Decades of work on stage, screen, and television and the love of three
devoted men sounds like a full life; but in many ways, the story is
just beginning for veteran performer Joan Benedict Steiger. With
credits dating back to the original
Candid Camera (1953) on
television to her acclaimed solo performance as
Leona Helmsley, she has lived the
artistic life she first dreamed of as a child in Brooklyn, New York -
and the dream shows no signs of ending. "I always thought when I was
little I would be a dancer", Joan recalls today. "I was never really
built for ballet, but I was tap dancing in public at age seven when I
performed at the Brooklyn Academy of Music. I remember the first film I
ever saw was with
Fred Astaire and
Ginger Rogers, and as I was leaving the
theatre, I wanted to run back in, I knew I had to be a part of that
world". As the only grandchild in a large family - she had seven uncles
- Joan grew up in her grandfather's house off Prospect Park, where she
describes herself as "Eloise at the Plaza - every one of those rooms
was my magic room". Encouraged by her mother, young Joan studied at the
Rome Opera Ballet School, and spent time in Paris, soaking up her craft
and European culture and learning French and Italian. Back in America,
Joan continued her theatrical education by studying with legendary
acting coaches
Robert Lewis and
Stella Adler, founders of the Actor's
Studio in New York. That pursuit of her craft continues today, as she
continues to get a charge out of the challenge that each new acting job
brings. "The theatre for me is like being in church", she says with
sincerity. "When you feel the audience, and feel that communication
with other souls, it's like music. As a performer, I'm always pursuing
that wonderful experience where you are completely alert and clear, and
yet transported through your imagination". Her list of stage credits
include acclaimed productions of contemporary offerings such as
"Promises, Promises", "The Beauty Queen of Leenane", "Collected
Stories" by
Donald Margulies,
P.J. Barry's "The Octette Bridge Club",
Horton Foote's "The Traveling Lady" and
Morris West's "The World is Made of Glass";
opposite
Don Knotts in the comedy "The Mind
with the Dirty Man"; classics like "Richard III", "The Dyubbuk" and
"Dr. Faustus"; and her two solo shows, "Leona" (about notorious "Queen
of Mean"
Leona Helmsley) and the recent
"The Loves of My Life", based on her own life. On screen, she also
co-starred with Knotts and
Tim Conway in the
comedy
The Prize Fighter (1979).
Indeed, perhaps Joan Benedict Steiger's career is all the more
remarkable for having endured through three long-term relationships, to
what she describes as "three of the greatest guys in the world". While
marriages between professional actors are often fraught with jealousy
and competition, Joan has found lightning in a bottle all three times.
"Both of my husbands, and my lifetime partner, Jeremy, were wonderful
men who respected me as an actress", she recalls. "They all died from
different forms of cancer, so my memories are sometimes bittersweet,
but with no regrets". "Strangely, I met all three of these men when I
was in New York, just beginning my career while I was still a
teenager", she says. She was only 19 when she met actor
Rod Steiger, who took an instant liking to
her when they appeared on the same television show together. "I was in
complete awe of him at the time", she admits. "I remember walking out
after seeing him in the play "Rashomon" on Broadway, and seeing his
face on the marquee across the street for the movie
Al Capone (1959). I thought, what a
life - starring on Broadway and starring in a movie! Knowing him at
that age was like living in a fantasy". Though the initial romance with
Rod was short-lived, given their respective dedication to pursuing
their careers, Joan soon found herself in love with leading stage actor
John Myhers. "He toured in "The Sound of
Music" for three years as "Captain von Trapp", and I would take time
off to travel with him", she says. Settling in a home near Sunset Plaza
in the Hollywood Hills, their marriage lasted thirty years before
Myhers' passing. Then, in the late 1990s, Rod and Joan found each other
again. Rod had heard rave reviews of some of Joan's stage work. "I got
a call from him out of the blue...he'd been at a party where someone
had mentioned me, and we got together again after all those years".
Joan and Rod were nearly inseparable for the final years of his life,
becoming creative partners as well as spouses. "Rod was very impressed
with my acting. Whenever a script would arrive at the house, he'd ask
me to read it for my feedback, then he'd say 'Did you pick out your
part yet?'" They appeared in two films together,
A Month of Sundays (2001) and
the telefilm,
The Flying Dutchman (2001).
After a long life marked by tremendous highs and crushing lows -
Steiger acknowledged suffering from chronic depression for much of his
professional career - the Academy Award-winning actor seemed to find
new confidence and peace with his newly rediscovered love. "On one of
the films we made, on the last day of shooting, Rod presented me with
an Oscar-like statue he had made with my name on it, in front of the
entire crew", Joan remembers. "With me, he said he was another person,
and the only time in his life he had such happiness. He told me I was
the only woman who could bring love out of a stone". Steiger's passing
in 2002 was a devastating loss, but another friend from long ago was
able to fill some of the void. Actor
Jeremy Slate, a veteran of over 80
films and television shows dating back to 1959, was Joan's partner
until his passing in 2006. "They were all actors, writers, directors,
brilliant, funny men", Joan says of the men who captured her heart.
Throughout her life, Joan Benedict Steiger has worked simultaneously on
stage, in film, and on television. She's still remembered for a classic
bit from the original version of
Candid Camera (1953), where she
played a lost tourist looking for directions from passersby, making
sure that her fancy hat - beplumed with a particularly large feather -
would distract them at every opportunity. She was also part of the
ensemble of the original "Steve Allen Show", where she did double duty
as the spokesperson for Hazel Bishop cosmetics. On daytime drama, she
had regular and recurring roles on
General Hospital (1963),
Days of Our Lives (1965)
and
Capitol (1982). Her dozens of
series guest appearances include classic series like
Fantasy Island (1977),
T.J. Hooker (1982),
The Incredible Hulk (1978)
and, most recently, Fox's
Dollhouse (2009). Perhaps one of
Joan's most unusual jobs is one where she was asked to "fill in" - in a
manner of speaking - for a Hollywood legend. "I had been bothering the
casting director at MGM for a while when he finally told me, 'I have
something for you'." MGM was preparing to make the film
BUtterfield 8 (1960), starring
Elizabeth Taylor; the star had
been reluctant to cooperate because she was eager to begin work on the
epic
Cleopatra (1963). MGM wanted to
shoot the film in studios in New York and Taylor wanted to remain in
Los Angeles. Joan was asked if she could go to New York to rehearse the
film - playing Taylor's part - with director
Daniel Mann and the rest of the
cast. Joan worked for weeks reading Taylor's lines, and her dedication
paid off when she was awarded a small part (a single line) in the film
- for which she still earns residuals. The role won Taylor her only
Academy Award, but curiously, their paths would cross again years later
through their mutual acquaintance with
Rod Steiger. "When Rod and I were first
dating, he went to see Elizabeth about working on a new project", she
says. "This was a period when she wasn't feeling well, and Rod was one
of the people who really encouraged her to get well and return to
public life. That lead to speculation that Rod and Liz were dating and
he was going to be her next husband. Rod and I were on an airplane to
Spain, and he liked to read the tabloids: when I saw the headline
saying Liz and Rod were going to wed, I said, 'What's this all about?'
And he smiled at me and said, "Joan, I'm sitting next to YOU!" For now,
Joan Benedict Steiger keeps busy preserving the legacy of her late
husband, as well as continuing her stage, film, and television work
whenever the right opportunity presents itself. 'There's still so much
I can do, I'm still learning after all these years", she explains. "I
have a regular table at my favorite restaurant in Malibu and it faces
the door, because I want to watch everyone walk in, I want to observe
the way they use their body, because that's so much a part of my
process as an actress". She's also collecting materials for her
memoirs, but still knows that there are more chapters of her life left
to live, and many more roles left to play.