Editing Rod Steiger (section)

===Early career and breakthrough (1946–1956)===
Steiger made his stage debut in a production of ''Curse You, Jack Dalton!'' (1946) at the Civic Repertory Theatre of Newark.<ref>{{cite web|title=Rod Steiger&nbsp;– Obituary|url=http://www.playbillvault.com/Person/Detail/Obituary/109787/Rod-Steiger|work=[[Playbill|Playbill Vault]]|access-date=July 23, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150928052224/http://www.playbillvault.com/Person/Detail/Obituary/109787/Rod-Steiger|archive-date=September 28, 2015|url-status=dead}}</ref> Subsequent to this, he received an invitation from one of his teachers, [[Daniel Mann]], to attend the [[Actors Studio]], established by [[Elia Kazan]] in October 1947. It was here, along with [[Marlon Brando]], [[Karl Malden]], and [[Eli Wallach]], that he studied [[method acting]], which became deeply engrained in him. Lacking matinée idol looks, much like Malden and Wallach, he began pursuing a career as a character actor rather than as a leading man.<ref name="ST interview"/> Steiger's stage work continued in 1950, with a minor role as a townperson in a stage production of ''[[An Enemy of the People]]'' at the [[Music Box Theatre]].<ref name=playbill>{{cite web|last=Saxon|first=Wolfgang|title=Rod Steiger, Intense Oscar Winner Who Embraced the Method, Dead at 77|url=http://playbill.com/news/article/rod-steiger-intense-oscar-winner-who-embraced-the-method-dead-at-77-106968|work=[[Playbill]]|date=July 9, 2002|access-date=July 23, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150928052537/http://playbill.com/news/article/rod-steiger-intense-oscar-winner-who-embraced-the-method-dead-at-77-106968|archive-date=September 28, 2015|url-status=live}}</ref> His first major role on Broadway came in [[Clifford Odets]]'s production of ''[[Night Music (play)|Night Music]]'' (1951), where he played A. L. Rosenberger.<ref name="telegraph"/><ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.playbillvault.com/Person/Detail/109787/Rod-Steiger | title=Rod Steiger&nbsp;– Performer | work=Playbill Vault | access-date=September 3, 2015 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150928052550/http://www.playbillvault.com/Person/Detail/109787/Rod-Steiger | archive-date=September 28, 2015 | url-status=live}}</ref> The play was held at the [[August Wilson Theatre|ANTA Playhouse]].<ref name="telegraph"/> The following year, he played a telegraphist in the play ''[[Seagulls Over Sorrento#Original Play|Seagulls Over Sorrento]]'', performed at the [[John Golden Theatre]] beginning on September 11, 1952.<ref name=playbill/>{{sfn|Hischak|2009|p=407}}

Steiger's early roles, although minor, were numerous, especially in television series during the early 1950s, when he appeared in more than 250 live television productions over a five-year period.<ref name="NYT bio">{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/movies/person/67882/Rod-Steiger|title=Rod Steiger|work=[[The New York Times]]|author=Bozzola, Lucia|access-date=July 23, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150928052732/http://www.nytimes.com/movies/person/67882/Rod-Steiger|archive-date=September 28, 2015|url-status=live}}</ref> He was spotted by [[Fred Coe]], NBC's manager of program development, who increasingly gave him bigger parts. Steiger considered television to be what [[repertory theatre]] had been for an earlier generation, and saw it as a place where he could test his talent with a plethora of different roles. Soon afterward he began receiving positive reviews from critics such as [[John Crosby (media critic)|John Crosby]], who noted that Steiger regularly gave "effortless persuasive performances".{{sfn|Hutchinson|1998|p=71}} Among Steiger's credits were ''[[Danger (TV series)|Danger]]'' (1950–53),<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.tv.com/shows/danger/cast/ | title=Danger Cast | publisher=[[TV.com]] | access-date=October 3, 2015 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151003062422/http://www.tv.com/shows/danger/cast/ | archive-date=October 3, 2015 | url-status=live}}</ref> ''[[Lux Video Theatre]]'' (1951),<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.tv.com/shows/the-lux-video-theatre/cafe-ami-83391/ |title=Cafe Ami |publisher=TV.com |access-date=October 3, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151003062538/http://www.tv.com/shows/the-lux-video-theatre/cafe-ami-83391/ |archive-date=October 3, 2015 |url-status=live}}</ref> ''[[Out There (1951 TV series)|Out There]]'' (1951),<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.tv.com/shows/out-there-1951/ordeal-in-space-133930/cast/ |title=Ordeal in Space |publisher=TV.com |access-date=October 3, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151004113633/http://www.tv.com/shows/out-there-1951/ordeal-in-space-133930/cast/ |archive-date=October 4, 2015 |url-status=live}}</ref> ''[[Tales of Tomorrow]]'' (1952–53),<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.tv.com/shows/tales-of-tomorrow/the-window-131371/cast/ |title=The Window |publisher=TV.com |access-date=October 3, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151004142535/http://www.tv.com/shows/tales-of-tomorrow/the-window-131371/cast/ |archive-date=October 4, 2015 |url-status=live}}</ref> ''[[Gulf Playhouse|The Gulf Playhouse]]'' (1953),<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.tv.com/shows/gulf-playhouse/cast/ |title=Gulf Playhouse Cast |publisher=TV.com |access-date=October 3, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151004150253/http://www.tv.com/shows/gulf-playhouse/cast/ |archive-date=October 4, 2015 |url-status=live}}</ref> ''[[Medallion Theatre]]'' (1953),<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.tv.com/shows/medallion-theatre/cast/ |title=Medallion Theatre Cast |publisher=TV.com |access-date=October 3, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151004114645/http://www.tv.com/shows/medallion-theatre/cast/ |archive-date=October 4, 2015 |url-status=live}}</ref> ''[[Goodyear Television Playhouse]]'' (1953),<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.tv.com/shows/goodyear-television-playhouse/cast/ |title=Goodyear Television Playhouse Cast |publisher=TV.com |access-date=October 3, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151004154131/http://www.tv.com/shows/goodyear-television-playhouse/cast/ |archive-date=October 4, 2015 |url-status=live}}</ref> and as [[Shakespeare]]'s Romeo in "The First Command Performance of Romeo and Juliet (1957)" episode of ''[[You Are There (series)|You Are There]]'' in 1954, under director [[Sidney Lumet]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://bufvc.ac.uk/shakespeare/index.php/title/av66892|title=First Command Performance of Romeo and Juliet|publisher=[[British Universities Film & Video Council]]|access-date=July 23, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150928052844/http://bufvc.ac.uk/shakespeare/index.php/title/av66892|archive-date=September 28, 2015|url-status=live}}</ref> He continued to make appearances in various playhouse television productions, appearing in five episodes of ''[[Kraft Television Theatre|Kraft Theatre]]'' (1952–54), which earned him praise from critics,{{sfn|Wise|Rehill|1999|p=107}} six episodes of ''[[The Philco Television Playhouse]]'' (1951–55) and two episodes of ''[[Schlitz Playhouse of Stars]]'' (1957–58).<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.tv.com/shows/the-philco-television-playhouse/cast/ |title=The Philco Television Playhouse Cast |publisher=TV.com |access-date=October 3, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151004154542/http://www.tv.com/shows/the-philco-television-playhouse/cast/ |archive-date=October 4, 2015 |url-status=live}}</ref>{{sfn|Terrace|2008|p=620}} Steiger made his big screen debut in 1953, with a small role in [[Fred Zinnemann]]'s ''[[Teresa (1951 film)|Teresa]]'', shot in 1951.<ref name="telegraph"/> Steiger, who described himself as "cocky", won over Zinnemann by praising his direction. Zinnemann recalled that Steiger was "very popular, extremely articulate and full of remarkable memories", and the two remained highly respectful of each other for life.{{sfn|Hutchinson|1998|p=78}}

On May 24, 1953, Steiger played the title role in [[Paddy Chayefsky]]'s "[[Marty (The Philco Television Playhouse)|Marty]]" episode of the Goodyear Television Playhouse.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.emmytvlegends.org/interviews/shows/philco-goodyear-television-playhouse-marty|title=Philco-Goodyear Television Playhouse: Marty|publisher=[[Emmy Award|Emmytvlegends.org]]|access-date=July 21, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150928052943/http://www.emmytvlegends.org/interviews/shows/philco-goodyear-television-playhouse-marty|archive-date=September 28, 2015|url-status=live}}</ref> The role had originally been intended for [[Martin Ritt]], who later became a director.{{sfn|Hutchinson|1998|p=73}} "Marty" is the story of a lonely and homely butcher from [[the Bronx]] in search of love. The play was a critical success that increased Steiger's public exposure;<ref name="MAB"/> [[Tom Stempel]] noted that he brought "striking intensity to his performance as Marty, particularly in giving us Marty's pain".{{sfn|Stempel|1996|p=50}} As Steiger refused to sign a seven-year studio contract, he was replaced with [[Ernest Borgnine]] in the film ''[[Marty (film)|Marty]]'' (1955), which won the [[Academy Award for Best Picture]], as well as the Best Actor Oscar for Borgnine.{{sfn|Mell|2005|p=158}} 1953 proved to be Steiger's breakthrough year; he garnered [[Sylvania Award]]s for ''Marty'' and four other best performances of the year—as Vishinsky and [[Rudolf Hess]] in two episodes of ''You Are There'', as gangster Dutch Schultz in a thriller, and as a radar operator in ''My Brother's Keeper''.{{sfn|Hutchinson|1998|pp=74–75}}
[[File:Rod Steiger Marlon Brando On the Waterfront.jpg|thumb|left|250px|Steiger with [[Marlon Brando]] in ''[[On the Waterfront]]'' (1954)]]
For his role as Charley "the Gent", the brother of Marlon Brando's character in Elia Kazan's ''[[On the Waterfront]]'' (1954), Steiger was nominated for the [[Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor]].{{sfnm|1a1=Mell|1y=2005|1p=179|2a1=Rollins|2y=2015|2p=161}} Film writer [[Leo Braudy (academic)|Leo Braudy]] wrote that the "incessantly repeated images of its taxicab confrontation between Brando and Rod Steiger have made the film iconic".{{sfn|Braudy|2005|p=6}} The taxicab scene took eleven hours to shoot and was heavily scripted, despite Brando fuelling the popular myth in his autobiography that the scene was improvised. Brando stated that seven takes were needed because Steiger could not stop crying, which Steiger found to be unfair and inaccurate.{{sfn|Hutchinson|1998|p=88}} Although Steiger retained great respect for Brando as an actor,{{sfn|Hutchinson|1998|p=89}} he disliked him as a person and frequently complained during the production of Brando's "predilection for leaving the set" immediately after shooting his scenes.{{sfn|Wojcik|2004|p=139}} Steiger later remarked: "We didn't get to know each other at all. He always flew solo and I haven't seen him since the film. I do resent him saying he's just a hooker, and that actors are whores".<ref name="ST interview"/> Steiger also responded unfavorably when he learned that Kazan had been awarded an honorary Oscar by the Academy in 1999.<ref name="NYT bio"/>{{efn|Elia Kazan had been a member of the Communist Party in the 1930s; in 1952, Kazan was called before the [[House Un-American Activities Committee#Standing committee(1945–1975)|House Un-American Activities Committee]] which was investigating Communistic influence. Kazan supplied the committee with the names of eight people in the entertainment industry who were also members of the Communist Party in the 1930s. The names and information were used to create a blacklist for those working in the theatre which was similar to the [[Hollywood blacklist]] for entertainers working in motion pictures, radio and television. Many of those whose names wound up on one of the blacklists had their careers and lives ruined because of it. An argument was made by those who were against any type of blacklist that Kazan's supplying the names of the eight people had to do with monetary concerns and that he could have refused to reveal anyone's name. Kazan's friend, [[Arthur Miller]], who had also been a member of the Communist Party, was brought before the committee in 1956. Miller refused to mention any names at the hearing.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.pbs.org/wnet/americanmasters/elia-kazan-about-elia-kazan/642/|title=Elia Kazan-American Masters|publisher=[[PBS]]|date=September 3, 2003|access-date=September 2, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150928053129/http://www.pbs.org/wnet/americanmasters/elia-kazan-about-elia-kazan/642/|archive-date=September 28, 2015|url-status=live}}</ref>  For his refusal, Miller was declared in contempt of Congress and given a fine and a prison sentence on May 31, 1957. His US passport was also revoked.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/may/31/newsid_4417000/4417523.stm|title=1957: Arthur Miller guilty of contempt-On This Day|work=[[BBC News]]|access-date=September 2, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150928053234/http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/may/31/newsid_4417000/4417523.stm|archive-date=September 28, 2015|url-status=live}}</ref> Miller was cleared of the charges in August 1958.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/august/7/newsid_2946000/2946420.stm|title=1958: Arthur Miller cleared of contempt-On This Day|work=BBC News|access-date=September 2, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150928053348/http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/august/7/newsid_2946000/2946420.stm|archive-date=September 28, 2015|url-status=live}}</ref>}} In a 1999 interview with ''[[BBC News]]'', Steiger said he probably would not have done ''On the Waterfront'' if he'd known at the time that Kazan had provided the [[House Un-American Activities Committee]] with names of performers suspected of being Communists.<ref name="RSBBC">{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/352147.stm|date=May 25, 1999|title=Rod Steiger on surviving Hollywood|work=BBC News|access-date=September 21, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150928053357/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/352147.stm|archive-date=September 28, 2015|url-status=live}}</ref>

Steiger played Jud Fry in the film version of the [[Rodgers and Hammerstein]] musical ''[[Oklahoma! (film)|Oklahoma!]]'' (1955), in which he performed his own singing. It was one of the biggest location film productions of the 1950s, shot near [[Nogales, Arizona]],  with a crew of 325 people and some 70 trucks.<ref name="TCM Oklahoma">{{cite web | url=https://www.tcm.com/this-month/article/18550 | title=''Oklahoma!'' | publisher=Turner Classic Movies | access-date=September 1, 2015 | author=Landazuri, Margarita | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150928053449/http://www.tcm.com/this-month/article/18550%7C0/Oklahoma-.html | archive-date=September 28, 2015 | url-status=live}}</ref> Steiger portrayed a disturbed, emotionally isolated version of Jud, which television channel [[Turner Classic Movies]] (TCM) believed brought a "complexity to the character that went far beyond the stock musical villain".<ref name="TCM Oklahoma"/> Steiger observed that [[James Dean]], who auditioned for the role that went to [[Gordon MacRae]],<ref name="TCM Oklahoma"/> was a "nice kid absorbed by his own ego, so much so that it was destroying him", which he thought led to his death. Dean reportedly gave Steiger his prized copy of [[Ernest Hemingway]]'s book ''[[Death in the Afternoon]]'', and had underlined every appearance of the word "death".<ref name="ST interview"/>
[[File:Rod Steiger the Big Knife 2.jpg|thumb|right|250px|Steiger as film tycoon Stanley Shriner Hoff in ''[[The Big Knife]]'' (1955)]]
Later in 1955, Steiger played an obnoxious film tycoon, loosely based on Columbia boss [[Harry Cohn]],{{sfn|Hutchinson|1998|p=99}}{{efn|[[Frank Sinatra]] biographer [[Kitty Kelley]] describes Cohn as a figure notorious for being the "nastiest man in Hollywood", who kept an autographed portrait of dictator Mussolini in his office during World War II.{{sfn|Kelley|1986|p=207}}}} opposite [[Jack Palance]] and [[Ida Lupino]] in [[Robert Aldrich]]'s [[film noir]] ''[[The Big Knife]]''.<ref name="NYT bio"/> Steiger bleached his hair for the part, sought inspiration for the role from Russian actor [[Vladimir Sokoloff]], read a book about the [[Treblinka extermination camp]] to understand his character thoroughly, and visited the perfume department of a store in [[Beverly Hills, California]], to try to understand his character's contempt for women.{{sfn|Hutchinson|1998|pp=100–02}} Steiger and Palance did not get along during the production, and in one scene Palance threw several [[Gramophone record|record albums]] at Steiger in frustration, feeling that he was trying to steal the scene.{{sfn|Hutchinson|1998|p=101}} Steiger earned critical acclaim later that year for a role as a prosecuting major in [[Otto Preminger]]'s ''[[The Court-Martial of Billy Mitchell]]'', alongside [[Gary Cooper]] and [[Charles Bickford]].{{sfn|Hutchinson|1998|p=98}}

Steiger portrayed the character "Pinky" in [[Columbia Pictures]]' western, ''[[Jubal (film)|Jubal]]'' (1956), which co-starred [[Glenn Ford]] and Ernest Borgnine. Steiger's character is a rancher, a "sneering baddie",{{sfn|Hutchinson|1998|p=97}} who becomes jealous when his former mistress becomes attracted to Ford's character. Ford noted Steiger's deep commitment to method acting during production, considering him to be a "fine actor but a real strange fellow".{{sfn|Ford|2011|p=166}} Steiger disliked the experience and frequently clashed with director [[Delmer Daves]], who was more favorable to Ford's lighthearted take on the film.{{sfn|Hutchinson|1998|p=97}} Upon its release in April 1956, a writer for ''[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]]'' was impressed with the "evil venom" displayed by his character, and remarked that there had not "been as hateful a screen heavy around in a long time".{{sfn|Hutchinson|1998|p=98}}

In [[Mark Robson (film director)|Mark Robson]]'s 1956 boxing film noir ''[[The Harder They Fall (1956 film)|The Harder They Fall]]'', Steiger played a crooked boxing promoter who hires a sports journalist ([[Humphrey Bogart]] in his last role).{{sfn|Pontuso|2005|p=129}} Steiger referred to Bogart as "a professional" who had "tremendous authority" during filming.{{sfn|Fantle|Johnson|2009|p=140}}