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Rod Steiger got his first breaks in 50s New York area television productions. His anti-hero look made him the perfect Marty - a sweet, ordinary guy hiding a deep well of fear and anger. Even an early theatrical like Al Capone looks reminiscent of a tv show from that era, because the cast and crew were all drawn from that milieu.

Some of Steiger's earliest performances have survived on video. In a bizarrely self-referential episode of Tales of Tomorrow called "The Window", the station picks up the sights and sounds of two lovers planning to bump off the woman's husband. A fake series entry and a fake commercial are both interrupted by the couple's arguments. (The floor manager and announcer even played themselves onstage, just like Biff on Letterman!) Steiger must've had the censors gnawing their nails down while he glued himself nose to knees up against his co-star and practically suffocated her into silence.

Some folks have tried to come up with filmographies like this one, and Planet Out even sports a clip from The Sergeant, a controversial film not yet released on video.
Here's the best we can do, quoting the most recent prices, which may no longer apply:

Some crucial elements are not currently available from us for various reasons. The most puzzling omissions are In the Heat of the Night (blame either MGM or a distributor's input error) and The Loved One, which looked gorgeous the last time it screened on Public TV. Some were on labels that went under, leaving many films in rights limbo: Lucky Luciano was on Nelson; Black Water on Academy. Also out of reach are Hennessy, last on HBO, and Waterloo, once on Paramount. Two titles have such redundant names we can't be sure which is which: there are a good handful of Jesus of Nazareth and Kindred tapes.

Search any of the titles above or the actor's name in our main database!

Not everyone with a Steiger page on the net is publicizing a film or video... Recent interviews were posted at Yahoo and at People. One collects his pithiest quotations! Another can get you some nice looking autographed photos from the time of filming Al Capone, with or without the scar, and another collector's page has a pic of him signing! One photog has posted an exclusive portrait. There's also a short mention, with pics, of him getting a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. Was this April First Chat real or a cruel practical joke?

Last updated May 26, 1998.

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