Editing Rod Steiger (section)

==Early life and acting background==
[[File:West Side High Newark jeh.jpg|thumb|left|Steiger attended [[West Side High School (New Jersey)|West Side High School]] in [[Newark, New Jersey]], where he showed an early interest in acting.]]
Steiger was born on April 14, 1925, in [[Westhampton, New York]], the only child of Lorraine ([[married and maiden names|née]] Driver) and Frederick Steiger,{{sfn|Wise|Rehill|2007|p=241}}<ref name="CBSNews">{{cite web|title=Actor Rod Steiger dies|url=http://www.cbsnews.com/news/actor-rod-steiger-dies/|publisher=[[CBS News]]|date=July 9, 2002|access-date=April 24, 2016|author=Vries, Lloyd|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160424012141/http://www.cbsnews.com/news/actor-rod-steiger-dies/|archive-date=April 24, 2016|url-status=live}}</ref> of [[French people|French]], [[Scottish people|Scottish]], and [[Germans|German]] descent.<ref name="Guardian Obituary">{{cite web|author=French, Phillip|url=https://www.theguardian.com/film/2002/jul/14/features.review2|title=Steiger brought a sense of pain, guilt and authenticity to his characters|work=[[The Guardian]]|date=July 14, 2002|access-date=July 14, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150928052031/http://www.theguardian.com/film/2002/jul/14/features.review2|archive-date=September 28, 2015|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="telegraph">{{cite web|date=July 19, 2002 |title=Rod Steiger |work=[[The Daily Telegraph]] |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2002/07/10/db1001.xml |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071109233805/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=%2Fnews%2F2002%2F07%2F10%2Fdb1001.xml |archive-date=November 9, 2007 |access-date=July 23, 2015 |url-status=dead}}</ref> Rod was raised as a [[Lutheranism|Lutheran]]. He never knew his father, a [[Vaudeville|vaudevillian]] who had been part of a travelling song-and-dance team with Steiger's mother,<ref name="telegraph"/> but was told that he was a handsome Latino-looking man, who was a talented musician and dancer. Biographer Tom Hutchinson describes him as a "shadowy, fugitive figure", one who "haunted" Rod throughout his life and was an "invisible presence and unseen influence".{{sfn|Hutchinson|1998|p=25}}

Hutchinson described Steiger's mother as "plump, energetic and small, with long auburn hair".{{sfn|Hutchinson|1998|p=26}} She had a good singing voice and nearly became a Hollywood actress, but after a leg surgery permanently impaired her walking ability, she gave up acting and turned to alcohol.<ref name="TCMRS">{{cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BgROHB2CltE&t=8m15s|url-status=dead|title=Private Screenings Rod Steiger|publisher=[[Turner Classic Movies]]|date=May 2, 2014|access-date=July 31, 2015|archive-date=January 2, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160102015533/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BgROHB2CltE&t=8m15s}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=2194&dat=19850214&id=074yAAAAIBAJ&sjid=Xe8FAAAAIBAJ&pg=1356,1733952&hl=en|title=Rod Steiger explains his mother's alcoholism|work=[[Ottawa Citizen]]|date=February 14, 1985|access-date=July 23, 2015}}</ref> As a result, she quit show business and moved away from Westhampton to raise her son. They moved through several towns, including [[Irvington, New Jersey|Irvington]] and [[Bloomfield, New Jersey|Bloomfield]], before settling in [[Newark, New Jersey]].{{sfn|Hutchinson|1998|p=27}} Her alcoholism caused Steiger much embarrassment, and the family was frequently mocked by other children and their parents within the community.<ref name="MAB">{{cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MmzCFM9_U80| archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211113/MmzCFM9_U80| archive-date=November 13, 2021 | url-status=live|title=Rod Steiger Interview by Matias A. Bombal|publisher=MAB Archives|date=October 2000|access-date=July 24, 2015}}{{cbignore}}</ref> At the age of five he was sexually abused by a pedophile who lured him in with a butterfly collection.{{sfn|Hutchinson|1998|p=32}} Steiger said of his troubled family background: "If you had the choice of having the childhood you experienced, with your alcoholic mother and being the famous actor you are today, or having a loving, secure childhood and not being famous, which would you take? A loving, secure childhood in a New York minute".{{sfn|Bey|Bey|2007|p=11}} During the last 11 years of her life, Steiger's mother stayed sober and regularly attended [[Alcoholics Anonymous]] meetings. Steiger recalled: "I was so proud of her. She turned herself around. She came alive again".{{sfn|Fantle|Johnson|2009|p=141}}

During his childhood, and owing to his considerable strength and bulk, Steiger became known as "The Rock".{{sfn|Wise|Rehill|2007|p=241}} Despite being mocked over his mother's alcoholism, he was a popular figure at school and an able softball player.{{sfn|Hutchinson|1998|p=27}} He displayed an interest in writing poetry and acting during his adolescent years, and appeared in several school plays while at [[West Side High School (New Jersey)|West Side High School]] in Newark. Tired of fighting with his mother,{{sfn|Robe|1986|p=250}} he ran away from home at age sixteen to join the [[United States Navy]] during [[World War II]].

{{Quote box|width=30em|bgcolor=#c6dbf7|align=right|quote=I realised that they had killed their first human beings. Everything in their life, religion, society, parents had conditioned them not to kill. They were shocked that they had killed. To see this at first hand was shocking, but it was eventually useful for me as an actor even though it was a very difficult experience. That look in the eye was unforgettable.<ref name="ST interview"/>|source= — Steiger recalling his encounters with Marines who fought on [[Guadalcanal Campaign|Guadalcanal]]<ref name="ST interview"/> }}

He enlisted on May 11, 1942, and received his training at the [[Naval Station Newport|US Naval Training Station]] in [[Newport, Rhode Island]]. He joined the newly commissioned [[USS Taussig|USS ''Taussig'' (DD-746)]] on May 20, 1944.{{sfn|Wise|Rehill|2007|p=242}} While serving as a [[Torpedoman's mate|torpedoman]] on [[destroyer]]s, he saw action in the [[Pacific Ocean theater of World War II|South Pacific]], including the [[Battle of Iwo Jima]].<ref name="Guardian Obituary"/> Steiger later commented: "I loved the Navy. I was stupid enough to think I was being heroic."<ref name="ST interview">{{cite web|url=http://sabotagetimes.com/life/interview-with-a-legend-rod-steiger|title=Never Meet Your Hero. Unless it's Rod Steiger|first=Chris|last=Sullivan|date=November 20, 2011|work=[[Sabotage Times]]|access-date=July 23, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150724022907/http://sabotagetimes.com/life/interview-with-a-legend-rod-steiger|archive-date=July 24, 2015|url-status=usurped}}</ref> His experiences during the war haunted him for the rest of his life, particularly the loss of Americans during the Battle of Iwo Jima, as well as the sinking of vessels by the ''Taussig'' which were known to have women and children aboard.{{sfn|Wise|Rehill|2007|p=242}} On December 17, 1944, off the coast of [[Luzon]] in the Philippines, Steiger and the ''Taussig'' encountered [[Typhoon Cobra]], which became known as [[Typhoon Cobra|''Halsey's Typhoon'']], with winds reaching one hundred knots (115&nbsp;mph) and {{convert|80|foot}} waves. As a result, three U.S. destroyers were lost, but the ''Taussig'' survived, with Steiger tying a rope to himself on deck and flattening himself as waves engulfed the ship.{{sfn|Wise|Rehill|2007|p=242}}

After the war, the [[GI Bill]] paid for his rent at a room on West 81st Street in New York City, an income of just over $100 a month, and four years of schooling.<ref name="ST interview"/> He initially found a job oiling machines and washing floors.<ref name="MAB"/> He decided to attend a drama class, primarily because of its membership of attractive young women.<ref name="MAB"/> Known as the Civil Service Little Theater group, it was conducted by the Office of Dependents and Beneficiaries, where he was employed at the time.{{sfn|Wise|Rehill|2007|p=242}} This led him to start a two-year course at the [[The New School|New School for Social Research]], run by German émigré [[Erwin Piscator]].<ref name="ST interview"/> During one audition, Steiger was cast after barely uttering a few words, the director exclaiming he had a "fresh, wonderful quality".<ref name="MAB"/> Another talented pupil at the time was [[Walter Matthau]], who dubbed the institution "The Neurotic School for Sexual Research".<ref name="ST interview"/> Steiger was surprised to discover his own talent as an actor, and he was encouraged to pursue further studies at the Dramatic Workshop. One of the main reasons he wanted to be an actor was to regain public respect for his family name, which had so humiliated him during childhood.<ref name="MAB"/> Another important factor was his belief that he did not "have the temperament for a regular job", and would have ended up a miserable, violent alcoholic.{{sfn|Hutchinson|1998|p=33}} His only role model as an actor was [[Paul Muni]], who he thought was "the greatest",<ref name="MAB"/> although he also had a deep respect for French actor [[Harry Baur]] and, according to biographer Hutchinson, he admired [[Charlie Chaplin]] "to the point of adoration".{{sfn|Hutchinson|1998|pp=47, 59}}