Biography
Rod Steiger was an American actor. Born on 14 April 1925 in Westhampton, New York, he served in the US Navy during the Second World War before studying at the Actors Studio in New York. He appeared in more than 250 live television productions and originated the title role in the 1953 teleplay Marty.
Steiger made his film debut in Teresa (1951) and received his first Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor as Charley Malloy in On the Waterfront (1954). He later won the Academy Award for Best Actor for his performance as Police Chief Bill Gillespie in In the Heat of the Night (1967). Other notable film roles include The Pawnbroker (1964), Doctor Zhivago (1965) and The Hurricane (1999). He died on 9 July 2002 in Los Angeles.
