Rod Steiger

American actor

Also known as: Rodney Stephen Steiger

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In full:: Rodney Stephen Steiger

Born:: April 14, 1925, Westhampton, New York, U.S.

Died:: July 9, 2002, Los Angeles, California, U.S.

Also Known As:: Rodney Stephan Steiger; Rodney Stephen Steiger

Awards And Honors:: Academy Award (1968); Academy Award (1968): Actor in a Leading Role; Golden Globe Award (1968): Best Actor in a Motion Picture - Drama

Movies/Tv Shows (Acted In):: "Poolhall Junkies" (2002); "The Hollywood Sign" (2001); "A Month of Sundays" (2001); "Lightmaker" (2001); "The Last Producer" (2000); "Body and Soul" (2000); "End of Days" (1999); "The Hurricane" (1999); "Crazy in Alabama" (1999); "Cypress Edge" (1999); "Chicken Soup for the Soul" (1999); "Hotel Alexandria" (1999); "Shiloh 2: Shiloh Season" (1999); "Legacy" (1998); "The Simpsons" (1998); "Animals with the Tollkeeper" (1998); "The Kid" (1997); "Incognito" (1997); "Truth or Consequences, N.M." (1997); "Mars Attacks!" (1996); "Shiloh" (1996); "EZ Streets" (1996); "Carpool" (1996); "Livers Ain't Cheap" (1996); "The Commish" (1996); "Captain Nuke and the Bomber Boys" (1995); "Columbo" (1995); "Tous les jours dimanche" (1994); "The Specialist" (1994); "The Critic" (1994); "The Last Tattoo" (1994); "The Neighbor" (1993); "Tales of the City" (1993); "Kölcsönkapott idö" (1993); "Sinatra" (1992); "The Player" (1992); "Guilty as Charged" (1991); "The Ballad of the Sad Cafe" (1991); "Men of Respect" (1990); "Tennessee Nights" (1989); "Djavolji raj" (1989); "The January Man" (1989); "American Gothic" (1987); "Catch the Heat" (1987); "The Kindred" (1987); "Hollywood Wives" (1985); "The Glory Boys" (1984); "The Naked Face" (1984); "Der Zauberberg" (1982); "The Chosen" (1981); "Cattle Annie and Little Britches" (1981); "Lion of the Desert" (1980); "The Lucky Star" (1980); "Wolf Lake" (1980); "Klondike Fever" (1980); "The Amityville Horror" (1979); "Portrait of a Hitman" (1979); "Steiner - Das Eiserne Kreuz, 2. Teil" (1979); "Love and Bullets" (1979); "F.I.S.T" (1978); "Jesus of Nazareth" (1977); "W.C. Fields and Me" (1976); "Hennessy" (1975); "Les innocents aux mains sales" (1975); "Mussolini ultimo atto" (1974); "Lucky Luciano" (1973); "Gli eroi" (1973); "Lolly-Madonna XXX" (1973); "Happy Birthday, Wanda June" (1971); "Giù la testa" (1971); "Waterloo" (1970); "Three Into Two Won't Go" (1969); "The Illustrated Man" (1969); "The Sergeant" (1968); "No Way to Treat a Lady" (1968); "La ragazza e il generale" (1967); "In the Heat of the Night" (1967); "BBC Play of the Month" (1966); "Doctor Zhivago" (1965); "E venne un uomo" (1965); "The Loved One" (1965); "Gli indifferenti" (1964); "The Pawnbroker" (1964); "Bob Hope Presents the Chrysler Theatre" (1964); "Le mani sulla città" (1963); "Route 66" (1962); "Ben Casey" (1962); "The Longest Day" (1962); "Convicts 4" (1962); "13 West Street" (1962); "Wagon Train" (1961); "An einem Freitag um halb zwölf" (1961); "The Mark" (1961); "BBC Sunday-Night Play" (1960); "Seven Thieves" (1960); "General Electric Theater" (1960); "On Trial" (1959); "Al Capone" (1959); "Schlitz Playhouse of Stars" (1957–1958); "Decision" (1958); "Playhouse 90" (1958); "Cry Terror!" (1958); "Suspicion" (1958); "The Unholy Wife" (1957); "Across the Bridge" (1957); "Run of the Arrow" (1957); "Back from Eternity" (1956); "The Harder They Fall" (1956); "Screen Directors Playhouse" (1956); "Jubal" (1956); "The Court-Martial of Billy Mitchell" (1955); "Oklahoma!" (1955); "The Big Knife" (1955); "The Philco Television Playhouse" (1951–1955); "Producers' Showcase" (1955); "Kraft Television Theatre" (1952–1954); "On the Waterfront" (1954); "Justice" (1954); "The Philip Morris Playhouse" (1954); "You Are There" (1954); "Goodyear Television Playhouse" (1952–1953); "Medallion Theatre" (1953); "Suspense" (1952–1953); "Danger" (1950–1953); "The Gulf Playhouse" (1953); "Tales of Tomorrow" (1952–1953); "Out There" (1951); "Lux Video Theatre" (1951); "Teresa" (1951); "Actor's Studio" (1950)

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Rod Steiger (born April 14, 1925, Westhampton, New York, U.S.—died July 9, 2002, Los Angeles, California, U.S.) was an American actor who used the techniques of method acting—enhanced by his powerful delivery and intensity—to inhabit a wide variety of complex characters during a half-century-long career as a performer. He was nominated for an Academy Award three times and won it once, for best actor, for his role as a racist Southern sheriff in In the Heat of the Night (1967).

Steiger dropped out of high school at age 16, lied about his age so he could join the navy, and spent most of World War II as a torpedo man on a destroyer in the Pacific. Following his discharge he took a civil service job in Newark, New Jersey, and joined a theatre group. Encouraged to pursue acting seriously, Steiger studied acting at a succession of schools in New York City, ending up at The Actors Studio. His stage debut came in 1947 with a small part in The Trial of Mary Dugan, and in 1951 he made his Broadway debut in a revival of Night Music. His film debut was also in 1951, in Teresa.

Most of Steiger’s work between 1948 and 1953 was in live television dramas, however; he appeared in more than 250 productions, most notably as the title character in the original TV version of Marty. That performance made him a TV star and helped him land one of his most memorable film parts—Charley Malloy, Marlon Brando’s character’s older brother, in On the Waterfront (1954)—and his first Oscar nomination, for best supporting actor.

Empty movie theater and blank screen (theatre, motion pictures, cinema).

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Among the roles that followed were Jud Fry in Oklahoma! (1955); a tyrannical film producer in The Big Knife (1955); a haunted survivor of the Holocaust in The Pawnbroker (1964), the role he considered his finest and one that gained him a second Oscar nomination, this time for best actor; the outrageous undertaker Mr. Joyboy in The Loved One (1965); and a serial killer with a flair for disguise in No Way to Treat a Lady (1968). Most of Steiger’s later work—with the possible exception of W.C. Fields and Me (1976); The Player (1992), in which he portrayed himself; the TV miniseries Tales of the City (1993); and The Specialist—was not considered to have been as accomplished or as successful as his earlier movies, however. His final film was A Month of Sundays (2001)

The Editors of Encyclopaedia BritannicaThis article was most recently revised and updated by Encyclopaedia Britannica.