Rod Steiger - ©Theda Bara

The name I highlight in this post is that of American actor Rod Steiger, who won the Academy Award for Best Actor in 1968 for his performance in the film “In the Heat of the Night” (1967), playing the Southern sheriff “Bill Gillespie”.

In addition to the Best Actor Oscar, Rod Steiger won two BAFTA awards: Best Foreign Actor in 1967 and 1968, and a Golden Globe Award: Best Actor in a Drama Film in 1968.

The actor had a peculiar habit: from a young age, he always carried a red handkerchief in his suit pocket. Whether this was due to fashion or superstition was never revealed when questioned in the numerous interviews he gave.

Rod Steiger has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, at 7080 Hollywood Boulevard, in the Cinema category.

Rodney Stephen Steiger was born on April 14, 1925, in Westhampton, New York, United States, and died on July 9, 2002, in Los Angeles, California, United States, at the age of 77.

Rod Steiger married five times throughout his life. His first wife was American actress Sally Gracie (1920-2001), from 1952 to 1958; his second wife was British actress Claire Bloom, born Patricia Claire Blume (1931-), from 1959 to 1969; his third wife was Canadian actress Sherry Nelson (1948-), from 1973 to 1979; his fourth marriage was to American art director Paula Jean Ellis (1950-2025), from 1986 to 1997; His last wife was the American actress Joan Benedict Steiger (1927-2024), to whom he was married for two years, from 2000 to 2002, until she was widowed.

Rod Steiger had two children: Anna Steiger (1960-), a British opera singer, from his marriage to Claire Bloom, and the American film producer Michael Steiger (1987-), from his relationship with Paula Ellis.