From North Bend to Hollywood: Remembering Jaws Star, Roy Scheider
As the iconic filmJaws marks its 50th anniversary, North Bend’s Little Theatre on the Bay (LTOB) looks back on the formative years its most famous alum, Roy Scheider, spent on its stage.
The year was 1975. The Vietnam War had just ended, Gerald Ford was the President of the United States, and a new comedy sketch show called Saturday Night Live had debuted on NBC. That summer, a young director named Steven Spielberg released his second feature film, Jaws, starring Robert Shaw, Richard Dreyfuss, Lorraine Gary, and a former resident of Oregon’s Adventure Coast by the name of Roy Scheider.
That’s right. Roy Scheider. The actor who delivered one of the most iconic lines in cinema history: “You’re gonna need a bigger boat”. That Roy Scheider. Twenty years before the award-winning actor starred as a small-town police chief in the film Jaws, Scheider was stationed here on Oregon’s Adventure Coast: Coos Bay, North Bend, Charleston, where he made his mark on our very own Little Theatre on the Bay (LTOB).
Scheider was born in New Jersey and studied drama at Rutgers University and Franklin & Marshall College, where he majored in history while performing in college productions. After a brief stint as an amateur boxer, he joined the United States Air Force, serving as a first lieutenant in air operations from 1955 to 1958. During his service, he was stationed at the U.S. Air Force General Surveillance Radar station in Hauser, just north of North Bend.
He eventually found his way to LTOB, where he devoted much of his spare time to building sets, acting, directing, and embracing every opportunity to nurture his artistic passion. Connie Moe-Meincke, a charter member of the theatre, recalled in this article that Scheider couldn’t stay away. “All of his off-duty time was spent at the theatre either acting, directing or just working there,” she said. “He just absolutely loved it.”
Scheider acted in several plays at LTOB, including Sabrina, Dial M for Murder, My Three Angels, and The Solid Gold Cadillac. According to the history section on the LTOB website , he spent his entire two and a half years participating in every LTOB production while stationed at Hauser AFB. In 1957, he earned an LTOB Masque Award for his performance in Nina. In May 1958, a theater review in The World found Scheider’s performance to be a silver lining in an otherwise lackluster performance of The Solid Gold Cadillac.
“Roy Scheider is strong as usual,” it read. He not only performed but also directed several productions, including Ladies in Retirement and Gore Vidal’s Visit to a Small Planet in 1958 (in which he also played the lead role), staged at Fritz’s Coffee House in Coos Bay as an LTOB fundraiser.
In an interview with The World newspaper, Scheider said, “It’s been a blessing to me. I don’t know what I would have done here without the Little Theater.”
When his active-duty commitment ended, Scheider began acting full-time while continuing to serve as a reserve officer. Eager to pursue his dream of becoming a professional actor, he left the Oregon Coast for New York City, where he performed with the New York Shakespeare Festival and soon landed roles in a string of iconic films, including The French Connection, All That Jazz, Marathon Man, and The Rainmaker. Scheider earned two Academy Award nominations: Best Supporting Actor for The French Connection (1971), in which he played the partner of Oscar winner Gene Hackman, and Best Actor for All That Jazz (1979), Bob Fosse’s semi-autobiographical masterpiece.
Though his career was filled with memorable performances, Scheider was perhaps best known for his role in Steven Spielberg’s 1975 blockbuster Jaws, the thriller about a great white shark that terrorized a small beach town and millions of moviegoers. In 2005, his famous ad-libbed line, “You’re gonna need a bigger boat,” was ranked on the American Film Institute’s list of the greatest movie quotes. “I’ve been fortunate to do what I consider three landmark films,” he told The Associated Press in 1986. “Each one of these films is unique, and I consider myself fortunate to be associated with them."
Scheider passed away in 2008, but the lessons he drew from acting endured. “Playing various roles, I’ve gotten insights into personalities I might never have been able to understand or sympathize with,” he told The World.
So too does the magic of live theatre. Though he once worried that Little Theatre on the Bay may not endure the modern age, he would no doubt be pleased to know it is still bringing live theatre to local audiences and is part of an active network of cultural organizations that enrich our community. Today, LTOB has a permanent home in the fully restored Liberty Theatre in North Bend , a historic venue that continues to bring live performances to the community.
About Little Theatre on the Bay
Founded on August 2, 1948, by a small group of local theatre enthusiasts, Little Theatre on the Bay (LTOB) is the second-oldest continuously operating community theatre in Oregon. Initially performing in various Bay Area venues, the group eventually made the historic Liberty Theatre in North Bend its home in 1959, purchasing it in 1975 and fully restoring it over the years. Today, LTOB remains a volunteer-driven nonprofit dedicated to bringing quality live theatre to the community, supported by patrons, donors, and local businesses. Click here to learn more.
Top Image: AI-generated depiction of Roy Scheider, inspired by his time at Little Theatre on the Bay.
