Despite his sometimes confrontational encounters with directors and producers, McQueen was still one of the biggest names in the movies during the 60’s and 70’s and was in the enviable position of dictating the salary he felt he deserved  for his movies.Steve McQueen was born on November 7th 1930 in Beech Grove, Indiana, where his father was a stunt pilot and almost as soon as Steve was born, left both Steve and his mother to fend for themselves. Steve’s mother decided that he would be best raised by his uncle Claude who lived in Missouri but by the time he was twelve years old his mother returned to his life with a new father. His mother and stepfather took him to live in California where his stepfather became abusive and soon Steve was mixing with a street gang and was sent to a ‘home for wayward boys’ in Chino Hills, California.

In 1947 McQueen joined the United States Marine Corps where he served until 1952. With a grant from the G.I. Bill, Steve began studying acting and moved to New York where  in 1955 he made his Broadway debut in ‘A Hatful of Rain’.One of McQueen’s early successes in the movies came in 1958 when he was cast in the horror movie ‘The Blob’. This gained him recognition in the film industry and he went on to replace Sammy Davis Jr in ‘Never so Few’ in which he starred with Frank Sinatra.

1960 brought Steve McQueen one of the leading roles in ‘The Magnificent Seven’ when he starred along side Yul Brynner, Robert Vaughn, Charles Bronson and James Coburn.Probably one of McQueen’s best remembered movies came in the 1963 blockbuster, ‘The Great Escape’ in which he starred with an all-star line up including James Garner, Richard Attenborough, James Coburn, Charles Bronson and Donald Pleasence.

Although one of the highest paid and sought after actors in Hollywood he received his only Academy Award for his appearance in the 1966 movie, ‘The Sand Pebbles’ when he starred with Candice Bergen.The 1970’s proved to be the busiest decade for Steve when he appeared in ‘Papillion’ with Dustin Hoffman, ‘Le Mans’  and the movie that made him the world’s highest paid actor at that time, ‘The Getaway’ when  he starred with Ali MacGraw whom he later married in 1973.  1974 saw McQueen starring with his friend Paul Newman in the disaster movie ‘Towering Inferno’.

McQueen was offered the lead role in Breakfast at Tiffany's but due to prior commitments had to refuse and the role went to George Peppard. He also turned down the original ‘Ocean's Eleven’, ‘Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid’ which starred Paul Newman and Robert Redford, ‘Apocalypse Now, and ‘Dirty Harry’with Clint Eastwood. He had been interested in starring in ‘First Blood’ but could not due to his illness/death. He had also been offered the role in ‘The Bodyguard’ that eventually went to Kevin Costner, when it was first proposed in 1976.

Steve McQueen was married three times during his life. His first marriage was to Neile Adams in 1956 which resulted in a 1972 divorce after the couple had a son and a daughter. His second marriage was to MacGraw whom he divorced in 1978. His third, and final marriage, was to Barbara Minty whom he married in January 1980 just eleven months before his death. At the time of his death he was in Chihuahua, Mexico when he suffered a heart attack while visiting the country for unconventional treatment for mesothelioma,  a rare form of cancer usually caused from asbestos exposure.

Steve leaves behind four grandchildren, Chase, Chad, Madison and Steven R McQueen who is also an actor.

ABB