulations on that!” I sat in the audience during the dress rehearsal and actually saw a couple of skits that didn’t make it to air. For the show I was invited to stand in the wings. I was standing next to Jim Belushi when comedian Steven Wright did his set. Because of his soft delivery, Belushi had trouble hearing Wright so I would repeat the jokes to Belushi. After the show I met Roy in the lobby of 30 Rock to say goodnight. He had found the time to sign everything I had brought him. He invited me to the cast party but, as I had to work the next day and I had a three-hour drive ahead of me, I sadly had to decline. He shook my hand again, pulled me in for a hug and give me a kiss on the cheek. This was the last time I saw him, and the memory of that goodbye is as strong today as it was then.
Happy Birthday, Roy. I miss you!
Words by Michael A Smith. Michael is co-author of Jaws 2: The Making Of The Hollywood Sequel. You can order the book by contacting Michael at OsFanMike@aol.com.
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