Rod Steiger died of kidney failure and pneumonia on Tuesday aged 77 following a gall bladder operation. The actor is perhaps best known for his Oscar-winning role as the tough Southern police chief in the racially charged 1967 movie Heat Of The Night, in which he starred alongside Sidney Poitier.
Born on Long Island, New York, in 1925, Steiger enjoyed a 55-year career in television and on the silver screen. Movie highlights included On The Waterfront with Marlon Brando, Doctor Zhivago and the musical Oklahoma. Playing an enormously wide range of characters, from Rasputin to Pontius Pilate to American leader Ulysses S Grant, he starred opposite some of the greatest names in the industry, including Humphrey Bogart, Edward G Robinson and Jack Nicholson.
After leaving high school, Steiger lied about his age in order to join the Navy and spent four years serving in the Pacific during World War II, including stints on Iwo Jima and Okinawa. The experience was to leave a profound impression on the youngster and he later said that it was his military service which prompted him to consider a career in acting. “I tell young actors today to join the merchant marines for a year…you get to see different peoples, cultures, dress. It’s a marvellous education for an actor.”
After the war he relocated to New York where he studied acting and later became a devotee of the Method approach. He honed his craft on the small screen, starring in more than 250 dramas between 1947 and 1953, and frequently returned to TV after finding success in the movies.
Despite its overall stature, Steiger’s career was not without its lean moments. Following his Heat Of The Night Oscar win he didn’t land any roles for two years, for example. Dogged throughout his life by depression he did little work during the Eighties as a result.
Married and divorced four times, he had a son, Ellis, born in 1993, and a daughter Anna, now an opera singer.
As news of the actor’s death was released tributes poured in from his peers. “’The legend’ is now legend, and I’ll miss him,” said 007 star Pierce Brosnan, with whom Steiger co-starred in Mars Attacks. Sylvester Stallone, who appeared alongside the actor in F.I.S.T and The Specialist, said: “Rod was one of the greatest actors of our time.”
Photo: © Alphapress.com
Photo: © Alphapress.com
