Rod Steiger

Rodney Stephen "Rod" Steiger (April 14, 1925 – July 9, 2002) was an Academy Award-winning American actor known for his performances in such films as On the Waterfront, The Big Knife, Oklahoma!, The Harder They Fall, Across the Bridge, The Pawnbroker, Doctor Zhivago, In the Heat of the Night, and Waterloo as well as the television programs Marty and Jesus of Nazareth.

Early life

Steiger was born in Westhampton, New York, the son of Lorraine (née Driver) and Frederick Steiger, of French, Scottish, and German descent. Steiger was raised as a Lutheran. He never knew his father, a vaudevillian who had been part of a traveling song-and-dance team with Steiger's mother (who subsequently left show business). Steiger grew up with his alcoholic mother before running away from home at age sixteen to join the United States Navy during World War II, where he saw action on destroyers in the Pacific.

Career

Steiger appeared in over 100 motion pictures. He began his acting career in theatre and on live television in the early 1950s. On May 24, 1953, an episode of Goodyear Television Playhouse jump-started his career. The episode was the story of Marty written by Paddy Chayefsky. Marty is the story of a lonely homely butcher from the Bronx in search of love. Refusing to sign a seven-year studio contract, Steiger later turned down the role in the film version in 1955. Signing a studio contract at that time would "pigeon-hole" Steiger as to the roles he would later play and image portrayed on screen; those were two things Steiger objected to throughout his career. The role of Marty was turned over to Ernest Borgnine. Borgnine would receive the Academy Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role. Rod Steiger never regretted his decision to turn down the film role of Marty.

He won the Best Actor Oscar for his portrayal of Chief of Police Bill Gillespie in In the Heat of the Night (1967) opposite Sidney Poitier. He was nominated for the Best Supporting Actor Oscar for On the Waterfront (1954), in which he played Marlon Brando's character's brother. He was nominated again, this time for Best Actor, for the gritty The Pawnbroker (1965), a Sidney Lumet film in which Steiger portrays an emotionally withdrawn Holocaust survivor living in New York City.

He played Jud Fry in the film version of the Rodgers and Hammerstein musical Oklahoma!, in which he did his own singing. One of his favorite roles was as Komarovsky in Doctor Zhivago (1965). Steiger, the only American in the cast of that film, was initially apprehensive about working with such great British actors as Ralph Richardson and Alec Guinness and was afraid that he would stick out, but he won acclaim for his performance. He also befriended fellow actor Tom Courtenay on this film;[7] the two remained friends until Steiger's death.[citation needed]

He also appeared in The Big Knife as an overly aggressive film studio boss who berates film star Jack Palance; as Al Capone in Al Capone (1959); as Mr. Joyboy in The Loved One; as the serial killer in No Way to Treat a Lady; and as a repressed gay NCO in The Sergeant (1968); as Rabbi Saunders in The Chosen (1981).

He also played well-known figures such as Napoleon Bonaparte in Waterloo (1970); Benito Mussolini in The Last Four Days (1974) and again in Lion of the Desert (1981); W. C. Fields in W. C. Fields and Me (1976); Pontius Pilate in Franco Zeffirelli's TV miniseries Jesus of Nazareth (1977); and mob boss Sam Giancana in the TV miniseries, Sinatra (1992). He appeared in several Italian films, including Hands Over the City (1963) and Lucky Luciano (1974) (both Francesco Rosi's), and also Sergio Leone's A Fistful of Dynamite (1971). In France, he starred in Claude Chabrol's Innocents with Dirty Hands opposite Romy Schneider.

In his later years he appeared in The Amityville Horror (1979); The Specialist (1994), and Mars Attacks!. On television, he appeared in the miniseries Jackie Collins' Hollywood Wives (1985), Armistead Maupin's Tales of the City (1993), and a 1995 Columbo television film. Among his final roles was the judge in the prison drama, The Hurricane (1999). The film reunited him with director Norman Jewison, who had directed him in In the Heat of the Night. His last film was A Month of Sundays.[citation needed]

Steiger also starred in the film version of Kurt Vonnegut's play Happy Birthday, Wanda June (1971). In 1969, he appeared in the film adaptation of Ray Bradbury's The Illustrated Man with his then-wife, Claire Bloom. He was offered the title role in Patton, but turned it down because he did not want to glorify war.[8] The role was then given to George C. Scott, who won a Best Actor Oscar. Steiger called this refusal his "dumbest career move".[citation needed]

Personal life and death

Steiger was married five times: actress Sally Gracie (1952–1958),[9] actress Claire Bloom (1959–1969),[9] Sherry Nelson (1973–1979), Paula Ellis (1986–1997) and actress Joan Benedict Steiger (married 2000 until his death). He had a daughter, opera singer Anna Steiger (born in 1960) by Bloom, and a son, Michael Steiger (born in 1993), from his marriage to Ellis.

Steiger died of pneumonia and complications from surgery for a gall bladder tumor on July 9, 2002 in Los Angeles[9] and was buried in Forest Lawn - Hollywood Hills Cemetery. The film Saving Shiloh, released in 2006, was dedicated to his memory.

Filmography http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rod_Steiger#Filmography

http://ww2gravestone.com/people/steiger-rodney-stephen-rod/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rod_Steiger

Actor. Born Rodney Stephen Steiger, his parents had a song-and-dance act and following their divorce when he was a year old, he was raised by his mother and stepfather. His first encounter with acting was in a play during elementary school. He would drop out of high school to join the US Navy and during World War II, he served as a torpedo-man on a destroyer, as he saw action the South Pacific Theater, including the Battle of Iwo Jima. Upon his return home, he attained a job with the Department of Dependents and Beneficiaries while acting with an amateur group. With the aid of the G.I. Bill, he was able to study first with the New School for Social Research and later at the Actors Studio, where he became a perfect example of a "Method" actor. Steiger marked his professional debut in the Broadway production of "An Enemy of the People" (1950 to 1951) and during that same period initiated his Hollywood career in the film "Teresa" (1951). He played the role of Marty Pilletti during a 1953 TV episode of The Philco-Goodyear Television Playhouse, preceding Ernest Borgnine's Academy Award-winning performance by two years. His breakthrough role was as Marlon Brando's brother Charley Malloy in the classic picture "On the Waterfront", for which Steiger earned a Academy Award nomination and from that point on, the burly character performer who commanded screen presence found a wide range of parts in such films as "Oklahoma!" (1955, with a singing role), "The Harder They Fall" (1956, opposite Humphrey Bogart in his last picture), "Run of the Arrow" (1957) and the title role in "Al Capone" (1959). During the 1960, he reached the peak of his career, as he earned an Academy Award nomination for "The Pawnbroker" (1964), had a strong supporting performance in "Doctor Zhivago" (1965), and finally receiving an Oscar for his origination of Police Chief Gillespie opposite Sidney Poitier in the racially-charged "In the Heat of the Night" (1967). Among his other credits include "No Way to Treat a Lady" (1968), "The Sergeant" (1968), "Lolly-Madonna XXX" (1973), "W.C. Fields and Me" (1976), "Love and Bullets" (1979), "The Amityville Horror" (1979), "American Gothic" (1988). He was formerly married to actress Claire Bloom. He died of pneumonia following surgery to remove a tumor from his gallbladder. (bio by: [fg.cgi?page=mr&MRid=46798780" target="_blank C.S.)]

Inscription: Beloved Husband to Joan Beloved Father of Anna And Michael

        "See You Later" Maintained by: Find A Grave Record added: Jul 10, 2002

Find A Grave Memorial# 6593719

• Reference: Find A Grave Memorial - SmartCopy: Jul 9 2018, 16:05:10 UTC

Rodney Stephen "Rod" Steiger (April 14, 1925 – July 9, 2002) was an Academy Award-winning American actor known for his performances in such films as On the Waterfront, The Big Knife, Oklahoma!, The Harder They Fall, Across the Bridge, The Pawnbroker, Doctor Zhivago, In the Heat of the Night, and Waterloo as well as the television programs Marty and Jesus of Nazareth.

Early life

Steiger was born in Westhampton, New York, the son of Lorraine (née Driver) and Frederick Steiger, of French, Scottish, and German descent. Steiger was raised as a Lutheran. He never knew his father, a vaudevillian who had been part of a traveling song-and-dance team with Steiger's mother (who subsequently left show business). Steiger grew up with his alcoholic mother before running away from home at age sixteen to join the United States Navy during World War II, where he saw action on destroyers in the Pacific.

Career

Steiger appeared in over 100 motion pictures. He began his acting career in theatre and on live television in the early 1950s. On May 24, 1953, an episode of Goodyear Television Playhouse jump-started his career. The episode was the story of Marty written by Paddy Chayefsky. Marty is the story of a lonely homely butcher from the Bronx in search of love. Refusing to sign a seven-year studio contract, Steiger later turned down the role in the film version in 1955. Signing a studio contract at that time would "pigeon-hole" Steiger as to the roles he would later play and image portrayed on screen; those were two things Steiger objected to throughout his career. The role of Marty was turned over to Ernest Borgnine. Borgnine would receive the Academy Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role. Rod Steiger never regretted his decision to turn down the film role of Marty.

He won the Best Actor Oscar for his portrayal of Chief of Police Bill Gillespie in In the Heat of the Night (1967) opposite Sidney Poitier. He was nominated for the Best Supporting Actor Oscar for On the Waterfront (1954), in which he played Marlon Brando's character's brother. He was nominated again, this time for Best Actor, for the gritty The Pawnbroker (1965), a Sidney Lumet film in which Steiger portrays an emotionally withdrawn Holocaust survivor living in New York City.

He played Jud Fry in the film version of the Rodgers and Hammerstein musical Oklahoma!, in which he did his own singing. One of his favorite roles was as Komarovsky in Doctor Zhivago (1965). Steiger, the only American in the cast of that film, was initially apprehensive about working with such great British actors as Ralph Richardson and Alec Guinness and was afraid that he would stick out, but he won acclaim for his performance. He also befriended fellow actor Tom Courtenay on this film;[7] the two remained friends until Steiger's death.[citation needed]

He also appeared in The Big Knife as an overly aggressive film studio boss who berates film star Jack Palance; as Al Capone in Al Capone (1959); as Mr. Joyboy in The Loved One; as the serial killer in No Way to Treat a Lady; and as a repressed gay NCO in The Sergeant (1968); as Rabbi Saunders in The Chosen (1981).

He also played well-known figures such as Napoleon Bonaparte in Waterloo (1970); Benito Mussolini in The Last Four Days (1974) and again in Lion of the Desert (1981); W. C. Fields in W. C. Fields and Me (1976); Pontius Pilate in Franco Zeffirelli's TV miniseries Jesus of Nazareth (1977); and mob boss Sam Giancana in the TV miniseries, Sinatra (1992). He appeared in several Italian films, including Hands Over the City (1963) and Lucky Luciano (1974) (both Francesco Rosi's), and also Sergio Leone's A Fistful of Dynamite (1971). In France, he starred in Claude Chabrol's Innocents with Dirty Hands opposite Romy Schneider.

In his later years he appeared in The Amityville Horror (1979); The Specialist (1994), and Mars Attacks!. On television, he appeared in the miniseries Jackie Collins' Hollywood Wives (1985), Armistead Maupin's Tales of the City (1993), and a 1995 Columbo television film. Among his final roles was the judge in the prison drama, The Hurricane (1999). The film reunited him with director Norman Jewison, who had directed him in In the Heat of the Night. His last film was A Month of Sundays.[citation needed]

Steiger also starred in the film version of Kurt Vonnegut's play Happy Birthday, Wanda June (1971). In 1969, he appeared in the film adaptation of Ray Bradbury's The Illustrated Man with his then-wife, Claire Bloom. He was offered the title role in Patton, but turned it down because he did not want to glorify war.[8] The role was then given to George C. Scott, who won a Best Actor Oscar. Steiger called this refusal his "dumbest career move".[citation needed]

Personal life and death

Steiger was married five times: actress Sally Gracie (1952–1958),[9] actress Claire Bloom (1959–1969),[9] Sherry Nelson (1973–1979), Paula Ellis (1986–1997) and actress Joan Benedict Steiger (married 2000 until his death). He had a daughter, opera singer Anna Steiger (born in 1960) by Bloom, and a son, Michael Steiger (born in 1993), from his marriage to Ellis.

Steiger died of pneumonia and complications from surgery for a gall bladder tumor on July 9, 2002 in Los Angeles[9] and was buried in Forest Lawn - Hollywood Hills Cemetery. The film Saving Shiloh, released in 2006, was dedicated to his memory.

Filmography http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rod_Steiger#Filmography

http://ww2gravestone.com/people/steiger-rodney-stephen-rod/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rod_Steiger

Actor. Born Rodney Stephen Steiger, his parents had a song-and-dance act and following their divorce when he was a year old, he was raised by his mother and stepfather. His first encounter with acting was in a play during elementary school. He would drop out of high school to join the US Navy and during World War II, he served as a torpedo-man on a destroyer, as he saw action the South Pacific Theater, including the Battle of Iwo Jima. Upon his return home, he attained a job with the Department of Dependents and Beneficiaries while acting with an amateur group. With the aid of the G.I. Bill, he was able to study first with the New School for Social Research and later at the Actors Studio, where he became a perfect example of a "Method" actor. Steiger marked his professional debut in the Broadway production of "An Enemy of the People" (1950 to 1951) and during that same period initiated his Hollywood career in the film "Teresa" (1951). He played the role of Marty Pilletti during a 1953 TV episode of The Philco-Goodyear Television Playhouse, preceding Ernest Borgnine's Academy Award-winning performance by two years. His breakthrough role was as Marlon Brando's brother Charley Malloy in the classic picture "On the Waterfront", for which Steiger earned a Academy Award nomination and from that point on, the burly character performer who commanded screen presence found a wide range of parts in such films as "Oklahoma!" (1955, with a singing role), "The Harder They Fall" (1956, opposite Humphrey Bogart in his last picture), "Run of the Arrow" (1957) and the title role in "Al Capone" (1959). During the 1960, he reached the peak of his career, as he earned an Academy Award nomination for "The Pawnbroker" (1964), had a strong supporting performance in "Doctor Zhivago" (1965), and finally receiving an Oscar for his origination of Police Chief Gillespie opposite Sidney Poitier in the racially-charged "In the Heat of the Night" (1967). Among his other credits include "No Way to Treat a Lady" (1968), "The Sergeant" (1968), "Lolly-Madonna XXX" (1973), "W.C. Fields and Me" (1976), "Love and Bullets" (1979), "The Amityville Horror" (1979), "American Gothic" (1988). He was formerly married to actress Claire Bloom. He died of pneumonia following surgery to remove a tumor from his gallbladder. (bio by: [fg.cgi?page=mr&MRid=46798780" target="_blank C.S.)]

Inscription: Beloved Husband to Joan Beloved Father of Anna And Michael

        "See You Later" Maintained by: Find A Grave Record added: Jul 10, 2002

Find A Grave Memorial# 6593719

• Reference: Find A Grave Memorial - SmartCopy: Jul 9 2018, 16:05:10 UTC

April 14, 1925 – July 9, 2002 ודני סטיבן "רוד" סטייגר (באנגלית: Rodney Stephen "Rod" Steiger‏; 14 באפריל 1925 - 9 ביולי 2002) היה שחקן אמריקאי שזכה בפרס אוסקר לשחקן הטוב ביותר, פרס גלובוס הזהב ובפרס באפט"א בשנת 1967 על הופעתו בסרט "כחום הלילה". ידוע בהופעותיו בסרטים שזיכו אותו במועמדויות נוספות לאוסקר, וכיכב, בין השאר, בסרטים: חופי הכרך (1954), היום הארוך ביותר (1962), המשכונאי (1964), דוקטור ז'יוואגו (1965), חרב גדעון (1986), הפלישה ממאדים (1996), סוף העולם (1999) ו-"המפיק האחרון" (2001).

סטייגר נולד בניו יורק שבארצות הברית כבן יחיד. https://he.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D7%A8%D7%95%D7%93_%D7%A1%D7%98%D7%99...