Rod Steiger was an American actor who had an extensive career in film, television, and stage. He made his stage debut in 1946 with Civic Repertory Theatre's production of the melodrama Curse you, Jack Dalton!. He worked onstage in a production of An Enemy of the People at the Music Box Theatre. He had a small role in his film debut Teresa (1951). In 1953, he played the title role in the teleplay Marty. He had a breakout role for the crime film On the Waterfront (1954), and was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor. Steiger starred in the musical film Oklahoma! (1955).
Steiger played a crooked promoter in Mark Robson's boxing film noir The Harder They Fall (1956). In the British thriller Across the Bridge (1957), he played a German con-artist on the run in Mexico. He starred in Andrew L. Stone's thriller film Cry Terror! (1958). He played a real-life businessman Al Capone in Richard Wilson's 1959 biopic film of the same name. He played the lieutenant commander of the USS Satterlee set in Normandy landings for the war film The Longest Day (1962). Steiger played a highly educated blind man traveling West to found a school for the blind in California, in the S-4 / E-28 episode on the long-running Western TV series Wagon Train, "The Saul Bevins Story" (1961). For playing a survivor of the Holocaust in the drama The Pawnbroker (1964), he garnered a BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role, and nominations for the Academy Award and Golden Globe Award in the same category. The following year, he was cast in the role of a ruthless Russian Empire politician caught up in the 1917 Russian Revolutions and following Civil War in the epic Doctor Zhivago, which was the biggest box-office success of the 1960s, and was included in AFI's 100 Years...100 Movies. He won an Academy Award, a BAFTA and a Golden Globe Award for Best Actor for Norman Jewison's mystery drama In the Heat of the Night (1967), playing a Southern small town police chief coping with an unexpected murder. He played a serial killer in the thriller film No Way to Treat a Lady (1968), and ended the decade with the box-office bomb film Three into Two Won't Go (1969).
In the 1970s, Steiger starred in foreign productions and independent films in search of more demanding roles. His roles during the period include Waterloo (1970), about the famous 1815 battle ending the Napoleonic Wars in Europe, Duck, You Sucker! (1971), about the Irish Republican Army revolutionary in Mexico during their 1910–20 revolutionary period, Last Days of Mussolini (1975), about the Fascist Italian dictator in World War II, W. C. Fields and Me (1976), Roman Empire governor Pontius Pilate in Jesus of Nazareth (1977 TV miniseries), F.I.S.T. (1978), as a 1930s labor union boss, and The Amityville Horror (1979). After suffering a heart attack in 1979 and undergoing surgery, his poor health and subsequent unfortunate psychological depression took its toll on Steiger's career, and he was forced to appear in several low-budget B movies. Although he was nominated the following year for the Genie Award for Best Performance by a Foreign Actor for his roles in the Canadian productions Klondike Fever and The Lucky Star in 1980, and won the Montréal World Film Festival Award for Best Actor the next year for Jeremy Kagan's The Chosen (1981), his subsequent roles were mainly in low-budget films. In 1989, he played authority figures in two films, including The January Man and Tennessee Waltz.
In 1990, Steiger starred in Men of Respect, an adaptation of William Shakespeare's play Macbeth. His role in the critically panned thriller film, The Specialist (1994), earned him a nomination for the infamous Golden Raspberry Award for Worst Supporting Actor. Steiger appeared in both films, Shiloh (1995) and Shiloh 2: Shiloh Season (1998). He reunited with Jewison for the biopic film The Hurricane (1999), in which he played judge H. Lee Sarokin. He starred in the drama film The Last Producer (2000) and made his final film role for Poolhall Junkies (2002).
Film Title Year Role Director(s) Notes Teresa1951FrankFred ZinnemannFilm debutOn the Waterfront1954Charlie MalloyElia Kazan Oklahoma!1955Jud FryFred Zinnemann The Big Knife1955Stanley Shriner HoffRobert Aldrich The Court-Martial of Billy Mitchell1955Major Allan GuillonOtto Preminger The Harder They Fall1956Nick BenkoMark RobsonJubal1956'Pinky' PinkumDelmer Daves Back from Eternity1956VasquelJohn Farrow The Unholy Wife1957Paul HochenJohn Farrow Run of the Arrow1957Private O'MearaSamuel Fuller Across the Bridge1957Carl SchaffnerKen Annakin Cry Terror!1958Paul HoplinAndrew L. Stone Al Capone1959Al CaponeRichard Wilson Seven Thieves1960Paul MasonHenry HathawayWorld in My Pocket1961Frank MorganAlvin RakoffThe Mark1961Dr. Edmund McNallyGuy Green 13 West Street1962Sergeant KoleskiPhilip Leacock Convicts 41962TiptoesMillard KaufmanThe Longest Day1962Destroyer CommanderAndrew Marton Hands Over the City1963Edoardo NottolaFrancesco Rosi The Pawnbroker1964Sol NazermanSidney Lumet Time of Indifference1964LeoFrancesco MaselliThe Loved One1965Mr. JoyboyTony Richardson A Man Named John1965The IntermediaryErmanno Olmi Doctor Zhivago1965Victor Ipolitovich KomarovskyDavid Lean In the Heat of the Night1967Chief of Police Bill GillespieNorman Jewison The Girl and the General1967The GeneralPasquale Festa Campanile No Way to Treat a Lady1968Christopher GillJack Smight The Sergeant1968Sergeant Albert CallanJohn Flynn The Illustrated Man1969CarlJack Smight Three into Two Won't Go1969Steve HowardPeter Hall Waterloo1970Napoleon BonaparteSergei Bondarchuk Bridge from No Place1971Unseen NarratorWilliam Templeton 23-minute anti-drug documentaryDuck, You Sucker!1971Juan MirandaSergio LeoneHappy Birthday, Wanda June1971Harold RyanMark Robson Lolly-Madonna XXX1973Laban FeatherRichard C. SarafianThe Heroes1973Guenther Von LutzDuccio TessariLucky Luciano1973Gene GianniniFrancesco Rosi Last Days of Mussolini1975Benito MussoliniCarlo Lizzani Innocents with Dirty Hands1975Louis WormserClaude Chabrol Hennessy1975Niall HennessyDon Sharp W. C. Fields and Me1976W. C. FieldsArthur HillerF.I.S.T.1978Senator Andrew MadisonNorman Jewison Love and Bullets1979Joe BamposaStuart Rosenberg Breakthrough1979General WebsterAndrew V. McLaglen Portrait of a Hitman1979Max AndreottiAllan A. Buckhantz The Amityville Horror1979Father DelaneyStuart Rosenberg Klondike Fever1980Soapy SmithPeter Carter The Lucky Star1980Colonel GluckMax FischerLion of the Desert1980Benito MussoliniMoustapha Akkad Wolf Lake1980CharlieBurt Kennedy Cattle Annie and Little Britches1981Bill TilghmanLamont Johnson The Chosen1981Reb SaundersJeremy KaganThe Magic Mountain1982Mynheer PeeperkornHans W. GeißendörferThe Naked Face1984Lieutenant McGrearyBryan ForbesThe Kindred1987Phillip LloydStephen CarpenterJeffrey Obrow Catch the Heat1987Jason HannibalJoel SilbergAmerican Gothic1988PaJohn HoughThe January Man1989Mayor Eamon FlynnPat O'ConnorThat Summer of White Roses1989MartinRajko GrlićTennessee Waltz1989Judge PrescottNicolas GessnerMen of Respect1990Charlie D'AmicoWilliam C. ReillyThe Ballad of the Sad Cafe1991Reverend WillinSimon CallowGuilty as Charged1991KallinSam IrvinThe Player1992HimselfRobert Altman Kölcsönkapott idö1993SepakIstván Poór The Neighbor1993Dr. Myron HatchRodney Gibbons The Last Tattoo1994General Frank ZaneJohn Reid The Specialist1994Joe LeonLuis LlosaSeven Sundays1994BenjaminJean-Charles TacchellaCaptain Nuke and the Bomber Boys1995The PresidentCharles Gale Livers Ain't Cheap1996VictorJames MerendinoCarpool1996Mr. HammermanArthur HillerShiloh1996Doc WallaceChip RosenbloomMars Attacks!1996General DeckerTim BurtonTruth or Consequences, N.M.1997Tony VagoKiefer SutherlandIncognito1997Milton A. DonovanJohn BadhamThe Kid1997Harry SloanJohn HamiltonAnimals1998FontinaMichael Di JiacomoLegacy1998SadlerT.J. ScottThe Snatching of Bookie Bob1998Bob 'Bookie Bob'John SharianShort filmModern Vampires1999Abraham Van HelsingRichard ElfmanShiloh 2: Shiloh Season1999Doc WallaceSandy TungCrazy in Alabama1999Judge Louis MeadAntonio BanderasThe Hurricane1999Judge SarokinNorman JewisonEnd of Days1999Father KovakPeter HyamsCypress Edge2000Woodrow McCammonSerge RodnunskyBody and Soul2000Johnny TicotinSam Henry KassThe Last Producer2000Sheri GanseBurt Reynolds Lightmaker2000King OssoDieter Meier The Flying Dutchman2001Ben Robin P. MurrayA Month of Sundays2001Charley McCabeStewart RaffillThe Hollywood Sign2001Floyd BensonSönke WortmannPoolhall Junkies2002NickMars Callahan
Television Title Year Role Notes "Telas, the King"1950Guest appearanceActors Studio anthology series episode"Taste of Ashes"1950Guest appearanceDanger anthology series episode"Cafe Ami"1951Lux Video Theatre anthology series episode"Ordeal in Space"1951Out There anthology series episode"No Medals on Pop"1951Guest appearanceThe Philco Television Playhouse anthology series episode"The Window"1952HenryTales of Tomorrow anthology series episode"The Inn"1952Guest appearanceKraft Television Theatre anthology series episode"Alibi Me"1952Suspense anthology series episode"Raymond Schindler, Case One"1952Guest appearanceGoodyear Theatre anthology series episode"The Evil Within"1953PeterTales of Tomorrow anthology series episode"My Brother's Keeper"1953Kraft Television Theatre anthology series episode"Dream House"1953Guest appearanceKraft Television Theatre anthology series episode"Windy"1953Guest appearanceDanger anthology series episode"Cafe Society"1953First manThe Gulf Playhouse anthology series episode"The Dutch Schultz Story"1953Suspense anthology series episode "Marty" 1953 Marty The Philco Television Playhouse anthology series episode"The Quiet Village"1953Guest appearanceMedallion Theatre anthology series episode"Other People's Houses"1953Guest appearanceGoodyear Theatre anthology series episode"The Man Most Likely"1954Guest appearanceKraft Television Theatre anthology series episode"The Murderer Who Wasn't"1954Philip Morris Playhouse anthology series episode"Smoke Screen"1954Guest appearanceThe Philco Television Playhouse anthology series episode"In the Deep of the Night"1954Guest appearanceJustice anthology series episode"Yellow Jack"1955BuschProducers' Showcase anthology series episodeA Town Has Turned to Dust1958Harvey DentonPlayhouse 90, Season 2, Episode 38Jesus of Nazareth1977Pontius PilateMiniseriesCook & Peary: The Race to the Pole1983Robert E. Peary Television filmThe Glory Boys1984Professor David SokarevMiniseriesHollywood Wives1985Oliver EasterneMiniseriesSword of Gideon1986Mordechai Samuels Television filmDesperado: Avalanche at Devil's Ridge1988Silas Slaten Television filmPassion and Paradise1989Sir Harry OakesTelevision filmIn the Line of Duty: Manhunt in the Dakotas1991Gordon Kahl Television filmSinatra1992Biography and drama miniseriesThe Critic1994Himself (voice)Episode: "L.A. Jay"Tom Clancy's Op Center1995MiniseriesChoices of the Heart: The Margaret Sanger Story1995Anthony ComstockTelevision filmIn Pursuit of Honor1995Col. Owen Stuart Television filmOut There1995Col. Buck Gunner Television film"Strange Bedfellows"1995Vincenzo FortelliColumbo series episode (May 8)Redemption1996Oskar Rothman / Carl WolfeThe Commish series episode (January 11) Dalva1996John Wesley Northridge IITelevision filmLittle Surprises1996JoeShort filmThe Simpsons1998Captain TenilleVoiceEpisode: "Simpson Tide"Legacy1998SadlerTelevision filmThe Flying Dutchman2000BenTelevision filmThe Flying Dutchman, hannibalpictures.com, accessed July 18, 2021The Last Producer2000Television filmDinner for Five2002Guest appearance as himself Series episode (April 29) final television appearance
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