Full name, Rodney Stephen Steiger; born April 14, 1925, in Westhampton, NY; died of pneumonia and kidney failure, July 9, 2002, in Los Angeles, CA. Actor.Known for portraying tough characters as well as historical figures, Steigerenjoyed a long acting career that began in the late 1940s. Steiger began hiscareer in television, appearing in hundreds of live dramas on such series asGoodyear Television Playhouse, The Philco Television Playhouse, and Playhouse 90 in the late 1940s and early 1950s. In 1951 he madeboth his feature film debut, in Teresa, and his Broadway debut, in Night Music. Steiger received recognition and a Sylvania Award for his performance in "Marty," an episode of The Philco Television Playhouse,and the following year, in 1954, he landed his first Academy Award nominationfor his supporting role in On the Waterfront. After starring in a television pilot in 1957, Steiger focused on a film career and did not appear onthe small screen for two decades. Steiger appeared in countless films, the most notable of which were The Pawnbroker, for which he earned an Academy Award nomination for best actor in 1965, In the Heat of the Night,which garnered him an Academy Award for best actor in 1968, as well as a Golden Globe Award and an award from the British Academy of Film and Television Arts, and The Chosen. Among the historical figures Steiger portrayed were Napoleon Bonaparte, Benito Mussolini, and Rasputin. Steiger returned to television in 1977 to play Pontius Pilate in Jesus of Nazareth, a miniseries, and continued to work steadily in television until his death. He workedon the films Poolhall Junkies and A Month of Sundays prior tohis death.
Periodicals
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