April 23, 2009 | Actor Roy Scheider was best known as the police chief in the 1975 movie “Jaws” about a killer shark and for his ad-libbed line, “You’re gonna need a bigger boat.”

A host of friends, co-stars and colleagues honored the late actor at a recent Beverly Hills event that benefited the UAMS Myeloma Institute for Research and Therapy.

Scheider’s “Jaws” co-star Richard Dreyfuss joined a guest list that included Shirley MacLaine, Christopher Lloyd, Richard Anderson, Ann Reinking, Joshua Newton (director of the “Iron Cross,” Scheider’s last movie), industry producers, make-up artists, other directors, musicians and many more to salute Scheider’s life and career.

The Myeloma Institute, where Scheider was treated by Bart Barlogie, M.D., Ph.D., for multiple myeloma, was credited by his widow, Brenda Siemer Scheider, as being “the only place” where the actor had a chance to beat the disease, said Bonnie Jenkins, R.N., director of program coordination for the Myeloma Institute. Jenkins attended the event along with Barlogie, director of the Myeloma Institute.

“It was a wonderful event and anything that raises awareness about multiple myeloma gets us closer to beating this disease,” Jenkins said.

About 300 attended the “Smiles From the Stars: A Celebration of the Work and Life of Roy Scheider” event held April 4 at the Beverly Hills Hotel in Los Angeles. Scheider died Feb. 10, 2008.

Brenda Siemer Scheider introduced the documentary “Smiles,” an allusion to Scheider’s first movie, a 1970s short film of the same name that tracked the actor’s fight against multiple myeloma. The documentary featured scenes from that earlier student film with Barlogie digitally inserted into the action, entering to the famous theme from “Jaws.”

British writer-director Newton debuted clips from the ”Iron Cross.” Newton’s father also died from multiple myeloma and the director said he wished his father had known about the Myeloma Institute at UAMS and Barlogie when he was battling the disease.

Scheider has been nominated twice for Academy Awards for “The French Connection” (Best Supporting Actor) and “All That Jazz” (Best Actor). His many films include “Klute,” “The Seven Ups,” “Marathon Man,” “Blue Thunder,” “52 Pick-Up,” “Sorcerer,” “The Russia House” and “The Rainmaker.”