Is Rod Steiger Living or Dead?

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By Android Grove

Updated 18 March 2023

Image info

Artist	Burrows-Ackerman/Allied Artists
Credit	trailer at IMDB
License	pd
Desc	Rod Steiger in Al Capone from the trailer for the film.
Usage	Public domain

Image info/credit

actor

Rod Steiger is ...

Dead

Born	14 April 1925 in New York
Died	9 July 2002 in Los Angeles
Age	77 years, 3 months
Cause	pneumonia

Sex or gender	male
Country of citizenship	United States of America
Manner of death	natural causes
Spouse	Claire Bloom
Occupation	actor, television actor and film actor
Nominated for	Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor, Academy Award for Best Actor and Academy Award for Best Actor
Awards	Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Motion Picture Drama, Silver Bear for Best Actor, David di Donatello for Best Foreign Actor and Academy Award for Best Actor

About Rod Steiger

Rod Steiger was a force to be reckoned with in Hollywood. Born on April 14, 1925, in Westhampton, New York, Steiger's career spanned over five decades and included some of the most iconic roles in film history.

Steiger's early years were marked by a tumultuous childhood, including a strained relationship with his father and a stint in the Navy during World War II. But it was his passion for acting that ultimately propelled him to success.

Steiger's breakout role came in 1954's "On the Waterfront," where he played the corrupt union boss Charley Malloy opposite Marlon Brando. The role earned him an Academy Award nomination and cemented his place in Hollywood.

Throughout the 1960s, Steiger continued to take on challenging roles, including the lead in "The Pawnbroker" (1964), which earned him another Oscar nomination. He also starred in the classic western "The Magnificent Seven" (1960) and the war drama "The Longest Day" (1962).

But it was his portrayal of the racist police chief Bill Gillespie in 1967's "In the Heat of the Night" that earned Steiger his first and only Academy Award for Best Actor. The film, which tackled issues of race and prejudice, remains a powerful and relevant work of cinema.

Steiger continued to work steadily throughout the 1970s and 1980s, taking on a variety of roles in films like "W.C. Fields and Me" (1976) and "The Amityville Horror" (1979). He also made a memorable appearance in the music video for Michael Jackson's "Bad" in 1987.

In his later years, Steiger remained active in the industry, appearing in films like "The Specialist" (1994) and "Mars Attacks!" (1996). He passed away on July 9, 2002, at the age of 77.

Steiger's legacy as an actor is undeniable. He brought a raw intensity and emotional depth to his performances that set him apart from his peers. As film critic Roger Ebert once wrote, "Rod Steiger was one of the most powerful actors of his generation, and his work will endure."

About Death

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

Films - which cast members have died?

Rod Steiger has been a part of these films.

Click to see which cast and crew are living and dead!

The Longest Day

1962 war film

Doctor Zhivago

1965 film by David Lean

Mars Attacks!

1996 American science fiction-comedy film

In the Heat of the Night

1967 film by Norman Jewison

Waterloo

1970 film by Sergei Bondarchuk

Duck, You Sucker!

1971 film directed by Sergio Leone

On the Waterfront

1954 film by Elia Kazan

Oklahoma!

1955 film by Fred Zinnemann

The Hurricane

1999 film by Norman Jewison

The Amityville Horror

1979 American supernatural horror film

The Pawnbroker

1964 film by Sidney Lumet

End of Days

1999 American action film

The Loved One

1965 film by Tony Richardson

F.I.S.T.

1978 film by Norman Jewison

No Way to Treat a Lady

1968 black comedy thriller directed by Jack Smight

The Specialist

1994 film by Luis Llosa

The Harder They Fall

1956 film by Mark Robson

Lion of the Desert

1981 film by Moustapha Akkad

Modern Vampires

1999 film by Richard Elfman

The Illustrated Man

1969 American science fiction film

The January Man

1989 film by Pat O'Connor

Crazy in Alabama

1999 comedy-drama film

The Big Knife

1955 film by Robert Aldrich

The Court-Martial of Billy Mitchell

1955 film by Otto Preminger

W.C. Fields and Me

1976 film by Arthur Hiller

Back from Eternity

1956 film by John Farrow

The Chosen

1981 film by Jeremy Kagan

Truth or Consequences, N.M.

1997 film by Kiefer Sutherland

Jubal

1956 Western

Poolhall Junkies

2002 film by Mars Callahan

Cry Terror!

1958 film by Andrew L. Stone

The Mark

1961 film by Guy Green

Seven Thieves

1960 film by Henry Hathaway

American Gothic

1988 Canadian film

Al Capone

1959 film by Richard Wilson

The Naked Face

1984 film by Bryan Forbes

The Unholy Wife

1957 film by John Farrow

Shiloh

1996 film by Chip Rosenbloom

13 West Street

1962 film by Philip Leacock

Carpool

1996 film by Arthur Hiller

Love and Bullets

1979 film by John Huston, Stuart Rosenberg

Lolly-Madonna XXX

1973 film by Richard C. Sarafian

Innocents with Dirty Hands

1975 film by Claude Chabrol

Men of Respect

1990 crime drama film

Cattle Annie and Little Britches

1981 film by Lamont Johnson

Breakthrough

1979 war film

Run of the Arrow

1957 film by Samuel Fuller

Teresa

1951 film by Fred Zinnemann

Hennessy

1975 film by Don Sharp

Convicts 4

1962 film by Millard Kaufman

Happy Birthday, Wanda June

1971 film by Mark Robson

Across the Bridge

1957 British film

Hands Over the City

1963 film by Francesco Rosi

Last Days of Mussolini

1974 film by Carlo Lizzani

The Magic Mountain

1982 film by Hans W. Geißendörfer

Lucky Luciano

1973 film by Francesco Rosi

The Sergeant

1968 film by John Flynn

Three Into Two Won't Go

1969 film by Peter Hall

The Hollywood Sign

2001 film by Sönke Wortmann

Gli indifferenti

1964 film by Francesco Maselli

The Lucky Star

1980 film by Max Fischer

The Girl and the General

1967 film by Pasquale Festa Campanile

Death of a Salesman

1966 film by Alan Cooke

World in My Pocket

1961 film by Alvin Rakoff

Tennessee Waltz

1989 film by Nicolas Gessner

The Heroes

1973 film by Duccio Tessari

Seven Sundays

1994 film by Jean-Charles Tacchella

Portrait of a Hitman

A Man Named John

1965 film by Ermanno Olmi

That Summer of White Roses

1989 film by Rajko Grlić

The Neighbor

Wolf Lake

1978 film by Burt Kennedy

A Month of Sundays

2001 film by Stewart Raffill

Guilty as Charged

1991 American film

Catch the Heat

1987 film by Joel Silberg

Animals

1998 film by Michael Di Jiacomo