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?