Steve McQueen

Steve McQueen Background information Born as: Terrence Stephen McQueen Born Mar 24, 1930 Beech Grove, Indiana, U.S. Died Nov 7, 1980 - at age 49 Ciudad Juárez, Mexico Cancer (Smoking & Asbestos exposure) Spouse(s): Neile Adams (1956 - 1972) divorced Ali MacGraw (1973 - 1978) divorced Barbara Minty (1980 - ) Children: 2, including Chad McQueen Relatives: Steven R. McQueen (grandson) Occupation: Actor (1952–1980) Nationality: American Editor's note about articles in this category Military Service 1946 - 1950 Allegiance  : United States Branch: Merchant Marine (1946-1947) United States Marines (1947-1950) Rank/Rate: Private First Class

Terrence Stephen McQueen (March 24, 1930 – November 7, 1980) was an American actor. His antihero persona, emphasized during the height of 1960s counterculture, made him a top box office draw for his films from the late 1950s to the mid-1970s. He was nicknamed the "King of Cool" and used the alias "Harvey Mushman" when participating in motor races.

McQueen received an Academy Award nomination for his role in The Sand Pebbles (1966). His other popular films include The Cincinnati Kid (1965), Nevada Smith (1966), The Thomas Crown Affair (1968), Bullitt (1968), The Getaway (1972), and Papillon (1973), along with ensemble films such as The Magnificent Seven (1960), The Great Escape (1963), and The Towering Inferno (1974). He became the world's highest-paid movie star in 1974; however, he did not appear in a film for another four years after that. Although he was combative with directors and producers, his popularity placed him in high demand and enabled him to negotiate the largest salaries.

Diagnosed with terminal cancer, McQueen flew to Mexico in October 1980 for surgery to remove or reduce tumors in his neck and abdomen, disregarding the advice of American doctors who warned him that his cancer was inoperable and that his heart could not withstand the surgery. A few weeks later, he died at age 50 of a heart attack following the surgery at a hospital in Ciudad Juárez, where he checked in under a fake name and was operated on by hospital staff who were unaware of his true identity.

Early life

Terrence Stephen McQueen was born at St. Francis Hospital in Beech Grove, Indiana, on March 24, 1930, the son of Julia Ann (or Julianne) Crawford and flying circus stunt pilot William McQueen. He was of Scottish descent and grew up in a Catholic household. He was raised by his mother, who was abandoned by his father six months after they met. Several biographers have stated that his mother was an alcoholic. Unable to cope with caring for him, she decided in 1933 to leave him with her parents, Lillian and Victor, in Slater, Missouri. As the Great Depression worsened, McQueen and his grandparents moved in with Lillian's brother Claude and his family at their farm in Slater. McQueen later said that he had good memories of living on the farm, noting that his great-uncle Claude was a "very good, very strong, [and] very fair" man from whom he "learned a lot. "

Claude gave McQueen a red tricycle on his fourth birthday, which McQueen subsequently credited with sparking his early interest in car racing. His mother, who had since married, brought McQueen from the farm to live with her and his stepfather in Indianapolis when he was eight years old. He later recalled, "The day I left the farm, Uncle Claude gave me a personal going-away present—a gold pocket watch, with an inscription inside the case." The inscription read: "To Steve, who has been a son to me." Dyslexic and partially deaf due to a childhood ear infection, McQueen did not adjust well to school or his new life, and his stepfather beat him to such an extent that he left home to live on the streets at the age of nine.[11] He later said, "When a kid doesn't have any love when he's small, he begins to wonder if he's good enough. My mother didn't love me, and I didn't have a father. I thought, 'Well, I must not be very good.'"

Julia wrote to Claude when McQueen was 12, asking that he be returned to her to live in Los Angeles, where she lived with her second husband. By McQueen's own account, he and his new stepfather "locked horns immediately". McQueen recalls him being "a prime son of a bitch" who was not averse to beating both McQueen and Julia. McQueen began to rebel again and was sent back to live with Claude for a final time. At age 14, he left Claude's farm without saying goodbye and joined a circus for a short time so he could travel to reconnect with his mother. He joined his mother and stepfather in Los Angeles, resuming his life as a gang member and petty criminal. He was caught stealing hubcaps by the police and handed over to his stepfather, who beat him severely and threw him down a flight of stairs. McQueen looked up at his stepfather and said, "You lay your stinking hands on me again and I swear I'll kill you."

After this incident, McQueen's stepfather persuaded his mother to sign a court order declaring that McQueen was incorrigible, remanding him to the California Junior Boys Republic in Chino Hills. McQueen began to change and mature there, but he was not popular with the other boys at first: "Say the boys had a chance once a month to load into a bus and go into town to see a movie. And they lost out because one guy in the bungalow didn't complete his work correctly. Well, you can pretty well guess they're gonna have something to say about that. I paid my dues with the other fellows quite a few times. I got my lumps, no doubt about it. The other guys in the bungalow had ways of paying you back for interfering with their well-being."

McQueen gradually became a role model and was elected to the Boys Council, a group that set the rules and regulations governing the boys' lives. He left the Boys Republic at the age of 16. When he later became famous as an actor, he would regularly return to speak with the resident boys and maintain a lifelong association with the center. At 16, he returned to live with his mother, who had since moved to New York City's Greenwich Village. There, he met two sailors from the Merchant Marine and decided to sign on to a ship bound for the Dominican Republic. Once there, he abandoned his new post and was eventually employed at a brothel. He later ventured to Texas and drifted from job to job, including selling pens at a traveling carnival and working as a lumberjack in Canada. Upon his arrest for vagrancy in the Deep South, he served a 30-day assignment on a chain gang.

In 1947, after receiving permission from his mother since he was not yet 18, McQueen enlisted in the Marines and was sent to Parris Island for boot camp. He was promoted to private first class and assigned to an armored unit. He initially struggled with conforming to the service's discipline and was demoted to private seven times. He took an unauthorized absence, failing to return after a weekend pass expired, and was caught by the shore patrol while staying with his girlfriend Barbara Ross for two weeks. After resisting arrest, he was sentenced to 41 days in the brig. After this, he resolved to focus his energies on self-improvement and embraced the Marines' discipline. He saved the lives of five other Marines during an Arctic exercise, pulling them from a tank before it broke through ice into the sea. He was assigned to the honor guard responsible for guarding USS Williamsburg ^↗, the presidential yacht of Harry S. Truman. He served until 1950, when he was honorably discharged. He later said he had enjoyed his time in the Marines, remembering it as a formative time in his life: "The Marines made a man out of me. I learned how to get along with others, and I had a platform to jump off of." 

Stunts, motor racing and flying

McQueen was an avid motorcycle and race car enthusiast. When he had the opportunity to drive in a movie, he performed many of his own stunts, including some of the car chases in Bullitt and the motorcycle chase in The Great Escape. Although Bud Ekins did the jump over the fence in The Great Escape for insurance purposes, McQueen had considerable screen time riding his 650 cc Triumph TR6 Trophy motorcycle. It was difficult to find riders as skilled as McQueen. At one point, through editing, McQueen is seen in a German uniform chasing himself on another bike. Around half of the driving in Bullitt was performed by Loren Janes.

McQueen and John Sturges planned to make Day of the Champion, a movie about Formula One racing, but McQueen was busy with the delayed The Sand Pebbles.

McQueen considered becoming a professional race car driver. He had a one-off outing in the British Touring Car Championship in 1961, driving a BMC Mini at Brands Hatch and finishing third. In the 1970 "12 Hours of Sebring" race, Peter Revson and McQueen (driving with a cast on his left foot from a motorcycle accident two weeks earlier) won with a Porsche 908/02 in the three-litre class. It missed winning overall by 21.1 seconds to Mario Andretti/Ignazio Giunti/Nino Vaccarella in a five-litre Ferrari 512S. This same Porsche 908 was entered by his production company Solar Productions as a camera car for Le Mans in the 1970 24 Hours of Le Mans later that year. McQueen wanted to drive a Porsche 917 with Jackie Stewart in that race, but the film backers threatened to pull their support if he did. Faced with the choice of driving for 24 hours in the race or spending the entire summer making the film, McQueen opted for the latter.

McQueen participated in off-road motorcycle racing, often riding a BSA Hornet and known by the alias Harvey Mushman. He was also scheduled to co-drive a Triumph 2500 PI for the British Leyland team in the 1970 London-Mexico rally, but had to decline due to film obligations. His first off-road motorcycle was a 500 cc Triumph, acquired from Ekins. McQueen competed in several major off-road races on the West Coast, including the Baja 1000, Mint 400, and Elsinore Grand Prix.

In 1964, McQueen and Ekins participated in the inaugural official U.S. team entry in the Silver Vase category of the "International Six Days Trial" (ISDT), an Enduro-style off-road motorcycling event held that year in Erfurt, East Germany. The "A" team arrived in England in late August to pick up their combination of 649 cc and 490 cc twins from the Triumph factory before modifying them for off-road purposes. Initially disappointed by the transport arrangements from a long-standing English motorcycle dealer, Triumph dealer H&L Motors intervened to provide a suitable vehicle. Upon arriving in Germany, the team, accompanied by their English temporary manager, was taken aback to discover that a Vase' B team, made up of American expatriates living in Europe, had entered the competition privately using European-sourced bikes.

McQueen's competition number for the ISDT was 278, determined by the order of trials. Both teams faced multiple crashes. On day three, McQueen had to retire due to severe crash damage, while Ekins withdrew after suffering a broken leg. Ultimately, only one member from the "B" team completed the six-day event. UK monthly magazine Motorcycle Sport noted: "Riding Triumph twins...[the team] rode everywhere with great dash, if not in admirable style, falling off frequently and obviously out for six days of sport without too many worries about who was going to win (they knew it would not be them). "

McQueen was inducted into the Off-road Motorsports Hall of Fame in 1978. In 1971, McQueen's Solar Productions funded the classic motorcycle documentary On Any Sunday, which features McQueen along with racing legends Mert Lawwill and Malcolm Smith. That same year, he also appeared on the cover of Sports Illustrated magazine riding a Husqvarna dirt bike.[62]

McQueen designed a motorsports bucket seat, for which a patent was issued in 1971.

In a segment filmed for The Ed Sullivan Show, McQueen drove Sullivan around a desert area in a dune buggy at high speed. Afterward, Sullivan said, "That was a 'helluva' ride!"

According to McQueen's son, Chad, Steve possessed approximately 100 classic motorcycles alongside around 100 exotic and vintage cars.

Despite various efforts, McQueen was never able to buy the Ford Mustang GT 390 he drove in Bullitt, which had a modified drivetrain tailored to his driving style. One of the two Mustangs used in the film suffered severe damage, deemed beyond repair, and was thought to be scrapped until it reappeared in Mexico in 2017. The other Mustang, which McQueen tried to acquire in 1977, remains out of public view. At the 2018 North American International Auto Show, the GT 390 was showcased in its current unrestored state alongside the 2019 Ford Mustang "Bullitt."

McQueen also owned and flew, among other aircraft, a 1945 Stearman, tail number N3188 (his student number in reform school), a 1946 Piper J-3 Cub, and an award-winning 1931 Pitcairn PA-8 biplane, flown in the U.S. Mail Service by famed World War I flying ace Eddie Rickenbacker. They were hangared at Santa Paula Airport, an hour northwest of Hollywood, where he spent his final days.

Personal life

Relationships and friendships

McQueen dated British-American actress Gia Scala whilst attending Stella Adler's school in New York.

On November 2, 1956, McQueen wed Filipino actress and dancer Neile Adams, with whom he had a daughter, Terry Leslie (June 5, 1959 – March 19, 1998), and a son, Chad (December 28, 1960 – September 11, 2024). McQueen and Adams divorced on March 14, 1972. Like his father, Chad pursued careers in acting and racing. In her autobiography, "My Husband, My Friend", Adams revealed that she underwent an abortion in 1971 amidst their troubled marriage

Through his son Chad, one of McQueen's four grandchildren is Steven R. McQueen, who also became an actor. His granddaughter, through his daughter Terry, is actress and producer Molly McQueen.

Mamie Van Doren claimed to have had an affair with McQueen and tried hallucinogens with him around 1959. Actress-model Lauren Hutton stated that she also had an affair with McQueen around 1964. In 1971–1972, while separated from Adams, McQueen was involved with Junior Bonner co-star Barbara Leigh, which ended in pregnancy and abortion.

McQueen married his The Getaway co-star Ali MacGraw in Cheyenne, Wyoming, on July 12, 1973, and they divorced on August 9, 1978. MacGraw suffered a miscarriage during their marriage. McQueen's closest friend in his last years, martial-arts master Pat Johnson, claimed that MacGraw was the one true love of McQueen's life: "He was madly in love with her until the day he died."

In 1973, McQueen was one of the pallbearers at Bruce Lee's funeral, along with James Coburn, Lee's brother Robert, Peter Chin, Dan Inosanto, and Taky Kimura.

After discovering a mutual interest in racing, McQueen and The Great Escape co-star James Garner became good friends and lived near each other. McQueen recalled, "I could see that Jim was neat around his place. Flowers trimmed, no papers in the yard... grass always cut. So to piss him off, I'd start lobbing empty beer cans down the hill into his driveway. He'd have his drive all spick 'n' span when he left the house, then get home to find all these empty cans. Took him a long time to figure out it was me."

On January 16, 1980, less than 10 months before his death, McQueen married fashion model Barbara Minty. In her book Steve McQueen: The Last Mile, Barbara Minty wrote that McQueen, who was raised Catholic, became an Evangelical Christian toward the end of his life. This change was influenced in part by his flying instructor Sammy Mason, Mason's son Pete, and Barbara herself. McQueen attended his local church, Ventura Missionary Church, and was visited by evangelist Billy Graham shortly before his death.

Lifestyle

McQueen's mug shot booking photographs for DUI in Alaska (1972). McQueen followed a daily two-hour exercise regimen involving weightlifting and, at one point, running 5 miles (8 km), seven days a week. McQueen learned the martial art Tang Soo Do from ninth-degree black belt Pat E. Johnson.

Photographer William Claxton noted that McQueen smoked marijuana nearly every day. Biographer Marc Eliot mentioned that McQueen consumed significant amounts of cocaine during the early 1970s. He was also a frequent cigarette smoker. Occasionally, McQueen drank excessively; he was arrested for driving under the influence in Anchorage, Alaska, in 1972.

Manson connection

Two months following Charles Manson's prompting of the Tate murders, which involved McQueen's friends Sharon Tate and Jay Sebring, reports emerged that police discovered a hit list containing McQueen's name. As relayed by his first wife, McQueen started to carry a handgun in public at all times, even at Sebring's funeral.

Charitable causes

McQueen was known for requesting bulk free items from studios when agreeing to a film, including electric razors, jeans, and other goods. It was eventually revealed that McQueen donated these items to the Boys Republic reformatory school, where he had spent part of his adolescence.

Political views

Despite being registered as a Republican, McQueen supported Democratic candidate Lyndon B. Johnson in the 1964 presidential election, but reverted to supporting Republican candidate Richard Nixon in the 1968 presidential election.

Illness and death

In early 1978, McQueen started experiencing a chronic cough. He quit smoking and received antibiotic treatments, but his condition did not improve. His shortness of breath became more severe, and on December 22, 1979, after completing filming for The Hunter, a biopsy confirmed he had pleural mesothelioma, a cancer linked to asbestos exposure that currently has no known cure.

A few months later, McQueen gave a medical interview in which he blamed his condition on asbestos exposure. McQueen believed that asbestos used in movie sound stage insulation and race drivers' protective suits and helmets might have played a role; however, he thought it more likely that his illness was a direct result of extensive exposure while removing asbestos lagging (insulation) from pipes aboard a troop ship during his service in the Marines.

By February 1980, significant evidence of widespread metastasis emerged. Although he attempted to keep his condition private, on March 11, 1980, the National Enquirer revealed that he had "terminal cancer". In July 1980, McQueen went to Rosarito Beach, Mexico, for alternative treatment after U.S. doctors informed him they could offer no further help to extend his life. This trip sparked controversy as McQueen sought treatment from William Donald Kelley, who advocated a variant of Gerson therapy involving coffee enemas, frequent shampoo washing, daily injections containing live cells from cattle and sheep, massages, and laetrile, a controversial anti-cancer drug available in Mexico known for its toxicity and lack of effectiveness against cancer. McQueen funded Kelley's treatments in cash, reportedly costing over $40,000 per month (approximately $153,000 in 2024) during his three-month stay in Mexico. Kelley's only medical license, which was revoked in 1976, was for orthodontics, a dental specialty. Kelley's methods attracted significant attention in both traditional and tabloid media once it became public that McQueen was his patient.

McQueen returned to the U.S. in early October. Despite metastasis of the cancer throughout his body, Kelley publicly announced that McQueen would be completely cured and could return to everyday life; however, his condition soon worsened, and huge tumors developed in his abdomen.

In late October 1980, McQueen traveled to Ciudad Juárez, Mexico, for surgery to remove an abdominal tumor on his liver, which weighed approximately 5 lbs (2.3 kg). This was done against the advice of his American doctors, who declared the tumor inoperable and warned that his heart might not tolerate the procedure. Using the alias Samuel Sheppard, he entered a small clinic in Juárez where the medical staff was unaware of his true identity. Sadly, on November 7, 1980, he passed away from a heart attack at 3:45 a.m. in a Juárez hospital, just 12 hours after undergoing surgery to either remove or reduce several metastatic tumors found in his neck and abdomen. He was 50 years old at the time. Reports indicate he died peacefully in his sleep with family members by his side.

Leonard DeWitt from Ventura Missionary Church led McQueen's memorial service. McQueen was cremated, and his ashes were scattered in the Pacific Ocean.

Legacy

In 2007, 27 years after his passing, Forbes noted that McQueen continued to be a beloved star, still regarded as the "King of Cool, " and ranked among the highest-earning deceased celebrities. The head of a rights-management agency praised Branded Entertainment Network (then known as Corbis) for enhancing his estate's profitability by restricting the licensing of McQueen's image, thus avoiding the commercial overexposure that many other deceased celebrities' estates faced. By 2007, McQueen's estate was listed among the top 10 highest-earning dead celebrities.

McQueen was inducted into the Hall of Great Western Performers in April 2007 during a ceremony at the National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum.

In November 1999, McQueen was inducted into the Motorcycle Hall of Fame. He was credited with contributions such as financing the film " On Any Sunday, " supporting a team of off-road riders, and enhancing the overall public image of motorcycling.

On March 16, 2010, the Beech Grove, Indiana, Public Library officially dedicated the Steve McQueen Birthplace Collection to honor the 80th anniversary of McQueen's birth, which takes place on March 24, 1930.

There is a street named after McQueen in San Antonio, Texas.

In 2012, McQueen was posthumously honored with the Warren Zevon Tribute Award by the Asbestos Disease Awareness Organization (ADAO).

' Steve McQueen: The Man & Le Mans', a 2015 documentary, explores the actor's pursuit to create and star in the 1971 auto-racing film Le Mans. His son, Chad McQueen, and former wife, Neile Adams, are among those interviewed.

On September 28, 2017, select theaters featured a presentation of the film Steve McQueen- American Icon, which chronicles his life story and spiritual journey. An encore showing took place on October 10, 2017. The film garnered largely favorable reviews. Kenneth R. Morefield from Christianity Today noted it "offers a timeless reminder that even those among us living the most celebrated lives often long for the peace and sense of purpose that only God can provide. " Michael Foust of Wordslingers described it as "one of the most powerful and inspiring documentaries I've ever seen. "

In the 2019 Quentin Tarantino film Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, McQueen is portrayed by Damian Lewis. McQueen also appears as a character in Tarantino's novel of the same name.

Archive

The Academy Film Archive houses the Steve McQueen-Neile Adams Collection, which consists of personal prints and home movies. The archive has preserved several of McQueen's home movies.

Ford commercials

In 1998, director Paul Street created a commercial for the Ford Puma. Footage was shot in modern-day San Francisco, set to the theme music from Bullitt. Archive footage of McQueen was used to digitally superimpose him driving and exiting the car in settings reminiscent of the film. The Puma shares the same number plate as the classic fastback Mustang used in Bullitt, and as he parks in the garage (next to the Mustang), he pauses and looks meaningfully at a motorcycle tucked in the corner, similar to that used in The Great Escape.

At the Detroit Auto Show in January 2018, Ford introduced the 2019 Mustang Bullitt. To help with the announcement, they enlisted actress Molly McQueen, the granddaughter of Steve McQueen. After briefly sharing details about the tribute car, a short film featured Molly meeting the original Bullitt Mustang, a 1968 Mustang Fastback equipped with a 390 cubic-inch engine and a four-speed manual transmission. This classic car had been kept within the same family since 1974 and had remained out of public view until it was revealed, driven from underneath the press stand and down the center aisle of Ford's booth to great excitement.

Filmography

Wikipedia article: Steve McQueen Filmography

Acting

Wikipedia article: Steve McQueen Acting

Bibliography

• Niemi, Robert (October 17, 2013). Inspired by True Events: An Illustrated Guide to More Than 500 History-Based Films, 2nd Edition: An Illustrated Guide to More Than 500 History-Based Films. Santa Barbara, California: ABC-CLIO. ISBN 978-1-61069-198-7. 
• Sanford, Christopher (February 19, 2003). McQueen: The Biography. Lanham, Maryland: Taylor Trade Publications. ISBN 978-0-87833-307-3. 
• Wright, Kate (2004). Screenwriting is Storytelling: Creating an A-list Screenplay That Sells!. New York City: Penguin Group. ISBN 978-0-399-53024-1. 

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