Editing Rod Steiger (section)

{{Short description|American actor (1925–2002)}}
{{Featured article}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=September 2023}}
{{Infobox person
| name               = Rod Steiger
| image              = Rod Steiger 1964.jpg
| alt                = 
| caption            = Steiger in 1964
| birth_name         = 
| birth_date         = {{Birth date|1925|4|14}}
| birth_place        = [[Westhampton, New York]], U.S.
| death_date         = {{Death date and age|2002|7|9|1925|4|14}}
| death_place        = [[Los Angeles]], California, U.S.
| occupation         = Actor
| years active       = 1946–2002
| awards             = [[List of awards and nominations received by Rod Steiger|Full list]]
| works              = [[Rod Steiger on screen and stage|Full list]]
}}

'''Rodney Stephen Steiger''' ({{IPAc-en|ˈ|s|t|aɪ|g|ər}} {{respell|STY|gər}}; April 14, 1925 – July 9, 2002) was an American actor, noted for his portrayal of offbeat, often volatile and crazed characters. Ranked as "one of Hollywood's most charismatic and dynamic stars",{{sfn|Hutchinson|1998|loc=Google Books Introduction}} he is closely associated with the art of [[method acting]], embodying the characters he played, which at times led to clashes with directors and co-stars. He starred as [[Marlon Brando]]'s mobster brother Charley in ''[[On the Waterfront]]'' (1954), the title character Sol Nazerman in ''[[The Pawnbroker (film)|The Pawnbroker]]'' (1964) which won him the [[Silver Bear for Best Actor]], and as police chief Bill Gillespie opposite [[Sidney Poitier]] in the film ''[[In the Heat of the Night (film)|In the Heat of the Night]]'' (1967) which won him the [[Academy Award for Best Actor]].

Steiger was born in [[Westhampton, New York]], the son of a [[Vaudeville|vaudevillian]]. He had a difficult childhood, running away from home to escape an alcoholic mother at the age of 16. After serving in the [[Pacific Ocean theater of World War II|South Pacific]] during World War II, he began his acting career with television roles in 1947, and went on to garner critical acclaim for his portrayal of the main character in the teleplay "[[Marty (The Philco Television Playhouse)|Marty]]" (1953). He made his stage debut in 1946, in a production of ''Curse You, Jack Dalton!'' at the Civic Repertory Theatre of Newark, and subsequently appeared in productions such as ''[[An Enemy of the People]]'' (1950), [[Clifford Odets]]'s ''[[Night Music (play)|Night Music]]'' (1951), ''[[Seagulls Over Sorrento#Original Play|Seagulls Over Sorrento]]'' (1952), and ''[[Rashomon (play)|Rashomon]]'' (1959).

Steiger made his film debut in [[Fred Zinnemann]]'s ''[[Teresa (1951 film)|Teresa]]'' in 1951, and subsequently appeared in films such as ''[[The Big Knife]]'' (1955), ''[[Oklahoma! (film)|Oklahoma!]]'' (1955), ''[[Jubal (film)|Jubal]]'' (1956), ''[[Across the Bridge (film)|Across the Bridge]]'' (1957), and ''[[Al Capone (film)|Al Capone]]'' (1959). After his performance in ''The Pawnbroker'' in 1964, in which he played an embittered Jewish [[Holocaust survivor]] working as a pawnbroker in New York City, he portrayed an opportunistic Russian politician in [[David Lean]]'s ''[[Doctor Zhivago (film)|Doctor Zhivago]]'' (1965). ''In the Heat of the Night'' (1967) won five [[Academy Awards]], including Best Picture and Best Actor for Steiger, who was lauded for his performance as a Mississippi police chief who learns to respect an African-American officer (Poitier) as they search for a killer. The following year, he played a serial killer of many guises in ''[[No Way to Treat a Lady (film)|No Way to Treat a Lady]]''.

During the 1970s, Steiger increasingly turned to European productions in his search for more demanding roles. He portrayed [[Napoleon|Napoleon Bonaparte]] in ''[[Waterloo (1970 film)|Waterloo]]'' (1970), a Mexican bandit in [[Sergio Leone]]'s ''[[Duck, You Sucker!]]'' (1971), [[Benito Mussolini]] in ''[[Last Days of Mussolini]]'' (1975), and ended the decade playing a disturbed priest in'' [[The Amityville Horror (1979 film)|The Amityville Horror]]'' (1979). By the 1980s, heart problems and depression took their toll on Steiger's career, and he found it difficult to find employment, agreeing to appear in low-budget [[B movie]]s. One of his final roles was as judge [[H. Lee Sarokin]] in the prison drama ''[[The Hurricane (1999 film)|The Hurricane]]'' (1999), which reunited him with ''In the Heat of the Night'' director [[Norman Jewison]]. Steiger was married five times, and had a daughter, opera singer [[Anna Steiger]], and a son, Michael Steiger. He died of [[pneumonia]] and kidney failure as a result of complications from surgery for a [[gallbladder]] tumor in 2002, aged 77, in Los Angeles. His fifth wife was [[Joan Benedict Steiger]].