Scheider, who lived in Sag Harbor, N.Y., died of complications from a staph infection, Brenda Scheider told the newspaper. Scheider had suffered from multiple myeloma.

Scheider came to prominence in such '70s films as "Klute" and "The French Connection" -- for which he earned an Oscar nomination as Buddy Russo, the partner of police Detective Popeye Doyle, played by Gene Hackman.

Scheider may have been best known as the resort town police chief in the 1975 blockbuster "Jaws."

Scheider was born in 1932 in Orange, N.J. He earned a history degree from Franklin and Marshall College and then served three years in the U.S. Air Force.

He made his professional New York stage debut in a 1961 production of "Romeo and Juliet.

Scheider was nominated for a best actor Oscar for his performance as a self destructive Broadway choreographer in "All That Jazz."

In the 1990s, Scheider starred in the TV series "SeaQuest DSV" as Capt. Nathan Bridger.