While riding a bus on the upper west side of Manhattan as a kid, I looked out and noticed Roy Scheider jogging along. None of the other passengers, who all happened to be French exchange students, noticed him as traffic allowed us match his pace while we made our way downtown. I quietly smiled to myself and mentally checked Roy Scheider's name on of my list of celebrities or personal heroes that I'd glimpsed on the streets of New York, as I'm sure many New Yorkers do when they stumble upon a notable person. About five minutes later, one of the French kids screamed out, "Qu'est que ce!? ... ROY SHEEEDARE!!!" and suddenly the windows of the bus were filled with kids hanging out, waving and calling to the star of "Les Dents de la Mer" in French like a bunch of schoolgirls would scream at the Beatles. Mr. Scheider looked over, waved and smiled without breaking his stride, and I admired his charming attitude and casual acceptance of a moment that seemed a bit surreal to me.
He passed away over the weekend, and I just wanted to note how his performance as Martin Brody in JAWS meant something to a lot of people all over the world, and definitely meant a lot to me. Here's to a time when real men were leading actors.
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