Real Name: Terence Steven McQueen
Birthdate: March 24,1930
Birthplace: Beech Grove, Indiana
Deathdate: November 7,1980
Deathplace: Juárez, Mexico
Cause Of Death: Lung Cancer
Wives:
Neile Adams (1957 - 1972) (divorced)
Ali MacGraw (1973 - 1978) (divorced)
Barbara Minty (16 January 1980 - 7 November 1980) (his death)
Nickname: Bandito and The King Of Cool
Height: 5'9"
Of the 2000 performers that auditioned for Lee Strasberg's exclusive Actors' Studio in 1955, only two were accepted: Martin Landau and McQueen.
Ranked #30 in Empire (UK) magazine's "The Top 100 Movie Stars of All Time" list. [October 1997]
A week before the Woodstock Music Festival kicked off in Bethel, New York, McQueen had been invited for dinner at the Roman Polanski-Sharon Tate home in the Hollywood hills by mutual friend and hairdresser-to the-stars, Jay Sebring. An unexpected rendezvous with a mystery woman prompted him to cancel his appointment. In the wake of the Manson Family Tate-LaBianca murders at, respectively, 10050 Cielo Drive and 3301 Waverly Drive, McQueen would later learn that he was accorded the kind of priority billing for which he was unprepared: he topped Charles Manson's celebrity death list. Thereafter he carried a concealed weapon. (see also: Jerzy Kosinski and Jeremy Lloyd.) [8 August 1969]
Although he was the highest paid star of the 1960s Steve McQueen had a reputation for being tightfisted. On some films he would demand 10 electric razors, and dozens of pairs of jeans. It was later found out he gave this stuff to the Chino Reform School for boys, where he spent a few years himself.
Was expelled from the Carnegie Institute of Technology (now Carnegie Mellon University) for riding his motorcycle through the College of Fine Arts building.
Steve McQueen was issued a Private Pilots license by the FAA in 1979 after learning to fly in a STEARMAN BI-PLANE which he purchased for that purpose. After his death it was sold at auction with a large collection of vehicles by the estate in 1982.
Father of actor Chad McQueen.
Trained in Tae Kwan Do with 9th degree blackbelt Pat Johnson (NOT Bruce Lee and Chuck Norris as is popularly believed.)
Served in the United States Marine Corps.
Was diagnosed with a form of lung cancer, mesothelioma, which is related to asbestos exposure. Steve McQueen wore an asbestos-insulated racers suit in his race cars, and possibly was exposed to the harmful insulating material during his stint in the Marines.
Ashes scattered in the Pacific Ocean.
Chosen by Empire magazine as one of the 100 Sexiest Stars in film history (#19). [1995]
Was a pallbearer at the funeral of actor (and his martial arts instructor) Bruce Lee.
Dropped out of school in 9th grade.
Stepfather of Josh Evans.
McQueen proposed the idea for a film 'The Bodyguard', but this was forgotten for 16 long years, until 1992 when Kevin Costner revived it. [1976]
His role in Never So Few (1959)was originally going to be played by Sammy Davis Jr.. A feud had broken out between Davis Jr and Frank Sinatra after he had claimed in a radio interview that he was a greater singer than Sinatra. Sinatra demanded he be dropped from the cast, and thus McQueen received his breakthrough role.
Diagnosed with mesothelioma lung cancer on December 22, 1979, but kept his terminal illness a secret up until over a month before his death.
Died at 3:45 am on November 7, 1980 less than 24 hours after undergoing a successful surgery to remove the canerous tumors in his right lung.
