When longtime East End resident Roy Scheider passed away this Sunday after a hard fought battle against myeloma, his family lost a treasured loved one. His country lost a gifted stage and screen actor and courageous social crusader. And most heart-wrenching of all, our community lost a favorite son who was a friend to many and a champion of all.

Everywhere I have been this week, the news of his death brought tears and stories of chance encounters with the genial and approachable Roy. The stories always carried the same theme. "What a nice guy" was the praise from cab drivers, shopkeepers, tradesman, journalists, fellow Jitney travelers – just plain folks and Roy was one of them. No tales of star tantrums or egotistical superiority. He was just Roy, a neighbor.

Roy Scheider with wife Brenda. Photo by john Wegorzewski

And chief among those who will sorely miss Roy's intelligence, sincerity, enthusiasm and kindness are the folks at The Hayground School. Roy Scheider was a key figure among the school's co-founders and strongest supporters, a core group that includes Kathy Engel, Elizabeth Thunderbird Haile, Susan Ringo and Barry Sonnenfeld, Toni Ross, Jonathan Snow, Liz Bertsch, Arjun Achuthan, Marcelle Langendal, Susie Engel, and Tinka Topping. His commitment, generosity and continual hands-on participation did much to shape the vision for Hayground School from the beginning and helped the school grow into the Hamptons' most creative institution for progressive nursery to eighth grade education.

As most know, Roy was a dedicated family man, a familiar face in the community (he was a breakfast regular at the Candy Kitchen in Bridgehampton which was his unofficial office), and literally a local legend on the East End. In 1994, he had an oceanfront family home built in Sagaponack. He immediately became involved in community issues and many East End charities, and will long be remembered for rallying his neighbors to protect their beachfront homes with a sandbag barrier during a 2005 storm.

Just last year, he sold the Sagaponack house (to Katie Lee and Billy Joel), and moved to Sag Harbor. It was there that he joined Jim Henry, April Gornik, and Christie Brinkley, becoming a leading advocate of the Save Sag Harbor initiative. Indeed, Roy was a life-long political activist, protesting against the wars in Vietnam and Iraq, as well as raising funds and green consciousness on behalf of the environment. And almost right up to his death, Roy continued to lend his vocal talents to documentaries and appeared in films.

When I saw the first headlines, I was struck by the fact that his role as Chief Brody in the blockbuster "Jaws" was mentioned in the first line. The I realized that with all his great iconic roles, be they in Klute or "The French Connection," or the unforgettable Bob Fosse in "All That Jazz", it is probably most appropriate that the character of a small resort area policeman, desperate to protect his family, friends, and town from the great white terrorizing the community, should be the role most associated with him - for it was closer to the real Roy than people imagine.

Roy may not have a huge building or theater named after him – yet – the real monument is in the hearts of all who ever shared a cup of coffee with him. We cheered him at the Artists & Writers game and bumped grocery carts with a laugh with him at King Kullen. We also watched him beaming with pride at his children, Christian and Molly, and caught him gazing lovingly at wife Brenda. And most we loved that he was a very regular guy who, as our editor Nicole B. Brewer remembered, would sit and laugh over a shared plate of onion straws at Turtle Crossing as he and Brenda waited for take-out on a Friday night. We will all miss you. I'll miss you.

Switching gears with a dramatic flair, Bryant Park is back to its – uh – usual normalcy with Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week gone, leaving nothing but a trail of pins and glitter and a few marvelous memories - among them Hamptonite Nicole Miller who found her Fall 2008 inspiration in the bravery and power of Joan of Arc. Other designers have made a muse of the teenage warrior in the recent past, and we've seen all sorts of interpretations of modern-day armor. But as worked through Miller's signature prints and familiar dresses, the concept had a softness that was fresh, glamorous and wearable - and quite a departure from her usual designs, a staple for every girl's closet. Yeah Nicole!

You all know that I love, love, love Project Runway almost to the point of obsession. And who doesn't just love Tim Gunn? He's a total doll who doles out wise nuggets to all who ask his opinion. With the tents packed it was sad not to see more of him, but he was busy mentoring the designers that would be part of the big finale. And what a fabulous show that was! I can't spill the details here as I'd like since we were all asked to save the details until the finale show airs in two weeks. And who can say no to host Heidi Klum when she asks that nicely? Not me. I can say that both Nina Garcia and Michael Kors were front and center cheering and smiling as each fierce look headed down the aisle.

I did get to spend some time with design dynamo Christian Siriano (one of the finalists) during the men's shows on Friday. He sat front row and watched intently – he did not miss a single detail on the clothes or the models. We chatted briefly about the show, and as I wished him much success he shyly smiled and said that he had loved the entire experience. He is extremely driven, much more soft-spoken and reserved than his TV persona, and, to use his favorite word, 'fierce." I can't wait to see what he puts down a runway in the future. More to the point, I can't wait to wear whatever shows up in my favorite shops if it has his name on the label.

Another Project Runway alum form this season, Elisa Jimenez held her show in the early morning house on Sunday at the very chic Touch nightclub just off of Times Square. Organic vodka was just the thing for Bloody Marys that were being served before the show began in the unusual setting. Just as Elisa's designs were disturbingly beautiful, her narrative, which she read form the balcony throughout the performance accompanied by soprano Kristina Semos' haunting voice, told of her dream world and philosophy called "The Hunger World". For the sculpture artist turned fashion designer there were few wearable pieces in the collection, but this event was not about clothes. It was to have each person leave feeling blessed for the day looking for the wondrous fragments of humanity that each person brings to another from within.

No one was under more pressure than Marco Zanini, who helmed the Halston re-launch as the label's new creative director. How could he not be, when the king of Hollywood heat, Harvey Weinstein, is the man behind the project and Tamara Mellon and Rachel Zoe are at his side? Marco may be no match for those outsize personalities, but it's his clothes that have to do the talking, and talk they did. Like Halston, the clothes are simple and sophisticated, a daring combination these days. This is a designer who doesn't merely know Halston, but he also knows the tricks - and isn't playing.

Halston muse Liza Minnelli declared the collection fantastic, as did much of the savvy press. In a radical departure from the usual "see the clothes now, wait until fall to buy them." Harvey, a master marketer, cut a deal with online retailer Net-a-Porter to have two of the designs available the very next day, the first high-end label to have clothes available right after the show and with next day delivery. Instant gratification – love that!

It didn't take long for Nicholas Cage to ring his London solicitors (that's Queen's English for lawyers) and slap former co-star Kathleen Turner with a huge libel suit for the claims she made in her best-selling, pull-no-punches, memoir that takes some serious potshots at some of her most famous screen co-stars. As I told you last week, the blonde temptress accused him of not standing up to his uncle, the eminent Francis Ford Coppola, and of driving drunk in her new tell-all. I forgot to mention she also accused him of stealing a Chihuahua – all of which is spelled out in the London suit with, of course, denials from Nick. Why go all the way to London to sue? England's got the toughest libel laws in the world!

Hamptonite Pete Peterson received a much deserved David Rockefeller Award for his philanthropy past and future at the Museum of Modern Art. Married to the brilliant Joan Ganz Cooney, and father to author daughters Holly Peterson and Paige Peterson, is giving away a billion dollars to excellent causes that will help benefit the country – guess he figures his family can make it without an extra billion.

Three cheers for Steven Spielberg who dropped out of the upcoming Olympics ending his involvement as an artistic director of the 2008 Beijing Olympics after pressure from quite a few fellow Hollywoodites unhappy with China's role in the ongoing genocide in Darfur. Folks are hoping he will set an example for others to do similarly.

Another fancy apartment has changed hands at the venerable 740 Park Avenue co-op building - this time for $32 million. The estate of Mosler Safe heiress, Janet Coleman, sold the 14-room duplex apartment to David Randall Winn and his wife, Tamara Sarah Winn, otherwise known as one of industrialist Ira Rennert's two fortunate daughters.

Until next week, cheers!