Editing Steve McQueen

{{Short description|American actor (1930–1980)}}
{{About||the British film director|Steve McQueen (director)|other people of the same name}}
{{Use American English|date=March 2025}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=March 2025}}
{{Infobox person
| name         = Steve McQueen
| image        = Steve-McQueen-1968 (cropped).jpg
| caption      = McQueen in 1968
| birth_name   = {{nowrap|Terrence Stephen McQueen}}
| birth_date   = {{Birth date|1930|3|24}}
| birth_place  = [[Beech Grove, Indiana]], U.S.
| death_date   = {{Death date and age|1980|11|7|1930|3|27}}
| death_place  = [[Ciudad Juárez]], Mexico
| years_active = 1952–1980
| occupation   = Actor
| spouse       = {{Ubl|{{marriage|[[Neile Adams]]|1956|1972|reason=divorced}}|{{marriage|[[Ali MacGraw]]|1973|1978|reason=divorced}}|{{marriage|[[Barbara Minty]]<br />|1980}}}}
| children     = 2, including [[Chad McQueen]]
| relatives    = [[Steven R. McQueen]] (grandson)
| website      = {{Official URL}}
| module       = {{Infobox military person|embed=yes
 | branch       = {{Ubl|[[United States Marine Corps]]|[[United States Merchant Marine]]}}
 | serviceyears = {{Ubl|1946 (Merchant Marine)|1947–1950 (USMC)}}
 | rank         = [[Private first class]]
 | unit         = 
 | battles      = 
 }}
}}

'''Terrence Stephen McQueen''' (March 24, 1930{{spaced ndash}}November 7, 1980) was an American actor. His [[antihero]] persona, emphasized during the height of [[counterculture of the 1960s|1960s counterculture]], made him a top box office draw for his films of 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 Awards|Academy Award]] nomination for his role in ''[[The Sand Pebbles (film)|The Sand Pebbles]]'' (1966). His other popular films include ''[[The Cincinnati Kid]]'' (1965), ''[[Nevada Smith]]'' (1966), ''[[The Thomas Crown Affair (1968 film)|The Thomas Crown Affair]]'' (1968), ''[[Bullitt]]'' (1968), ''[[The Getaway (1972 film)|The Getaway]]'' (1972) and ''[[Papillon (1973 film)|Papillon]]'' (1973), in addition to [[Ensemble cast|ensemble]] films such as ''[[The Magnificent Seven]]'' (1960), ''[[The Great Escape (film)|The Great Escape]]'' (1963), and ''[[The Towering Inferno]]'' (1974). He became the world's highest-paid movie star in 1974; however, following this, he did not appear in a film for another four years. Although he was combative with directors and producers, his popularity placed him in high demand and enabled him to negotiate the largest salaries.<ref>{{cite web |last=Lehman |first=Craig |date=January 27, 2015 |url=http://buffaloreflex.com/heritage/steve-mcqueen-becomes-highest-paid-actor-in-the-world/article_815f608e-a680-11e4-954f-6733e6d64b0e.html |title=Steve McQueen Becomes Highest-Paid Actor in the World |work=Buffalo Reflex |access-date=March 22, 2019 |archive-date=March 22, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190322033014/http://buffaloreflex.com/heritage/steve-mcqueen-becomes-highest-paid-actor-in-the-world/article_815f608e-a680-11e4-954f-6733e6d64b0e.html |url-status=live }}</ref>

Diagnosed with terminal cancer, McQueen flew to Mexico in October 1980 for surgery to remove or reduce tumors in his neck and abdomen, against 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<ref name="Aaker 2017" />{{Rp|292}}<ref name="Laurie 2019" />{{Rp|233}} was born at [[St. Francis Hospital & Health Centers|St. Francis Hospital]] in [[Beech Grove, Indiana]], on March 24, 1930,<ref name="CineArtistes">{{cite web |url=http://www.cineartistes.com/?page=images&id=573&type=3 |title=Indiana State Board of Health Certificate of Birth |website=CineArtistes.com |access-date=January 8, 2019 |archive-date=September 5, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170905231832/http://www.cineartistes.com/?page=images&id=573&type=3 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="Terrill 1993" /><ref>{{cite news |title=Obituary |work=[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]] |date=November 12, 1980 }}</ref> the son of Julia Ann (or Julianne) Crawford<ref name="CineArtistes" /><ref name="untold">{{cite book |url=https://archive.org/details/mcqueenuntoldsto0000spie |url-access=registration |title=McQueen: The Untold Story of a Bad Boy in Hollywood |first=Penina |last=Spiegel |publisher=Berkley Books |date=1987 |via=[[Internet Archive]] |access-date=January 15, 2012 |isbn=978-0-425-10486-6 }}</ref>{{Rp|9}} and flying circus [[stunt pilot]] William McQueen.<ref name="Terrill 1993" /> He was of Scottish descent and grew up in a [[Catholic Church in the United States|Catholic]] household.<ref>{{cite web |last=Mackay |first=Kathy |url=http://www.people.com/people/archive/article/0,,20077667,00.html |title=Steve McQueen, Stricken with Cancer, Seeks a Cure at a Controversial Mexican Clinic |work=[[People (magazine)|People]] |quote=Raised as a Catholic, he now feels he has, according to one friend, 'made his peace with God.' |date=October 20, 1980 |access-date=August 7, 2010 |archive-date=April 30, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100430175930/http://www.people.com/people/archive/article/0,,20077667,00.html |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last=Leith |first=William |url=http://www.newstatesman.com/200111260047 |title=Easy Rider |work=[[New Statesman]] |quote=Steve knew what it was like to be dyslexic, deaf, illegitimate, backward, beaten, abused, deserted and raised Catholic in a Protestant heartland. |date=November 26, 2001 |archive-date=June 8, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110608154525/http://www.newstatesman.com/200111260047 |url-status=live |access-date=August 7, 2010 }}</ref> He was raised by his mother, who was abandoned by his father six months after they met.<ref name="Terrill 2020" />{{Rp|158}} Several biographers have stated that his mother was an alcoholic.<ref name="untold" />{{Rp|72}}<ref name="Eliot">{{cite book |first=Marc |last=Eliot |title=Steve McQueen: A Biography |publisher=[[Crown Publishing Group]] |date=2011 |isbn=978-0-307-45323-5 }}</ref><ref name="Nolan 1984" />{{Rp|7–8}}<ref>{{cite book |last=McQueen Toffel |first=Neile |title=My Husband, My Friend |publisher=Penguin Group |date=1986 |page=[https://archive.org/details/myhusbandmyfrien00toff/page/4 4] |isbn=978-0-451-14735-6 |url=https://archive.org/details/myhusbandmyfrien00toff/page/4 }}</ref> 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.<ref name="Terrill 1993" /> 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".<ref name="Terrill 1993" />

Claude gave McQueen a red tricycle on his fourth birthday, which McQueen subsequently credited with sparking his early interest in car racing.<ref name="Terrill 1993" /> 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."<ref name="Nolan 1984" /> Dyslexic and partially deaf due to a childhood ear infection,<ref name="Terrill 1993" /> 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.<ref name="Eliot" /> 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.{{'"}}<ref name="Terrill 2020" />{{Rp|7}} 

Julia wrote to Claude when McQueen was 12, asking that he be returned to her again to live in [[Los Angeles]], where she now lived with her second husband. By McQueen's own account, he and his new stepfather "locked horns immediately".<ref name="Terrill 1993" /> McQueen recalls him being "a prime son of a bitch" who was not averse to beating both McQueen and Julia.<ref name="Terrill 1993" /> McQueen began to rebel again and was sent back to live with Claude for a final time.<ref name="Terrill 1993" /> At age 14, he left Claude's farm without saying goodbye and joined a circus for a short time.<ref name="Terrill 1993" /> He drifted back to his mother and stepfather in Los Angeles, resuming his life as a gang member and petty criminal.<ref>{{Cite book |url=https://press.uchicago.edu/ucp/books/book/distributed/S/bo52924796.html |title=Steve McQueen |publisher=Dalton Watson Fine Books |access-date=November 9, 2020 |archive-date=April 16, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210416113238/https://press.uchicago.edu/ucp/books/book/distributed/S/bo52924796.html |url-status=live }}</ref> He was caught stealing [[hubcap]]s 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."<ref name="Terrill 1993" />

After this incident, McQueen's stepfather persuaded his mother to sign a court order stating that McQueen was incorrigible, remanding him to the [[Boys Republic|California Junior Boys Republic]] in [[Chino Hills, California|Chino Hills]].<ref name="Terrill 1993" /> McQueen began to change and mature there, but 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 get his work done right. 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."<ref>{{cite book |last=McCoy |first=Malachy |title=Steve McQueen, The Unauthorized Biography |publisher=Signet Books |date=1975 |isbn=978-0-352-39811-6 }}</ref>

McQueen gradually became a role model and was elected to the Boys Council, a group who set the rules and regulations governing the boys' lives.<ref name="Terrill 1993" /> He left the Boys Republic at age 16. When he later became famous as an actor, he regularly returned to talk to resident boys and retained a lifelong association with the center.<ref>{{cite book |last=Gehring |first=Wes D. |date=April 20, 2013 |title=Steve McQueen: The Great Escape |publisher=Indiana Historical Society |isbn=978-0-87195-309-4 |pages=15–16 }}</ref> At age 16, he returned to live with his mother, who had since moved to New York City's [[Greenwich Village]]. He met two sailors from the [[United States Merchant Marine|Merchant Marine]] there and decided to sign on to a ship bound for the Dominican Republic.<ref name="Terrill 1993" /> Once there, he abandoned his new post and was eventually employed at a [[brothel]].<ref name="Eliot" /> 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]].<ref name="Terrill 2020" />{{Rp|28}}

In 1947, after receiving permission from his mother since he was not yet 18 years old, McQueen enlisted in the [[United States Marine Corps|Marines]] and was sent to [[Marine Corps Recruit Depot Parris Island|Parris Island]] for boot camp.<ref name="Laurie 2019" />{{Rp|106}}<ref name="Fried 2006" /><ref name="Zimmerman 2017" /> He was promoted to [[private first class]] and assigned to an armored unit.<ref name="Terrill 1993" /> He initially struggled with conforming to the discipline of the service 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 [[Military prison#Brig|brig]].<ref name="Terrill 1993" /> 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.<ref name="Terrill 1993" /><ref>{{cite web |last=Enk |first=Bryan |date=July 26, 2013 |title=Real Life Tough Guys |url=https://www.yahoo.com/entertainment/photos/real-life-tough-guys-1374864278-slideshow/ |website=Yahoo |access-date=March 13, 2025 }}</ref> He was assigned to the honor guard responsible for guarding [[USS Williamsburg|USS ''Williamsburg'']], the presidential yacht of [[Harry S Truman|Harry S. Truman]].<ref name="Terrill 1993" /> He served until 1950, when he was [[Honorable discharge|honorably discharged]].<ref name="Laurie 2019" />{{Rp|106}}<ref name="Fried 2006" /><ref name="Zimmerman 2017" /> He later said he had enjoyed his time in the Marines,<ref>{{cite book |last=Gehring |first=Wes D. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=BzYHlGCGMgYC&pg=PA20 |title=Steve McQueen:The Great Escape |publisher=[[Indiana Historical Society]] |isbn=978-0-87195-333-9 |date=April 20, 2013 |access-date=January 10, 2020 |archive-date=April 24, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210424215426/https://books.google.com/books?id=BzYHlGCGMgYC&pg=PA20 |url-status=live }}</ref> 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."<ref name="Terrill 2020" />{{Rp|39}}

==Acting==
===1950s===
In 1952, with financial assistance under the [[G.I. Bill]], McQueen began studying acting in New York at [[Sanford Meisner]]'s [[Neighborhood Playhouse]] and at [[HB Studio]]<ref>{{Cite web |title=HB Studio – Notable Alumni |url=https://hbstudio.org/about-hb-studio/alumni/ |access-date=August 19, 2020 |website=HB Studio |archive-date=December 2, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171202154941/https://hbstudio.org/about-hb-studio/alumni/ |url-status=live }}</ref> under [[Uta Hagen]].<ref name="Terrill 1993" /> He reportedly delivered his first dialogue on a theater stage in a 1952 play produced by [[Yiddish theatre|Yiddish theater]] star [[Molly Picon]]. McQueen's character spoke one brief line: "''Alts iz farloyrn.''" ("''All is lost.''")<ref>{{cite book |last=Karlen |first=Neal |title=The Story of Yiddish: How a Mish-Mosh of Languages Saved the Jews |publisher=William Morrow |date=2008 |isbn=978-0-06-083711-2 }}</ref> During this time, he also studied acting with [[Stella Adler]], in whose class he met [[Gia Scala]].<ref name="GS1">{{cite book |last=Saint James |first=Sterling |date=December 10, 2014 |title=Gia Scala: The First Gia |publisher=Parhelion House |isbn=978-0-9893695-1-0 }}</ref>

Long enamored of cars and motorcycles, McQueen began to earn money by competing in weekend motorcycle races at Long Island City Raceway.{{Where|date=August 2023}} He purchased the first two of many motorcycles, a [[Harley-Davidson]] and a [[Triumph Engineering|Triumph]].<ref name="Terrill 2020" />{{Rp|158}} He soon became an excellent racer, winning about $100 each weekend ({{Inflation|USD|100|1952|r=-2|fmt=eq}}).<ref name="Terrill 1993" /><ref>{{cite web |date=August 17, 2011 |title=CPI Inflation Calculator |url=http://www.bls.gov/data/inflation_calculator.htm |access-date=January 15, 2012 |publisher=U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics |archive-date=February 20, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130220000114/http://www.bls.gov/data/inflation_calculator.htm |url-status=live }}</ref> He appeared as a musical judge in an episode of [[American Broadcasting Company|ABC]]'s ''[[Juke Box Jury|Jukebox Jury]]'', which aired in the 1953–1954 season.<ref>{{cite AV media |title=Jukebox Jury |type=Research Video |publisher=Music Footing Licensing Agency and Vintage Television Footage Archive }}</ref>

McQueen had minor roles in stage productions, including ''Peg o' My Heart'', ''[[The Member of the Wedding]]'' and ''Two Fingers of Pride''. He made his [[Broadway theatre|Broadway]] debut in 1955 in the play ''[[A Hatful of Rain]]'' starring [[Ben Gazzara]].<ref name="Terrill 1993" />

In late 1955, McQueen left New York and headed for Los Angeles. He moved into a house on Vestal Avenue in the [[Echo Park]] area, and sought acting jobs in Hollywood.<ref name="oll">{{cite web |title=Our Lady of Loretto Elementary School: Local History Timeline |url=http://www.ollalumni.com/local-history.php |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110715000634/http://www.ollalumni.com/local-history.php |archive-date=July 15, 2011 |website=OLL Alumni }}</ref>

[[File:Steve McQueen - The Great St. Louis Bank Robbery (1959) - 2.jpg|thumb|left|upright=1.2|McQueen in ''[[The Great St. Louis Bank Robbery]]'' (1959)]]

When McQueen appeared in a two-part ''[[Westinghouse Studio One]]'' television presentation entitled "[[The Defender (Studio One)|The Defender]]", Hollywood manager [[Hillard Elkins|Hilly Elkins]] took note of him<ref name="neile">{{cite book |last=McQueen Toffel |first=Neile |date=2006 |author-link=Neile Adams |title=My Husband, My Friend |publisher=Signet Books |isbn=978-1-4259-1818-7 }}</ref> and decided that [[B movie|B movies]] would be a good place for the young actor to make his mark. McQueen's first film role under Elkins' management was a bit part in ''[[Somebody Up There Likes Me (1956 film)|Somebody Up There Likes Me]]'' (1956), directed by [[Robert Wise]] and starring [[Paul Newman]]. McQueen was subsequently hired for the films ''[[The Blob]]'' (his first leading role), ''[[Never Love a Stranger]],'' and ''[[The Great St. Louis Bank Robbery]]'' (1959).

McQueen's first breakout role came on television. He appeared on [[Dale Robertson]]'s [[NBC]] [[Western (genre)|Western]] series ''[[Tales of Wells Fargo]]'' as Bill Longley. Elkins, then McQueen's manager, successfully lobbied [[Vincent M. Fennelly]], producer of the Western series ''[[Trackdown (TV series)|Trackdown]],'' to have McQueen read for the part of [[bounty hunter]] Josh Randall. He first appeared in Season 1, Episode 21, of ''Trackdown'' in 1958. He appeared as Randall in that episode, cast opposite series lead [[Robert Culp]], a former New York motorcycle racing buddy. McQueen appeared again on ''Trackdown'' in Episode 31 of the first season, in which he played twin brothers, one of whom was an outlaw sought by Culp's character, Hoby Gilman.

[[File:Steve McQueen Virginia Gregg Wanted Dead or Alive 1959.JPG|thumb|upright|[[Virginia Gregg]] with McQueen in ''[[Wanted: Dead or Alive (TV series)|Wanted: Dead or Alive]]'', 1959]]

McQueen next filmed a pilot episode for what became the series, ''[[Wanted Dead or Alive (TV series)|Wanted Dead or Alive]]'', which aired on [[CBS]] in September 1958. It became his breakout role.

In interviews associated with the [[DVD]] release of ''Wanted: Dead or Alive'', Robert Culp of ''Trackdown'' claimed credit for bringing McQueen to Hollywood and landing him the part of Randall. He said he taught McQueen the "art of the fast-draw". Culp said that by the second day of filming, McQueen beat him at it.

McQueen became a household name as a result of the series.<ref name="Terrill 1993" /> Randall's special holster held a [[Sawed-off shotgun|sawed-off]] [[.44-40 Winchester|.44–40]] [[Winchester rifle]] (nicknamed the "[[Mare's Leg]]") instead of the [[Revolver|sixgun]] carried by the typical Western character, although the cartridges in the gunbelt were dummy [[.45-70]], chosen because they "looked tougher".

As noted in the three-part DVD special feature on the background of the series, the generally negative image of the bounty hunter added to the [[antihero]] image infused with mystery and detachment that made this show stand out from the typical TV Western. The 94 episodes that ran from 1958 until early 1961 kept McQueen steadily employed, and he became a fixture at the [[Iverson Movie Ranch]] in [[Chatsworth, Los Angeles|Chatsworth]], where much of the outdoor action for ''Wanted: Dead or Alive'' was shot.

At age 29, McQueen got a significant break when [[Frank Sinatra]] removed [[Sammy Davis Jr.]] from the film ''[[Never So Few]]'' after Davis supposedly made some mildly negative remarks about Sinatra in a radio interview, and Davis's role went to McQueen. Sinatra saw something special in McQueen and ensured that the young actor got plenty of closeups in a role that earned McQueen favorable reviews. McQueen's character, Bill Ringa, was never more comfortable than when driving at high speed—in this case in a [[Jeep]]—or handling a [[switchblade]] or a [[Thompson submachine gun|tommy gun]].

===1960s===
[[File:The Magnificent Seven cast publicity photo.jpg|thumb|left|[[Yul Brynner]], McQueen, [[Horst Buchholz]], [[Charles Bronson]], [[Robert Vaughn]], [[Brad Dexter]], and [[James Coburn]] in ''[[The Magnificent Seven]]'', 1960]]

After ''Never So Few'', the film's director [[John Sturges]] cast McQueen in his next movie, promising to "give him the camera". ''[[The Magnificent Seven]]'' (1960), in which he played Vin Tanner and starred with [[Yul Brynner]], [[Eli Wallach]], [[Robert Vaughn]], [[Charles Bronson]], [[Horst Buchholz]] and [[James Coburn]], became McQueen's first major hit and led to his withdrawal from ''Wanted: Dead or Alive''. McQueen's focused portrayal of the taciturn second lead catapulted his career. His added touches in many of the shots (such as twirling a shotgun around before loading it, repeatedly checking his gun while in the background of a shot, and wiping his hat rim) annoyed [[Billing (performing arts)|top-billed]] Brynner, who protested that McQueen was stealing scenes.<ref name="Terrill 1993" /> (In his autobiography,<ref>{{cite book |last=Wallach |first=Eli |date=2005 |title=The Good, the Bad and Me: My Anecdotage |publisher=Houghton Mifflin Harcourt |isbn=978-0-15-101189-6 |url=https://archive.org/details/goodbadmeinmyane00wall }}</ref> Eli Wallach reports struggling to conceal his amusement while watching the filming of the funeral procession scene in which Brynner's and McQueen's characters first meet. Brynner was furious at McQueen's shotgun round-twirl, which effectively diverted the viewer's attention to McQueen. Brynner refused to draw his gun in the same scene with McQueen, knowing that his character would probably be outdrawn.<ref name="Terrill 1993" />)

McQueen played the top-billed lead role in the next big Sturges film, 1963's ''[[The Great Escape (film)|The Great Escape]]'', Hollywood's fictional depiction of the true story of a historic mass escape from a [[World War II]] [[POW]] camp, [[Stalag Luft III]]. Insurance concerns prevented McQueen from performing the film's notable motorcycle leap, which was done by his friend and fellow cycle enthusiast [[Bud Ekins]], who resembled McQueen from a distance.<ref>Rubin, Steve. – Documentary: ''Return to 'The Great Escape''. – MGM Home Entertainment. – 1993.</ref> When [[Johnny Carson]] later tried to congratulate McQueen for the jump during a broadcast of ''[[The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson|The Tonight Show]]'', McQueen said, "It wasn't me. That was Bud Ekins." This film established McQueen's box-office clout and secured his status as a superstar.<ref>{{cite book |last=Maltin |first=Leonard |author-link=Leonard Maltin |title=Leonard Maltin's Family Film Guide |publisher=Signet |date=1999 |location=New York |page=225 |isbn=978-0-451-19714-6 |url=https://archive.org/details/leonardmaltinsfa00malt/page/225 }}</ref>

Also in 1963, McQueen starred in ''[[Love with the Proper Stranger]]'' with [[Natalie Wood]]. He later appeared as the titular ''[[Nevada Smith]]'', a character from [[Harold Robbins]]' novel ''[[The Carpetbaggers]]'', portrayed by [[Alan Ladd]] two years earlier in a [[The Carpetbaggers (film)|movie version]] of that novel. ''Nevada Smith'' was an enormously successful [[Western (genre)|Western]] action adventure prequel that also featured [[Karl Malden]] and [[Suzanne Pleshette]]. After starring in 1965's ''[[The Cincinnati Kid]]'' as a poker player, McQueen earned his only [[Academy Awards|Academy Award]] nomination in 1966 for his role as an engine room sailor in ''[[The Sand Pebbles (film)|The Sand Pebbles]]'', in which he starred opposite [[Richard Crenna]] and [[Candice Bergen]] and [[Richard Attenborough]], with whom he had previously worked in ''The Great Escape''.<ref name="Nolan 1984" />

He followed his Oscar nomination with 1968's ''[[Bullitt]]'' – one of his best-known films, and his personal favorite – which co-starred [[Jacqueline Bisset]], [[Robert Vaughn]] and [[Don Gordon (actor)|Don Gordon]]. It featured an unprecedented (and endlessly imitated) car chase through San Francisco. Although McQueen did the driving that appeared in closeups, his was about 10% of what is seen in the film's car chase. The rest of the driving by McQueen's character was done by stunt drivers [[Bud Ekins]] and [[Loren Janes]].<ref name="Myers 2011" /> McQueen's character drove a 1968 [[Ford Mustang]] GT 390, while the antagonist's black [[Dodge Charger#First generation: 1966–1967|Dodge Charger]] was driven by veteran stunt driver [[Bill Hickman]]. McQueen, his stunt drivers and Hickman spent several days before the scene was shot practicing high-speed, close-quarters driving.<ref>{{cite AV media |title=I Am Steve McQueen |last=Renfroe |first=Jeff |date=2014 |type=DVD |publisher=Network Entertainment }}</ref> ''Bullitt'' went so far over budget that [[Warner Bros.]] canceled the contract on the rest of his films, seven in all.

When ''Bullitt'' became a huge box-office success, Warner Bros. tried to woo him back, but he refused, and his next film was made with an independent studio and released by [[United Artists]]. For the film, McQueen went for a change of image, playing a debonair role as a wealthy executive in ''[[The Thomas Crown Affair (1968 film)|The Thomas Crown Affair]]'' with [[Faye Dunaway]] in 1968. The following year, he made the Southern [[period piece]], ''[[The Reivers (film)|The Reivers]]''.

===1970s===
In 1971, McQueen starred in the auto-racing drama ''[[Le Mans (film)|Le Mans]]'', which received mixed reviews, followed by ''[[Junior Bonner]]'' in 1972, a story about an aging rodeo rider. He collaborated once again with director [[Sam Peckinpah]] in ''[[The Getaway (1972 film)|The Getaway]]'', where he met his future wife [[Ali MacGraw]]. McQueen then took on a physically demanding role as a prisoner on [[Devil's Island]] in the 1973 film ''[[Papillon (1973 film)|Papillon]]'', alongside [[Dustin Hoffman]] as his character's tragic companion.

By the time of ''The Getaway'', McQueen was the world's highest-paid actor.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Barger |first1=Ralph |author-link=Ralph "Sonny" Barger |last2=Zimmerman |first2=Keith |last3=Zimmerman |first3=Kent |title=Ridin' High, Livin' Free: Hell-Raising Motorcycle Stories |date=2003 |publisher=Harper Paperbacks |isbn=978-0-06-000603-7 |page=37 }}</ref>

In 1974, with [[Paul Newman]], McQueen co-led [[John Guillermin]]'s disaster film, ''[[The Towering Inferno]]''. McQueen played a fire chief assigned to stop a fire in a skyscraper. He was originally asked to play the architect who is the other hero of the story, but he requested to play the fire chief, thinking the part was "showier". The role of the architect went to Newman, a part that had more lines, hence McQueen requested more dialogue to even it out. McQueen was paid $1,000,000 plus a percentage of the gross, and he insisted on doing his own stunts. The film was a success, and its North American gross was $55,000,000.<ref>{{Cite web |title=The Towering Inferno (1974) |url=https://catalog.afi.com/Film/54398-THE-TOWERING-INFERNO?cxt=filmography |website=[[AFI Catalog of Feature Films]] |publisher=[[American Film Institute]] |access-date=March 14, 2025 }}</ref>

After this, McQueen disappeared from the public eye to focus on motorcycle racing, traveling around the country in a [[motor home]] and on his vintage [[Indian Motocycle Manufacturing Company|Indian motorcycles]]. He did not return to acting until 1978 with ''[[An Enemy of the People (1978 film)|An Enemy of the People]]'', playing against type as a bearded, bespectacled 19th-century doctor in this adaptation of the [[Henrik Ibsen]] play. The film was never properly released theatrically, but it has appeared occasionally on [[PBS]].

McQueen's final two films, both released in 1980, were loosely based on true stories: ''[[Tom Horn (film)|Tom Horn]]'', a Western adventure about a former Army scout turned professional gunman who works for big cattle ranchers hunting down rustlers, and later hanged for murder in the shooting death of a sheepherder; and ''[[The Hunter (1980 film)|The Hunter]]'', an urban action movie about a modern-day [[bounty hunter]].

===Missed roles===
McQueen was offered the lead male role in ''[[Breakfast at Tiffany's (film)|Breakfast at Tiffany's]]'', but was unable to accept due to his ''Wanted: Dead or Alive'' contract (the role went to [[George Peppard]]).<ref name="Terrill 1993" /><ref name="JonesM-MS-1994-03-19">Jones Meg. – "McQueen Biography Is Portrait of a Rebel". – ''[[Milwaukee Sentinel]]''. – March 19, 1994.</ref> He turned down parts in ''[[Ocean's 11]]'',<ref>{{Cite web |last=Rahner |first=Mark |date=June 12, 2005 |title=New DVD collections remind us why McQueen was the King of Cool |url=https://www.seattletimes.com/entertainment/new-dvd-collections-remind-us-why-mcqueen-was-the-king-of-cool/ |access-date=August 19, 2020 |website=The Seattle Times |archive-date=October 21, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201021083836/https://www.seattletimes.com/entertainment/new-dvd-collections-remind-us-why-mcqueen-was-the-king-of-cool/ |url-status=live }}</ref> ''[[Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid]]'' (his attorneys and agents could not agree with Paul Newman's attorneys and agents on top billing),<ref name="Terrill 1993" /><ref name="JonesM-MS-1994-03-19" /> ''[[The Driver]]'',<ref>{{cite news |last=Burger |first=Mark |title=Walter Hill Crime Story from 1978 Led the Way in its Genre |newspaper=[[Winston-Salem Journal]] |date=June 9, 2005 }}</ref><ref>French, Philip. – Review: "DVD club: No 44 The Driver". – ''[[The Observer]]'' – November 5, 2006.</ref> ''[[Apocalypse Now]]'',<ref name="Nolan 1984" />{{Rp|172}} ''[[California Split]]'',<ref>Shields, Mel. – "Elliott Gould has had quite a career to joke about". – ''[[The Sacramento Bee]]''. – October 27, 2002.</ref> ''[[Dirty Harry]]'', ''[[A Bridge Too Far (film)|A Bridge Too Far]]'', ''[[The French Connection (film)|The French Connection]]'' (he did not want to do another cop film),<ref name="Terrill 1993" /><ref name="JonesM-MS-1994-03-19" /> ''[[Close Encounters of the Third Kind]]'' and ''[[Sorcerer (film)|Sorcerer]]''.

According to director [[John Frankenheimer]] and actor [[James Garner]] in bonus interviews for the DVD of the film ''[[Grand Prix (1966 film)|Grand Prix]]'', McQueen was Frankenheimer's first choice for the lead role of American Formula One race car driver Pete Aron. Frankenheimer was unable to meet with McQueen to offer him the role, so he sent [[Edward Lewis (producer)|Edward Lewis]], his business partner and the producer of ''Grand Prix''. McQueen and Lewis instantly clashed, the meeting was a disaster, and the role went to Garner.{{Citation needed|date=March 2025}}

Later, in an interview, Garner said:

{{blockquote|Oh, McQueen. Crazy McQueen. McQueen and I got along pretty good. McQueen looked at me kind of like an older brother, and he didn't want to have much to do with me, till he got in trouble, then he'd call. He knew he could trust me to tell him just what I thought. A lot of people wouldn't do that. And then we had... it wasn't a falling out... as I did Grand Prix, Steve was originally slated to do that movie, but he couldn't get along with Frankenheimer. So that lasted about thirty minutes, and Steve was out, and I was in. And Steve went over to do Sand Pebbles, which went about a year longer than they wanted to go. Big production, spent a lot of money and stayed over in [Taiwan] too long. So, when I got the part in Grand Prix, I called him, in Taiwan. and I said, "Steve, I want to tell you, before you hear it from somebody else, that I'm going to do Grand Prix." Well, there was about a twenty dollar silence there, on the telephone. He didn't know what to say, and finally said "Oh, that's great, great, I'm glad to hear it." Because, he planned to do Le Mans, which was another title at the time, but we were going to be out, and Grand Prix released before he ever even got to that film. But he said, "Great, great, well, I'm glad to hear it; that's good. You know, if anybody's gonna do it, I'm glad, you're doin' it."

He didn't talk to me for about a year and half, and we were next-door neighbors, so it did get to him a little bit. Finally, his son, Chad, made him take him to go see Grand Prix. And from that time on, we were talking again. But Steve was a wild kid. He didn't know where he wanted to be or what he wanted to do.<ref>{{cite AV media |title=James Garner discusses Steve McQueen and 'Grand Prix' |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4UIJbxskw1c |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211211/4UIJbxskw1c |archive-date=December 11, 2021 |url-status=live |access-date=November 16, 2021 }}{{cbignore}}</ref>}}

Director [[Steven Spielberg]] said McQueen was his first choice for the character of Roy Neary in ''Close Encounters of the Third Kind''. According to Spielberg in a documentary on the film's DVD release, Spielberg met him at a bar, where McQueen drank beer after beer. Before leaving, McQueen told Spielberg that he could not accept the role because he was unable to cry on cue.<ref>, Clarke, Roger. – "The Independent: Close Encounters of the Third Kind 9 pm Film4". – ''[[The Independent]]''. – April 21, 2007.</ref><ref>Tucker, Reed, Isaac Guzman, and John Anderson. – "Cinema Paradiso: The True Story of an Incredible Year in Film". – ''[[New York Post]]''. – August 5, 2007.</ref> Spielberg offered to take the crying scene out of the story, but McQueen demurred, saying that it was the best scene in the script. The role eventually went to [[Richard Dreyfuss]].

[[William Friedkin]] wanted to cast McQueen as the lead in the action thriller film ''[[Sorcerer (film)|Sorcerer]]'' (1977). ''Sorcerer'' was to be filmed primarily on location in the Dominican Republic, but McQueen did not want to be separated from Ali MacGraw for the duration of the shoot. McQueen then asked Friedkin to let MacGraw act as a producer, so she could be present during principal photography. Friedkin would not agree to this condition, and cast [[Roy Scheider]] instead of McQueen. Friedkin later remarked that not casting McQueen hurt the film's performance at the box-office.

Spy novelist [[Jeremy Duns]] revealed that McQueen was considered for the lead role in a film adaptation of ''[[The Diamond Smugglers]]'', written by [[James Bond]] creator [[Ian Fleming]]. McQueen would play John Blaize, a secret agent gone undercover to infiltrate a diamond-smuggling ring in South Africa. There were complications with the project, which was eventually shelved, although a 1964 screenplay does exist.<ref>"From Johannesburg With Love", in ''The Sunday Times'', March 7, 2010.</ref>

McQueen and [[Barbra Streisand]] were tentatively cast in ''[[The Gauntlet (film)|The Gauntlet]]'' (1977), but the pair could not get along and both withdrew from the project<ref name="Eliot" />—though according to one biographer, they had briefly dated in 1971.<ref>{{cite book|first= Christopher|last=Andersen|title=Barbra: The Way She Is|year=2006|publisher= HarperCollins|isbn=9780061862519|page=[https://archive.org/details/barbrawaysheisande/page/206 206]}}</ref> The lead roles were filled by [[Clint Eastwood]] and [[Sondra Locke]].

McQueen expressed interest in the [[John Rambo|Rambo]] character in ''[[First Blood]]'' when [[David Morrell]]'s novel appeared in 1972, but the producers rejected him because of his age.<ref>Toppman, Lawrence. – "Will He or Won't He?". – ''[[The Charlotte Observer]]''. – May 22, 1988.</ref><ref>Morrell, David, Jay MacDonald. – "Writers find fame with franchises". ''[[The News-Press]]''. – March 2, 2003.</ref>

He was offered the title role in ''[[The Bodyguard (1992 film)|The Bodyguard]]'' (to star [[Diana Ross]]) when it was proposed in 1976, but the film did not reach production until years after McQueen's death; the film eventually starred [[Kevin Costner]] and [[Whitney Houston]] in 1992.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Beck |first1=Marilyn |first2=Stacy Jenel |last2=Smith |title=Costner Sings to Houston's Debut |newspaper=[[Los Angeles Daily News]] |date=October 7, 1991 }}</ref>

''[[Quigley Down Under]]'' was in development as early as 1974, with McQueen in consideration for the lead, but by the time production began in 1980, McQueen was ill. The project was scrapped until a decade later, when [[Tom Selleck]] starred.<ref>Persico Newhouse, Joyce J. – "'Perfect Hero' Selleck Takes Aim at Action". – ''[[Times Union (Albany)|Times Union]]''. – October 18, 1990.</ref>

==Stunts, motor racing and flying==
[[File:Steve McQueen 1960.JPG|thumb|McQueen with two forms of transportation – his horse, Doc, and his [[Jaguar XKSS]] (1960)]]

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 (film)|The Great Escape]]''.<ref name="Terrill 2020" />{{Rp|151}} Although the jump over the fence in ''The Great Escape'' was done by [[Bud Ekins]] for insurance purposes, McQueen did have considerable screen time riding his 650&nbsp;cc [[Triumph TR6 Trophy]] motorcycle. It was difficult to find riders as skilled as McQueen.<ref>According to the commentary track on ''The Great Escape'' DVD.</ref> At one point, using 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]].<ref name="Myers 2011" />

McQueen and [[John Sturges]] planned to make ''Day of the Champion'',<ref>McQueen Toffel, Neile, (1986). – Excerpt: [http://www.thesandpebbles.com/neile_mcqueen/neile_mcqueen.htm ''My Husband, My Friend''] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080515161832/http://www.thesandpebbles.com/neile_mcqueen/neile_mcqueen.htm |date=May 15, 2008 }}. – (c/o The Sand Pebbles). – New York City: Atheneum. – {{ISBN|0-689-11637-3}}</ref> a movie about [[Formula One]] racing, but McQueen was busy with the delayed ''The Sand Pebbles''.

McQueen considered being a professional race car driver. He had a one-off outing in the [[British Touring Car Championship]] in 1961, driving a [[British Motor Corporation|BMC]] [[Mini]] at [[Brands Hatch]], finishing third.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://racedriverblog.com/from-didcot-to-mcqueen-and-mulholland-drive-sir-john-whitmore/ |title=From Didcot to McQueen and Mulholland Drive – Sir John Whitmore |publisher=Race Driver Blog |date=September 22, 2013 |access-date=March 8, 2014 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140222214214/http://racedriverblog.com/from-didcot-to-mcqueen-and-mulholland-drive-sir-john-whitmore/ |archive-date=February 22, 2014 }}</ref> 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 and missed winning overall by 21.1 seconds to [[Mario Andretti]]/[[Ignazio Giunti]]/[[Nino Vaccarella]] in a five-litre [[Ferrari 512]]S.<ref>{{cite web |title=1970 Sebring 12 Hours |url=https://database.motorsportmagazine.com/database/races/1970-sebring-12-hours |work=Motorsport Magazine |date=March 21, 1970 |archive-date=April 24, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210424215429/https://www.motorsportmagazine.com/database/races/1970-sebring-12-hours/ |url-status=live |access-date=January 31, 2021 }}</ref> This same [[Porsche 908]] was entered by his production company Solar Productions as a camera car for ''[[Le Mans (film)|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,<ref>{{cite web |title=Did he lose the plot? |url=https://www.motorsportmagazine.com/archive/article/august-2010/74/did-he-lose-the-plot |work=Motorsport Magazine |access-date=August 1, 2010 |archive-date=August 11, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200811140330/https://www.motorsportmagazine.com/archive/article/august-2010/74/did-he-lose-the-plot |url-status=live }}</ref> 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 driving for the entire summer making the film, McQueen opted for the latter.{{failed verification|date=February 2017}}<ref name="Stone2007">Stone, Matthew L, (2007). – Excerpt: [http://www.mustangandfords.com/featuredvehicles/mufp_0712_steve_mcqueen_cars/index.html "Steve McQueen's Automotive Legacy] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080419053424/http://www.mustangandfords.com/featuredvehicles/mufp_0712_steve_mcqueen_cars/index.html |date=April 19, 2008 }}. – ''Mcqueen's Machines: The Cars And Bikes Of A Hollywood Icon''. – (c/o Mustang & Fords). – St. Paul, Minnesota: Motorbooks. – {{ISBN|0-7603-2866-8}}</ref>

McQueen competed in [[off-road racing|off-road motorcycle racing]], frequently running a [[BSA Hornet]] and using alias Harvey Mushman.<ref name="Nolan 1984" /> He was also set to co-drive in a [[Triumph 2500]] PI for the [[British Leyland]] team in the 1970 London-Mexico rally, but had to turn it down due to movie commitments.<ref name="Nolan 1984" /> His first off-road motorcycle was a [[Triumph Engineering Co Ltd|Triumph]] 500 cc, purchased from Ekins. McQueen raced in many top off-road races on the West Coast, including the [[Baja 1000]], the [[Mint 400]], and the [[Lake Elsinore, California|Elsinore Grand Prix]].

In 1964, McQueen and Ekins<!-- with Dave Ekins, Cliff Coleman and reserve rider/mechanic John Steen--> were part of a four-rider (plus one reserve) first-ever official U.S. team-entry into the Silver Vase category of the [[International Six Days Enduro|International Six Days Trial (ISDT)]],<ref name="27 Aug" /> an [[Enduro]]-type off-road motorcycling event held that year in [[Erfurt]], East Germany.<ref name="ISDT">{{cite journal|title=ISDT Sort-out|journal=Motor Cycle|volume=113|issue=3196|page=538}}</ref> The "A" team arrived in England in late August to collect their mix of [[Triumph TR6 Trophy|649&nbsp;cc]] <!--American film actor Steve McQueen, riding a six-fifty Triumph in the U.S. Vase team...for no adequate reason that I can think of...was reported to have had a slanging match with officials-->and [[Triumph Tiger 100|490&nbsp;cc]] twins from the [[Triumph Engineering|Triumph factory]]<!-- Sales Manager Neale Shilton --> before modifying them for off-road use.<ref name="27 Aug">[[The Motor Cycle|''Motor Cycle'']], August 27, 1964. p.451. ''On the Rough'' by Peter Fraser. "''All of them have been riding regularly in US Enduros and scrambles, but Bud is the only one with previous ISDT experience. He won golds last year and in 1962''". Accessed December 7, 2015</ref> Initially let down with transport arrangements by a long-established English motorcycle dealer<!-- Andre Baldet -->, Triumph dealer H&L Motors stepped-in to provide a suitable vehicle.<ref name="3 Sept">[[The Motor Cycle|''Motor Cycle'']], September 3, 1964. pp.492–494. ''ISDT Opening'' by Peter Fraser. Accessed December 7, 2015</ref> On arrival in Germany, the team, with their English temporary manager,<!-- motorcycle industrialist Ted Wassell --> were surprised to find that a Vase "B" team, comprising [[Expatriate|expat]] Americans living in Europe, had entered themselves privately to ride European-sourced machinery.<ref name="10 Sept">[[The Motor Cycle|''Motor Cycle'']], September 10, 1964. pp.508–510. ''ISDT First report'' by Peter Fraser. Accessed December 7, 2015</ref>

McQueen's ISDT competition number was 278, which was based on the trials starting order.<ref name="Stone1">{{cite book |last=Stone |first=Matt |title=McQueen's Machines: The Cars and Bikes of a Hollywood Icon |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=fo9UKUfqhA8C&q=mcqueen+ISDT&pg=PA154 |date=November 7, 2010 |publisher=MBI Publishing Company |isbn=978-1-61060-111-5 |pages=154–158 }}</ref> Both teams crashed repeatedly.<ref name="10 Sept" /><ref name="24 Sept">''[[The Motor Cycle]]'', September 24, 1964. pp.578-580. ''ISDT Round up'' by Peter Fraser</ref> McQueen retired due to irreparable crash damage,<ref name="MCS" /> and Ekins withdrew with a broken leg, both on day three. Only one member of the "B" team finished the six-day event.<ref name="24 Sept" /><!--Bill Stewart, CZ 175 --> UK monthly magazine ''Motorcycle Sport'' commented: "Riding Triumph twins...<!-- double gold-medal wimmer Bud Ekins (490), his brother Dave (490) Cliff Coleman and McQueen (649) and Steen (490)-->[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)".<ref name="MCS">''Motorcycle Sport'', November 1964, pp.411–418 "''Steve McQueen, last man on the course after a long stop to repair a broken chain, was speeding along to catch up when he collided with a motorcyclist; the Triumph was sadly mangled, the front fork doubled under the frame''".</ref>

McQueen was inducted in the [[Off-road Motorsports Hall of Fame]] in 1978. In 1971, McQueen's Solar Productions funded the classic motorcycle documentary ''[[On Any Sunday]],'' in which McQueen is featured, along with racing legends [[Mert Lawwill]] and [[Malcolm Smith (motorcyclist)|Malcolm Smith]]. The same year, he also appeared on the cover of ''[[Sports Illustrated]]'' magazine riding a [[Husqvarna Motorcycles|Husqvarna]] dirt bike.<ref>Sports Illustrated 35:8 (August 23, 1971), cover photograph by Heinz Kluetmeier. The article within was "Harvey on the Lam," beginning on page 54.</ref>

McQueen designed a motorsports [[bucket seat]], for which a patent was issued in 1971.<ref name="Stone2007" />{{Rp|93}}<ref>{{cite patent |country=US |number=D219813 }}</ref>

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!"

By testimony of McQueen's son, Chad, Steve owned around 100 classic motorcycles, as well as around 100 exotic and vintage cars, including:
{{div col}}
* [[Porsche 917]], [[Porsche 908]], and [[Ferrari 512]] race cars from the ''Le Mans'' film
* [[Porsche 911S]] (used in the opening sequence of the ''Le Mans'' film)
* 1963 [[Ferrari 250 GT Lusso|Ferrari 250 GT Berlinetta Lusso]]<ref name="1963 Ferrari">{{cite news |first=Caroline |last=Valetkevitch |title=Steve McQueen's Ferrari up for auction |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/entertainmentNews/idUSN2732633220070427 |publisher=Thomson Reuters |date=April 28, 2007 |access-date=May 26, 2008 |archive-date=February 24, 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080224140351/http://www.reuters.com/article/entertainmentNews/idUSN2732633220070427?feedType=RSS |url-status=live }}</ref>
* 1967 [[Ferrari 275GTB/4]]<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.thegentlemansjournal.com/cars-steve-mcqueen/ |title=Steve McQueen's Greatest Cars |date=July 16, 2015 |work=The Gentleman's Journal |archive-date=March 30, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180330075858/https://www.thegentlemansjournal.com/cars-steve-mcqueen/ |url-status=live |access-date=March 29, 2018 }}</ref>
* 1956 [[Jaguar XKSS]] (right-hand drive) (now on exhibit at the [[Petersen Automotive Museum]] in Los Angeles, California)
* 1958 [[Porsche 356 Speedster]] 1600 Super (black exterior, interior and top) (McQueen drove the car in numerous [[SCCA]] racing events) (now in property of his son Chad)<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://petrolicious.com/articles/book-review-mcqueen-s-machines |title=Book Review: McQueen's Machines |last=Shahrabani |first=Benjamin |date=May 8, 2014 |work=Petrolicious |access-date=March 29, 2018|archive-date=March 30, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180330080004/https://petrolicious.com/articles/book-review-mcqueen-s-machines |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.speedsters.com/sm-speedster.htm |title=Steve McQueen and his Speedster |website=Speedsters.com |access-date=April 25, 2018 |archive-date=April 26, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180426012227/http://www.speedsters.com/sm-speedster.htm |url-status=live }}</ref>
* 1968 [[Ford GT40]] ([[Gulf Oil|Gulf]] liveried) (used in the ''Le Mans'' film)<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://jalopnik.com/5936188/steve-mcqueens-11-million--le-mans-gt40-is-americas-most-expensive-car |title=Steve McQueen's $11 Million GT40 Is The Most Expensive American Car Ever Sold |last=Preston |first=Benjamin |work=Jalopnik |access-date=April 25, 2018 |archive-date=April 26, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180426075735/https://jalopnik.com/5936188/steve-mcqueens-11-million--le-mans-gt40-is-americas-most-expensive-car |url-status=live }}</ref>
* 1953 [[Siata 208s]] (McQueen replaced the [[Siata]] badges with [[Ferrari]] badges and called it his "little Ferrari")<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://jalopnik.com/5829630/the-car-that-made-steve-mcqueen-a-ferrari-poser|title=The car that made Steve McQueen a Ferrari poser|last=Hyde|first=Justin|work=Jalopnik|access-date=March 29, 2018|archive-date=March 30, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180330012513/https://jalopnik.com/5829630/the-car-that-made-steve-mcqueen-a-ferrari-poser|url-status=live}}</ref>
* 1967 [[Mini Cooper-S]] (McQueen had the car customized by Lee Brown with changes including a single foglight, a wood dash, a recessed antenna and a custom brown paint job)<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.schompmini.com/steve-mcqueens-mark-ii1967-cooper-s/|title=Steve McQueen's Mark II1967 Cooper S {{!}} Schomp MINI|date=April 4, 2016|work=Schomp MINI|access-date=March 30, 2018|archive-date=March 30, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180330080434/https://www.schompmini.com/steve-mcqueens-mark-ii1967-cooper-s/|url-status=live}}</ref>
* 1951 [[Chevrolet Deluxe|Chevrolet Styline De Lux Convertible]] (used in ''The Hunter'', McQueen bought the car in 1979 after filming ended)<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.historicvehicle.org/stars-their-cars-steve-mcqueen-edition/|title=Stars & Their Cars: Steve McQueen Edition – Historic Vehicle Association (HVA)|date=September 9, 2014|work=Historic Vehicle Association (HVA)|access-date=April 25, 2018|archive-date=April 26, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180426035107/https://www.historicvehicle.org/stars-their-cars-steve-mcqueen-edition/|url-status=live}}</ref>
* 1952 [[Chevrolet Advance Design|Chevrolet 3800]] pickup camper conversion (McQueen used the truck for cross-country camping trips. It was the last car he rode in before his death)<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.mecum.com/lots/LA0713-164217/ |title=1952 Chevrolet Steve McQueen Custom Camper Pickup {{!}} F312 {{!}} Santa Monica 2013 |website=Mecum Auctions |date=July 26, 2013 |access-date=April 25, 2018 |archive-date=April 26, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180426012540/https://www.mecum.com/lots/LA0713-164217/ |url-status=live }}</ref>
* 1950 [[Hudson Commodore]] convertible
* 1952 [[Hudson Wasp]] 2-door sedan<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.mcqueenonline.com/hudsonwasp.htm |title=Hudson Wasp |website=mcqueenonline.com |access-date=June 5, 2018 |archive-date=August 19, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170819202808/http://www.mcqueenonline.com/hudsonwasp.htm |url-status=usurped }}</ref>
* 1953 [[Hudson Hornet]] 4-door Sedan<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.rmsothebys.com/en/auctions/MO12/Monterey/lots/r145-1953-hudson-hornet-sedan/280732 |title=RM Sotheby's – r145 1953 Hudson Hornet Sedan |date=July 21, 2017 |work=RM Sotheby's |access-date=April 25, 2018 |archive-date=April 26, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180426013733/https://www.rmsothebys.com/en/auctions/MO12/Monterey/lots/r145-1953-hudson-hornet-sedan/280732 |url-status=live }}</ref>
* 1956 [[GMC Suburban]]
*1958 [[GMC (automobile)|GMC]] Pickup Truck (reportedly one of McQueen's favorite cars, it is powered by a 336 Ci V8 which has been modified. The tag "MQ3188" is a reference to the ID number assigned to him when he was in reform school)<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.autoblog.com/2006/11/06/buy-steve-mcqueens-58-gmc-truck/ |title=Buy Steve McQueen's '58 GMC Truck |work=Autoblog |access-date=June 5, 2018 |archive-date=December 5, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181205003335/https://www.autoblog.com/2006/11/06/buy-steve-mcqueens-58-gmc-truck/ |url-status=live }}</ref>
* 1931 [[Lincoln-Zephyr]] Sedan
* 1963 [[Lincoln Continental]] Sedan<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://bringatrailer.com/listing/1963-lincoln-continental-23/ |title=Ex-Steve McQueen 1963 Lincoln Continental Project |work=BringATrailer |access-date=March 12, 2025 }}</ref>
* 1935 [[Chrysler Airflow]] Imperial Sedan<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.topgear.com/car-news/steve-mcqueen%E2%80%99s-old-camper-sale |title=Steve McQueen's old camper for sale |website=TopGear.com |access-date=April 25, 2018 |date=July 18, 2013 |archive-date=April 26, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180426075944/https://www.topgear.com/car-news/steve-mcqueen%E2%80%99s-old-camper-sale |url-status=live }}</ref>
* 1969 Chevrolet Baja Hickey race truck (originally debuted at the 1968 [[Mexican 1000]] Rally and was driven by Cliff Coleman, Johnny Diaz, and [[Mickey Thompson]] and others during its racing career; said to be the first truck specifically constructed by [[General Motors]] for use in the [[Mexican 1000]]; McQueen bought it from General Motors in 1970)<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.hemmings.com/blog/2013/07/30/steve-mcqueen-owned-baja-race-truck-sells-for-60000-other-mcqueen-vehicles-fail-to-sell-at-auction/|title=Steve McQueen Owned Baja Race Truck Sells For $60,000, Other McQueen Vehicles Fail To Sell At Auction/|website=hemmings.com|access-date=April 25, 2018|archive-date=April 26, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180426080157/https://www.hemmings.com/blog/2013/07/30/steve-mcqueen-owned-baja-race-truck-sells-for-60000-other-mcqueen-vehicles-fail-to-sell-at-auction/|url-status=live}}</ref>

{{div col end}}

In spite of numerous attempts, McQueen was never able to purchase the [[1969 Ford Mustang|Ford Mustang GT 390]] he drove in ''Bullitt'', which featured a modified drivetrain that suited McQueen's driving style. One of the two Mustangs used in the film was badly damaged, judged beyond repair, and believed to have been scrapped until it surfaced in Mexico in 2017,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.cbsnews.com/news/steve-mcqueen-bullitt-mustang-mexico-junkyard/ |title=Steve McQueen's 'Bullitt' Mustang Found in Mexico Junkyard |website=CBS News |date=March 7, 2017 |access-date=January 27, 2018 |archive-date=December 16, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171216082914/https://www.cbsnews.com/news/steve-mcqueen-bullitt-mustang-mexico-junkyard/ |url-status=live }}</ref> while the other one, which McQueen attempted to purchase in 1977,<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.mustangspecs.com/steveletter.jpg |title=Scan of Steve McQueen Letter Dated 14 December 1977 |archive-date=May 14, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130514141355/http://www.mustangspecs.com/steveletter.jpg }}</ref> is hidden from the public eye. At the [[North American International Auto Show#2018|2018 North American International Auto Show]] the GT 390 was displayed, in its current non-restored condition, with the 2019 Ford Mustang "Bullitt".<ref>{{cite web |url=https://jalopnik.com/we-got-up-close-and-personal-with-the-original-bullitt-1822123406 |title=We Got up Close and Personal with the Original Bullitt Mustang |first=Kristen |last=Lee |website=Jalopnik.com |date=January 16, 2018 |access-date=January 27, 2018 |archive-date=January 24, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180124223410/https://jalopnik.com/we-got-up-close-and-personal-with-the-original-bullitt-1822123406 |url-status=live }}</ref>

McQueen also flew and owned, among other aircraft, a 1945 [[Boeing-Stearman Model 75|Stearman]], tail number N3188, (his student number in reform school), a 1946 [[Piper J-3 Cub]], and an award-winning 1931 [[Pitcairn Mailwing|Pitcairn PA-8]] [[biplane]], flown in the [[United States Post Office Department|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 lived his final days.<ref name="Nolan 1984" />

==Personal life==
===Relationships and friendships===
[[File:Steve McQueen Neile Adams 1960.JPG|thumb|upright|McQueen and then-wife [[Neile Adams]] in the "[[Man from the South]]" episode of ''[[Alfred Hitchcock Presents]]'' (1960), also starring [[Peter Lorre]]]]
McQueen dated British-American actress [[Gia Scala]] whilst attending Stella Adler's school in New York.<ref name="GS1" />

On November 2, 1956, McQueen married Filipino actress and dancer [[Neile Adams]],<ref>{{cite magazine |date=June 1, 1963 |url=http://www.life.com/image/50545966/in-gallery/23302/steve-mcqueen-king-of-cool |title=Steve McQueen: King of Cool |magazine=[[Life (magazine)|Life]] |archive-date=May 27, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100527204700/http://www.life.com/image/50545966/in-gallery/23302/steve-mcqueen-king-of-cool }}</ref> with whom he had a daughter named Terry Leslie (June 5, 1959 – March 19, 1998)<ref name="tcm">{{cite web |date=2009 |url=http://www.tcm.com/tcmdb/participant.jsp?spid=128731&apid=142719 |title=Biography for Steve McQueen |publisher=[[Turner Classic Movies]] |access-date=September 11, 2009 |archive-date=August 7, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100807025123/http://www.tcm.com/tcmdb/participant.jsp?spid=128731&apid=142719 |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1998-mar-21-mn-31156-story.html |title=Terry McQueen; Daughter of Actor Owned Production Company |author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.--> |newspaper=[[Los Angeles Times]] |date=March 21, 1998 |access-date=April 3, 2016 |archive-date=April 5, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160405065110/http://articles.latimes.com/1998/mar/21/news/mn-31156 |url-status=live }}</ref> and a son named [[Chad McQueen|Chad]] (December 28, 1960 – September 11, 2024).<ref name="Terrill 2020" />{{Rp|144}} McQueen and Adams divorced on March 14, 1972.<ref name="tcm" /> Chad became an actor and race car driver like his father.<ref>{{cite web |title=Terry Leslie McQueen Dies at 38 |url=https://variety.com/1998/film/news/terry-leslie-mcqueen-dies-at-38-1117468987/ |date=March 23, 1998 |website=Variety |archive-date=January 27, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180127203102/https://variety.com/1998/film/news/terry-leslie-mcqueen-dies-at-38-1117468987/ |url-status=live |access-date=January 27, 2018 }}</ref> In her autobiography, ''My Husband, My Friend'', Adams stated that she got an abortion in 1971 when their marriage was on the rocks.<ref name="neile" />

Via his son Chad, one of McQueen's four grandchildren is [[Steven R. McQueen]], who also became an actor.<ref name="people">{{cite magazine |date=October 17, 1983 |url=http://www.people.com/people/archive/article/0,,20086166,00.html |title=Steve McQueen's Actor Son, Chad, Is Following in His Dad's Tire Tracks as Well |magazine=[[People (magazine)|People]] |volume=20 |issue=16 |first=Malcolm |last=Boyes |archive-date=December 5, 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091205092116/http://www.people.com/people/archive/article/0,,20086166,00.html }}</ref> His granddaughter via his daughter Terry is actress and producer Molly McQueen.<ref>{{Cite web |date=July 29, 2015 |title=One-on-One with Molly McQueen |url=https://www.presspassla.com/one-on-one-with-molly-mcqueen/ |website=Press Pass LA |access-date=November 17, 2024 }}</ref>

[[Mamie Van Doren]] claimed to have had an affair with McQueen and tried [[hallucinogens]] with him around 1959.<ref>{{cite news |title=Mamie Van Doren Bares All |newspaper=Star-News |date=August 5, 1987 |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=u7kyAAAAIBAJ&pg=6915,1695844 |access-date=September 9, 2012 |archive-date=April 24, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210424215505/https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=u7kyAAAAIBAJ&pg=6915%2C1695844&dq=mamie+van+doren+affair&hl=en |url-status=live }}</ref> Actress-model [[Lauren Hutton]] said that she also had an affair with McQueen around 1964.<ref>{{cite magazine |url=http://www.contactmusic.com/news-article/mcqueen-tops-lauren.s-sex-list |title=McQueen Tops Lauren's Sex List |magazine=ContactMusic.com |date=March 27, 2003 |access-date=March 8, 2014 |archive-date=March 29, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140329040205/http://www.contactmusic.com/news-article/mcqueen-tops-lauren.s-sex-list |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.girlonamotorcycle.la/celebs/2009/10/lauren-hutton.html |title=After Brush with Death, Lauren Hutton's Life Wish Pulls Her Through |website=GirlOnAMotorcycle.la |access-date=March 8, 2014 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140121032147/http://www.girlonamotorcycle.la/celebs/2009/10/lauren-hutton.html |archive-date=January 21, 2014 }}</ref> In 1971–1972, while separated from Adams, McQueen had a relationship with ''[[Junior Bonner]]'' co-star [[Barbara Leigh]],<ref name="tcm" /><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.barbaraleigh.com/index.htm |title=BarbaraLeigh.com |publisher=BarbaraLeigh.com |access-date=January 15, 2012 |archive-date=December 23, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111223025827/http://www.barbaraleigh.com/index.htm |url-status=live }}</ref> ending in pregnancy and abortion.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://mcqueenonline.com/barbaraleighinterview.htm |title=Barbara Leigh Interview |publisher=McQueenonline.com |access-date=January 15, 2012 |archive-date=March 2, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120302160239/http://mcqueenonline.com/barbaraleighinterview.htm |url-status=usurped }}</ref>

McQueen married his ''[[The Getaway (1972 film)|The Getaway]]'' co-star [[Ali MacGraw]] in [[Cheyenne, Wyoming]], on July 12, 1973, and they divorced on August 9, 1978.<ref name="moviefreak">{{cite web |date=2009 |url=http://www.moviefreak.com/features/rachel/stevemcqueen.htm |title=Steve McQueen – Career Retrospective |website=MovieFreak.com |access-date=September 11, 2009 |first=Rachel |last=Sexton |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090506100042/http://www.moviefreak.com/features/rachel/stevemcqueen.htm |archive-date=May 6, 2009 |df=dmy-all }}</ref> MacGraw suffered a miscarriage during their marriage.<ref>{{cite book |last=MacGraw |first=Ali |date=1991 |title=Moving Pictures |url=https://archive.org/details/movingpictures00macg |url-access=registration |location=New York |publisher=Bantam Books |isbn=9780553072709 }}</ref> 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."<ref>{{cite web |last=Weller |first=Sheila |title=Once in Love with Ali |url=https://archive.vanityfair.com/article/2010/3/once-in-love-with-ali |website=VanityFair |date=March 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231028125401/https://archive.vanityfair.com/article/2010/3/once-in-love-with-ali |archive-date=October 28, 2023 |url-status=live |access-date=October 28, 2023 }}</ref>

In 1973, McQueen was one of the [[pallbearers]] at [[Bruce Lee]]'s funeral, along with [[James Coburn]], Lee's brother [[Robert Lee (musician)|Robert]], Peter Chin, [[Dan Inosanto]], and [[Taky Kimura]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.historylink.org/File/3999// |last=Burrows |first=Alyssa |title=Lee, Bruce (1940–1973), Martial Arts Master and Film Maker |website=HistoryLink.org |access-date=April 15, 2017 |date=October 21, 2002 |archive-date=July 9, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180709222216/http://www.historylink.org/File/3999 |url-status=live }}</ref>

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."<ref name="Nolan 1984" />

On January 16, 1980, less than 10 months before his death, McQueen married fashion model [[Barbara Minty]].<ref>{{cite web |date=2009 |url=http://movies.amctv.com/person/48038/Steve-McQueen/details |title=title |publisher=American Movie Classics Company |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091125000352/http://movies.amctv.com/person/48038/Steve-McQueen/details |archive-date=November 25, 2009 }}</ref> In her book ''Steve McQueen: The Last Mile'', Barbara Minty wrote that McQueen, who was raised [[Catholic Church in the United States|Catholic]], became an [[Evangelicalism in the United States|Evangelical Christian]] toward the end of his life.<ref name="McQueenB-SMTLM">McQueen, Barbara (2007). – ''Steve McQueen: The Last Mile.'' – Deerfield, Illinois: Dalton Watson Fine Books. – {{ISBN|978-1-85443-227-8}}.</ref> This was due in part to the influences of his flying instructor Sammy Mason, Mason's son Pete, and Barbara herself.<ref name="JohnsonB-VCS-2008-01-13">{{cite news |last=Johnson |first=Brett |title=Big legend in a small town – Action film hero lived quiet life in Santa Paula before 1980 death |newspaper=Ventura County Star |date=January 13, 2008 }}</ref> McQueen attended his local church, Ventura Missionary Church, and was visited by evangelist [[Billy Graham]] shortly before his death.<ref name="JohnsonB-VCS-2008-01-13" /><ref>{{cite AV media |type=DVD |title=Steve McQueen, The Essence of Cool }}</ref>

===Lifestyle===
[[File:Steve McQueen.jpg|thumb|McQueen's mug shot booking photographs for [[Driving under the influence|DUI]] in Alaska (1972)]]

McQueen followed a daily two-hour exercise regimen involving weightlifting and, at one point, running {{convert|5|mi|km|0}}, seven days a week.<ref name="Terrill 2020" />{{Rp|111}} McQueen learned the martial art [[Tang Soo Do]] from ninth-degree [[Black belt (martial arts)|black belt]] [[Pat E. Johnson]].<ref name="Terrill 1993" /><!-- DO NOT INSERT TEXT SAYING MCQUEEN STUDIED JEET KUNE DO WITH BRUCE LEE; THIS HAS BEEN ESTABLISHED AS INACCURATE.-->

According to photographer [[William Claxton (photographer)|William Claxton]], McQueen smoked [[marijuana]] almost every day. Biographer Marc Eliot stated that McQueen used a large amount of [[cocaine]] in the early 1970s. He was also a heavy cigarette smoker. McQueen sometimes drank to excess; he was arrested for driving while intoxicated in [[Anchorage, Alaska]], in 1972.<ref>{{cite news |title=Movie Star's Antics Failed to Impress Anchorage Policeman |place=[[Bend, Oregon]] |work=The Bulletin |date=June 29, 1972 |page=8 }}</ref>

===Manson connection===
Two months after [[Charles Manson]] incited the [[Tate murders]], including McQueen's friends [[Sharon Tate]] and [[Jay Sebring]], the media reported police had found a hit list with McQueen's name on it. According to his first wife, McQueen began carrying a handgun at all times in public, including at Sebring's funeral.<ref>{{cite book |author-link=Dominick Dunne |last=Dunne |first=Dominick |title=The Way We Lived Then: Recollections of a Well Known Name Dropper |date=1999 |location=New York City |publisher=Crown Publishers |isbn=0-609-60388-4 }}</ref>

===Charitable causes===
McQueen had an unusual reputation for demanding free items in bulk from studios when agreeing to do a film, such as electric razors, jeans and other items. It was later discovered McQueen donated these things to the [[Boys Republic]] [[reformatory]] school,<ref>John Dominis/Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images. "Steve McQueen Returns to Reform School" 1963, accessed February 7, 2011</ref> where he had spent time during his teen years.

===Political views===
Despite being registered as a [[Republican Party (United States)|Republican]], McQueen supported [[Democratic Party (United States)|Democratic]] candidate [[Lyndon B. Johnson]] in the [[1964 United States presidential election|1964 presidential election]], but reverted to supporting Republican candidate [[Richard Nixon]] in the [[1968 United States presidential election|1968 presidential election]].<ref>Jet, October 1, 1964</ref><ref>Style Icons Vol 1 Golden Boys, 2014</ref>

==Illness and death==
McQueen developed a persistent cough in early 1978. He gave up cigarettes and underwent antibiotic treatments without improvement. His shortness of breath grew more pronounced and on December 22, 1979, after filming ''The Hunter'', a biopsy revealed [[pleural]] [[mesothelioma]],<ref>{{cite book |last=Lerner |first=B.H. |date=2006 |title=When Illness Goes Public |publisher=The Johns Hopkins University Press |place=Baltimore |page=141ff |isbn=978-0-8018-8462-7 |url=https://archive.org/details/whenillnessgoesp00lern |url-access=registration }}</ref> a cancer associated with [[asbestos]] exposure for which there is no known cure.

A few months later, McQueen gave a medical interview in which he blamed his condition on asbestos exposure.<ref>{{cite interview |first=Steve |last=McQueen |title=Medical interview |interviewer=Burgh Joy, clinical professor at [[UCLA]] |publisher=Personal archives of Barbara McQueen |date=1980 }}</ref> McQueen believed that asbestos used in movie sound stage insulation and race-drivers' [[racing suit|protective suits]] and helmets could have been involved, but he thought it more likely that his illness was a direct result of massive exposure while removing asbestos lagging (insulation) from pipes aboard a troop ship while he served in the Marines.<ref>{{cite book |last=Spiegel | first=Penina | title=McQueen: The Untold Story of a Bad Boy in Hollywood| publisher=Doubleday and Co.| location=New York |date=1986| isbn=978-0-385-19392-4}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=Sandford |first=Christopher |author-link=Christopher Sandford (biographer) |title=McQueen: The Biography |publisher=Taylor Trade Publishing |location=New York |date=2003 |pages=42, 126, 213, 324, 391, 410 }}</ref>

By February 1980, evidence of widespread [[metastasis]] was found. He tried to keep the condition a secret, but on March 11, 1980, the ''[[National Enquirer]]'' disclosed that he had "terminal cancer".<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Jackson |first1=Kathy Merlock |last2=Payne |first2=Lisa Lyon |last3=Stolley |first3=Kathy Shepherd |date=December 24, 2015 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=zQcZCwAAQBAJ&q=National+Enquirer&pg=PA14 |title=The Intersection of Star Culture in America and International Medical Tourism: Celebrity Treatment |publisher=Lexington Books |isbn=978-0-7391-8688-6 |access-date=October 20, 2020 |archive-date=April 24, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210424215426/https://books.google.com/books?id=zQcZCwAAQBAJ&q=National+Enquirer&pg=PA14 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Roberts |first=Paul G. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=S7KqBAAAQBAJ&q=terminal+cancer&pg=PT143 |title=Style Icons Vol 1 Golden Boys |date=October 2, 2014 |publisher=Fashion Industry Broadcast |isbn=978-1-62776-032-4 |access-date=October 20, 2020 |archive-date=April 24, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210424215455/https://books.google.com/books?id=S7KqBAAAQBAJ&q=terminal+cancer&pg=PT143 |url-status=live }}</ref> In July 1980, McQueen traveled to [[Rosarito Beach, Mexico]], for unconventional treatment after U.S. doctors told him they could do nothing to prolong his life.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2005/11/15/health/15essa.html |title=McQueen's Legacy of Laetrile |work=The New York Times |date=November 15, 2005 |first=Barron H. |last=Lerner |access-date=May 24, 2010 |archive-date=August 11, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100811193514/http://www.nytimes.com/2005/11/15/health/15essa.html?ex=1289710800&en=8059981c17deec5d&ei=5088 |url-status=live }}</ref> Controversy arose over the trip because McQueen sought treatment from [[William Donald Kelley]], who was promoting a variation of the [[Gerson therapy]] that used [[coffee enema]]s, frequent washing with shampoos, daily injections of fluid containing live cells from cattle and sheep, massages, and [[Amygdalin|laetrile]], a reputed anti-cancer drug available in Mexico but long known to be both toxic and ineffective in treating cancer.<ref>{{cite journal |last=Herbert |first=V. |title=Laetrile: the cult of cyanide. Promoting poison for profit |journal=Am. J. Clin. Nutr. |volume=32 |issue=5 |pages=1121–58 |date=May 1979 |pmid=219680 |doi=10.1093/ajcn/32.5.1121 |doi-access=free }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |doi=10.1002/1097-0142(19840201)53:3+<815::AID-CNCR2820531334>3.0.CO;2-U |last=Lerner |first=I.J. |title=The Whys of Cancer Quackery |journal=Cancer |volume=53 |issue=3 Suppl |pages=815–9 |date=February 1984 |pmid= 6362828 |s2cid=36332694 |doi-access=free }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last=Nightingale |first=S.L. |date=1984 |title=Laetrile: The Regulatory Challenge of an Unproven Remedy |journal=Public Health Rep |volume=99 |issue=4 |pages=333–8 |pmid=6431478 |pmc=1424606 }}</ref> McQueen paid for Kelley's treatments in cash, which were said to have been upwards of $40,000 per month ({{Inflation |USD|40000|1980|r=-3|fmt=eq}}) during his three-month stay in Mexico. Kelley's only medically related license (until being revoked in 1976) had been for [[orthodontics]], a field of dentistry.<ref name="WorthingtonR-RGWPC-2006-10-27">Worthington, Roger. "A Candid Interview with Barbara McQueen 26 Years After Mesothelioma Claimed the Life of Husband and Hollywood Icon, Steve McQueen". The Law Office of Roger G. Worthington P.C. October 27, 2006.</ref> Kelley's methods caused a sensation in the traditional and tabloid press when it became known that McQueen was a patient.<ref>{{cite book |title=European Stars and Stripes |date=November 9, 1980 |page=2}}.</ref><ref>{{cite news |last=Elyria |title= |newspaper=Ohio Chronicle Telegram |date=November 8, 1980 |page=C-5 }}{{Title missing|date=March 2025}}</ref>

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 normal life; however, his condition soon worsened, and huge tumors developed in his abdomen.<ref name="WorthingtonR-RGWPC-2006-10-27" />

In late October 1980, McQueen flew to [[Ciudad Juárez]] in Mexico to have an abdominal tumor on his liver (weighing around 5 lbs/2.3&nbsp;kg) removed, despite warnings from his American doctors that the tumor was inoperable and his heart could not withstand the surgery.<ref name="Nolan 1984" />{{Rp|212–13}}<ref name="WorthingtonR-RGWPC-2006-10-27" /> Under the name Samuel Sheppard, he checked into a small Juárez clinic, where the doctors and staff were unaware of his actual identity.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Marcelo |first=Abeal |date=April 10, 2015 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=QEsFCAAAQBAJ&q=Samuel+Sheppard&pg=PA331 |title=Steve McQueen: The Race of His Life |publisher=Editorial Dunken |isbn=978-987-02-8078-1 |access-date=October 20, 2020 |archive-date=April 24, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210424215507/https://books.google.com/books?id=QEsFCAAAQBAJ&q=Samuel+Sheppard&pg=PA331 |url-status=live }}</ref> On November 7, 1980, he died of a heart attack at 3:45&nbsp;a.m. at a Juárez hospital, 12 hours after surgery to remove or reduce numerous metastatic tumors in his neck and abdomen.<ref name="Nolan 1984" /> He was 50 years old.<ref>{{cite news |last=Arnold |first=Gary |date=November 8, 1980 |title=Movie Hero Steve McQueen Dies of Heart Attack at Age of 50 |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/local/1980/11/08/movie-hero-steve-mcqueen-dies-of-heart-attack-at-age-of-50/ceff4040-3090-4b71-bc61-3283452d1146/ |access-date=January 8, 2019 |newspaper=The Washington Post |archive-date=October 9, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181009122943/https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/local/1980/11/08/movie-hero-steve-mcqueen-dies-of-heart-attack-at-age-of-50/ceff4040-3090-4b71-bc61-3283452d1146/ |url-status=live }}</ref> He reportedly died in his sleep with his family at his bedside.<ref>{{cite news |last=Long |first=Trish |date=April 25, 2015 |url=http://www.elpasotimes.com/story/life/2015/04/25/steve-mcqueens-last-hours-juarez/31259359/ |title=Steve McQueen's Last Hours in Juarez |work=El Paso Times |access-date=February 29, 2016 }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last=Flint |first=Peter |date=November 8, 1980 |title=Steve McQueen, 50, Is Dead of a Heart Attack after Surgery for Cancer; Family Was at Bedside Established His Stardom in 'Bullitt' and 'Papillon' Friend Suggested Acting 'Don't Cap Me Up' |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1980/11/08/archives/steve-mcqueen-50-is-dead-of-a-heart-attack-after-surgery-for-cancer.html |work=The New York Times |access-date=May 26, 2008 |archive-date=July 22, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180722190420/https://www.nytimes.com/1980/11/08/archives/steve-mcqueen-50-is-dead-of-a-heart-attack-after-surgery-for-cancer.html?sq=Steve+McQueen&scp=1&st=p |url-status=live }}</ref>

Leonard DeWitt of the Ventura Missionary Church presided over McQueen's memorial service.<ref name="McQueenB-SMTLM" /><ref name="JohnsonB-VCS-2008-01-13" /> McQueen was cremated and his ashes were spread in the [[Pacific Ocean]].

==Legacy==
[[File:Steve McQueen.png|thumb|upright|The photo on McQueen's international driver's license]]

In 2007, 27 years after his death, ''[[Forbes]]'' said McQueen remained a popular star, was still the "King of Cool", and was one of the highest-earning dead celebrities. A rights-management agency head credited [[Branded Entertainment Network]] (called Corbis at the time) with maximizing the profitability of his estate by limiting the licensing of McQueen's image, thereby avoiding the commercial saturation of other dead celebrities' estates. By 2007, McQueen's estate entered the top 10 of highest-earning dead celebrities.<ref>{{Cite web |date=October 29, 2007 |title=Top-Earning Dead Celebrities |url=https://www.forbes.com/2007/10/29/dead-celebrity-earning-biz-media-deadcelebs07_cz_lg_1029celeb_land.html |website=Forbes |archive-date=October 27, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201027212633/https://www.forbes.com/2007/10/29/dead-celebrity-earning-biz-media-deadcelebs07_cz_lg_1029celeb_land.html |url-status=live |access-date=August 19, 2020 }}</ref>

McQueen was inducted into the [[Hall of Great Western Performers]] in April 2007, in a ceremony at the [[National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/life/people/2007-04-23-mcqueen_N.htm |title=Steve McQueen honored at Western awards |work=USA Today |date=April 23, 2007 |archive-date=March 8, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140308060223/http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/life/people/2007-04-23-mcqueen_N.htm |url-status=live |access-date=March 8, 2014 }}</ref>

In November 1999, McQueen was inducted into the [[Motorcycle Hall of Fame]]. He was credited with contributions including financing the film ''[[On Any Sunday]]'', supporting a team of off-road riders, and enhancing the public image of motorcycling overall.<ref>{{Cite book |title=Steve McQueen |url=http://www.motorcyclemuseum.org/halloffame/hofbiopage.asp?id=227 |publisher=Motorcycle Hall of Fame Museum |date=2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090216185627/http://motorcyclemuseum.org/halloffame/hofbiopage.asp?id=227 |archive-date=February 16, 2009 }}</ref>

The [[Beech Grove, Indiana]], Public Library formally dedicated the Steve McQueen Birthplace Collection on March 16, 2010, to commemorate the 80th anniversary of McQueen's birth on March 24, 1930.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.bgpl.lib.in.us/AdminOnly/SteveMcQueen/tabid/592/Default.aspx |title=Steve McQueen Birthplace Collection |publisher=Beech Grove Public Library |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100622071955/http://www.bgpl.lib.in.us/AdminOnly/SteveMcQueen/tabid/592/Default.aspx |archive-date=June 22, 2010 |df=mdy-all }}</ref>

There is a street named after McQueen in [[San Antonio|San Antonio, Texas]].<ref>{{Cite web |last=Brown |first=Merrisa |date=September 30, 2014 |title=San Antonio Street Names and Groupings |url=https://www.mysanantonio.com/news/local/slideshow/San-Antonio-street-names-and-groupings-94695.php |website=MySanAntonio.com }}</ref>

In 2012, McQueen was posthumously honored with the [[Warren Zevon]] Tribute Award by the Asbestos Disease Awareness Organization (ADAO).<ref>{{Cite web |date=September 13, 2019 |title=Miles for Meso 2019: Honoring Victim Steve McQueen and Continuing His Fight |url=https://www.simmonsfirm.com/blog/miles-for-meso-honoring-steve-mcqueen/ |website=Simmons Hanly Conroy |access-date=September 26, 2024 }}</ref>

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

On September 28, 2017, there was a selected showing in some theaters of his life story and spiritual quest, ''Steve McQueen – American Icon''.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.stevemcqueenmovie.com|title=Steve McQueen: American Icon – Coming Soon To Digital HD|website=Steve McQueen: American Icon|access-date=January 27, 2018|archive-date=January 26, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180126130203/http://www.stevemcqueenmovie.com/|url-status=live}}</ref> There was an encore presentation on October 10, 2017.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.wbfj.fm/encore-showings-steve-mcqueen-american-icon/|title=Encore showings for "Steve McQueen: American Icon"|publisher=wbfj.fm|date=October 9, 2017|access-date=February 9, 2018|archive-date=August 7, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200807120337/https://www.wbfj.fm/encore-showings-steve-mcqueen-american-icon/|url-status=live}}</ref> The film received mostly positive reviews.<ref>{{Citation|title=Steve McQueen: American Icon|url=https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/steve_mcqueen_american_icon/|access-date=April 1, 2018|archive-date=November 30, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171130090056/https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/steve_mcqueen_american_icon/|url-status=live}}</ref> Kenneth R. Morefield of ''[[Christianity Today]]'' said 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".<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.christianitytoday.com/lyris/entertainment/archives/09-29-2017.html|title=The King of Cool's Conversion Story|website=christianitytoday.com|access-date=April 1, 2018|archive-date=November 26, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171126213242/http://www.christianitytoday.com/lyris/entertainment/archives/09-29-2017.html|url-status=live}}</ref> Michael Foust of ''Wordslingers'' called it "one of the most powerful and inspiring documentaries I've ever seen".<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.wordslingersok.com/2017/09/review-steve-mcqueens-faith-explored-in-powerful-new-documentary/|title=Review: Steve McQueen's faith explored in powerful new documentary|date=September 15, 2017|work=WordSlingers|access-date=April 1, 2018|archive-date=August 12, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180812150310/http://www.wordslingersok.com/2017/09/review-steve-mcqueens-faith-explored-in-powerful-new-documentary/|url-status=live}}</ref>

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 [[Once Upon a Time in Hollywood (novel)|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.<ref>{{cite web |title=Steve McQueen-Neile Adams Collection |url=http://www.oscars.org/film-archive/collections/steve-mcqueen-neile-adams-collection |website=Academy Film Archive |date=October 14, 2015 |access-date=July 14, 2016 |archive-date=July 3, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160703055710/https://www.oscars.org/film-archive/collections/steve-mcqueen-neile-adams-collection |url-status=live }}</ref> The archive has preserved several of McQueen's home movies.<ref>{{cite web |title=Preserved Projects |url=https://www.oscars.org/academy-film-archive/preserved-projects?title=mcqueen&filmmaker=&category=All&collection=All |website=Academy Film Archive |archive-date=October 20, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201020124425/https://www.oscars.org/academy-film-archive/preserved-projects?title=mcqueen&filmmaker=&category=All&collection=All |url-status=live |access-date=September 18, 2020 }}</ref>

===Ford commercials===
In 1998, director Paul Street created a commercial for the [[Ford Puma (sport compact)|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 of the classic fastback [[Ford Mustang|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 (film)|The Great Escape]]''.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ipJ049HJau8 |title=Ford Puma 'Steve McQueen' Directed by Paul Street |date=October 14, 2008 |publisher=YouTube |access-date=July 27, 2017 |archive-date=October 24, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181024132931/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ipJ049HJau8 |url-status=live }}</ref>

At the [[Detroit Auto Show]] in January 2018, Ford unveiled the new 2019 Mustang Bullitt. The company called on McQueen's granddaughter, actress Molly McQueen, to make the announcement. After a brief rundown of the tribute car's particulars, a short film was shown in which Molly was introduced to the actual Bullitt Mustang, a 1968 Mustang Fastback with a 390 cubic-inch engine and a four-speed manual gearbox. That car has been in possession of the same family since 1974 and hidden away from the public until then, when it was driven out from under the press stand and up the center aisle of Ford's booth to much fanfare.<ref>{{cite web |last=Hyatt |first=Kyle |date=January 14, 2018 |url=https://www.cnet.com/roadshow/news/2019-ford-mustang-bullitt-molly-mcqueen/ |title=2019 Ford Mustang Bullitt rocks Detroit with Molly McQueen |website=CNet.com |archive-date=February 23, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180223171230/https://www.cnet.com/roadshow/news/2019-ford-mustang-bullitt-molly-mcqueen/ |url-status=live |access-date=February 23, 2018 }}</ref>

===Memorabilia===

====Motorcycles and cars====
McQueen drove a [[Porsche 917]] Chassis 022 extensively in ''[[Le Mans (film)|Le Mans]]''. After being sold and raced in the 1970s, [[Jerry Seinfeld]] acquired 022 in 2002, who asked Joe Cavaglieri to fully restore it to the 1971 film era in Gulf Porsche team livery.  022 will be auctioned on January 18, 2025, by [[Mecum Auctions]]. 022 now has a dedicated [https://www.mecum.com/lots/1128317/1970-porsche-917k webpage] and [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4WMRvmsOb68 video] which features interviews with Seinfeld, Porsche Team members and grandson Chase McQueen. The 1970 [[Porsche 911S]] purchased while making the film ''Le Mans'' and appearing in the opening sequence was sold at auction in August 2011 for $1.375&nbsp;million.

One of his motorcycles, a 1937 Crocker, sold for a world-record price of $276,500 at the same auction. McQueen's 1963 metallic-brown [[Ferrari 250 GT Lusso]] Berlinetta sold for US$2.31&nbsp;million at auction on August 16, 2007.<ref name="1963 Ferrari" /> Except for three motorcycles sold with other memorabilia in 2006,<ref>{{Cite book |title=Sale 14037 – The Steve McQueen Sale and Collectors' Motorcycles & Memorabilia; The Petersen Automotive Museum, Los Angeles, California, 11 Nov 2006 |url=http://www.bonhams.com/cgi-bin/public.sh/pubweb |publisher=Bonhams & Butterfields Auctioneers |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090626075239/http://www.bonhams.com/cgi-bin/public.sh/pubweb |archive-date=June 26, 2009 }}</ref> most of McQueen's collection of 130 motorcycles was sold four years after his death.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Edwards |first=David |date=2007 |title=The Steve McQueen Auction |periodical=Cycle World |url=http://www.cycleworld.com/article.asp?section_id=4&article_id=222 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070822210631/http://www.cycleworld.com/article.asp?section_id=4&article_id=222 |archive-date=August 22, 2007 |url-status=usurped }}</ref>

From 1995 to 2011, McQueen's red 1957 fuel-injected Chevrolet convertible was displayed at the [[Petersen Automotive Museum]] in Los Angeles in a special Cars of Steve McQueen exhibit. It is now in the collection of actress [[Ruth Buzzi]] and her husband Kent Perkins. McQueen's British racing green 1956 Jaguar XKSS is located in the Petersen Automotive Museum and is in drivable condition, having been driven by [[Jay Leno]] in an episode of ''[[Jay Leno's Garage]]''. In August 2019, Mecum Auctions announced it would auction the Bullitt Mustang Hero Car at its Kissimmee auction, held January 2–12, 2020.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.mecum.com/news/2019/08/14/mecum-unveils-bullitt-mustang-hero-car-to-be-auctioned-at-kissimmee-2020/2646/ |title=Mecum Unveils Bullitt Mustang Hero Car to be Auctioned at Kissimmee 2020 |website=Mecum.com |access-date=August 15, 2019 |archive-date=August 15, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190815144455/https://www.mecum.com/news/2019/08/14/mecum-unveils-bullitt-mustang-hero-car-to-be-auctioned-at-kissimmee-2020/2646/ |url-status=live }}</ref> The car sold without reserve for $3.4&nbsp;million ($3.74&nbsp;million after commissions and fees).

====Watches====
McQueen was a sponsored ambassador for [[TAG Heuer|Heuer watches]]. In the 1971 film ''Le Mans'', he famously wore a blue-faced [[TAG Heuer Monaco|Monaco]] Ref. 1133, which led to its cult status among watch collectors, purchasing six watches of the same model for the shoot of the film. On December 12, 2020, one of the last six models and one of two held in private hands was sold for a record US$2.208&nbsp;million at a [[Phillips (auctioneers)|Phillips]] auction in New York City, becoming the [[List of most expensive watches sold at auction|most expensive Heuer watch sold at auction]].<ref>{{Cite web |last=Bues |first=Jon |date=December 12, 2020 |title=Steve McQueen's Monaco from 'Le Mans' Brings Home $2,208,000 at Phillips, Setting New Heuer Record |url=https://www.hodinkee.com/articles/steve-mcqueen-heuer-monaco-le-mans-phillips-auction-record |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201212163041/https://www.hodinkee.com/articles/steve-mcqueen-heuer-monaco-le-mans-phillips-auction-record |archive-date=December 12, 2020 |website=[[Hodinkee]] |access-date=March 13, 2025 }}</ref> Tag Heuer continues{{When|date=March 2025}} to promote its Monaco range with McQueen's image.{{Citation needed|date=March 2025}}

The [[Rolex Explorer II]], Reference 1655, known as Rolex Steve McQueen in the horology collectors' world, the [[Rolex Submariner]], Reference 5512, which McQueen was often photographed wearing in private moments, sold for $234,000 at auction on June 11, 2009, a world-record price for the type.<ref>{{cite web |title=Steve McQueen's Rolex sells for $234,000 |url=http://www.nationaljewelernetwork.com/njn/content_display/watches/watch-auctions/e3i507f1f93ebe233dcef27304a596e2ad0 |date=June 15, 2009 |website=NationalJewelerNetwork.com |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100116100142/http://www.nationaljewelernetwork.com/njn/content_display/watches/watch-auctions/e3i507f1f93ebe233dcef27304a596e2ad0 |archive-date=January 16, 2010 }}</ref>

In June 2018, Phillips announced McQueen's [[Rolex Submariner]] to hit the auction block in September that year.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/msolomon/2018/06/04/the-secret-history-of-steve-mcqueens-rolex-submariner-phillips-auction/ |title=Exclusive: The Secret History of Steve McQueen's Rolex Submariner |last=Solomon |first=Michael |website=Forbes |access-date=February 6, 2019 |archive-date=February 7, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190207020040/https://www.forbes.com/sites/msolomon/2018/06/04/the-secret-history-of-steve-mcqueens-rolex-submariner-phillips-auction/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-06-05/steve-mcqueen-s-rolex-submariner-5513-coming-to-phillips-auction |title=Steve McQueen's Rolex Submariner Is Coming to Auction |last=Barrett |first=Cara |date=June 5, 2018 |work=Bloomberg |access-date=February 6, 2019 |archive-date=November 17, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191117151245/https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-06-05/steve-mcqueen-s-rolex-submariner-5513-coming-to-phillips-auction |url-status=live }}</ref> However, there was controversy whether the watch was his personal watch worn by McQueen himself or if the watch was bought, engraved, then gifted.<ref name="Mastine-Frost">{{Cite web |last=Mastine-Frost |first=Justin |url=https://www.bobswatches.com/rolex-blog/auctions/pulling-plug-phillips-auctions-removes-supposed-mcqueen-sub-sale.html |title=The McQueen Rolex Submariner |website=Bob's Watches |archive-date=February 7, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190207015750/https://www.bobswatches.com/rolex-blog/auctions/pulling-plug-phillips-auctions-removes-supposed-mcqueen-sub-sale.html |url-status=live |access-date=March 13, 2025 }}</ref> Phillips later removed the watch from the auction block.<ref name="Mastine-Frost" />

Among McQueen's other watches was a [[Hanhart]] 417 chronograph.<ref>{{cite web |last=Wind |first=Eric |date=November 28, 2011 |url=https://www.hodinkee.com/articles/the-story-of-the-hanhart-417-chronograph-steve-mcqueens-othe |title=The Story of the Hanhart 417 Chronograph: Steve McQueen's Other, Other Watch |work=Hodinkee |url-status=live |archive-date=December 27, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211227043848/https://www.hodinkee.com/articles/the-story-of-the-hanhart-417-chronograph-steve-mcqueens-othe |access-date=January 3, 2022 }}</ref>

====Sunglasses====
The blue-tinted sunglasses ([[Persol]] 714) worn by McQueen in the 1968 film ''[[The Thomas Crown Affair (1968 film)|The Thomas Crown Affair]]'' sold at a [[Bonhams & Butterfield]] auction in Los Angeles for $70,200 in 2006.<ref>{{cite news | url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/6141186.stm | work=BBC News | title=McQueen's shades sell for £36,000 | date=November 12, 2006 | access-date=May 24, 2010 | archive-date=April 25, 2010 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100425050532/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/6141186.stm | url-status=live }}</ref>

==Filmography==
{{Main|Steve McQueen filmography}}

==Awards and honors==

===[[Academy Awards]]===
* (1967) Nominated – [[Academy Award for Best Actor|Best Actor in a Leading Role]] in ''[[The Sand Pebbles (film)|The Sand Pebbles]]''

===[[Golden Globe Awards]]===
* (1964) Nominated – [[Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Motion Picture Drama|Best Actor – Motion Picture Drama]] in ''[[Love with the Proper Stranger]]''
* (1967) Nominated – [[Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Motion Picture Drama|Best Actor – Motion Picture Drama]] in ''[[The Sand Pebbles (film)|The Sand Pebbles]]''
* (1970) Nominated – [[Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Motion Picture Musical or Comedy|Best Actor – Motion Picture Musical or Comedy]] in ''[[The Reivers (film)|The Reivers]]''
* (1974) Nominated – [[Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Motion Picture Drama|Best Actor – Motion Picture Drama]] in ''[[Papillon (1973 film)|Papillon]]''

===[[Moscow International Film Festival]]===
* ([[3rd Moscow International Film Festival|1963]]) – Won – Best Actor in ''[[The Great Escape (film)|The Great Escape]]''<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.moscowfilmfestival.ru/miff34/eng/archives/?year=1963 |title=3rd Moscow International Film Festival (1963) |work=MIFF |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130116210707/http://www.moscowfilmfestival.ru/miff34/eng/archives/?year=1963 |archive-date=January 16, 2013 }}</ref>

==References==
{{Reflist|refs=

<ref name="Aaker 2017">{{cite book |last=Aaker |first=Everett |title=Television Western Players, 1960–1975: A Biographical Dictionary |date=2017 |publisher=McFarland |isbn=978-1-4766-6250-3 }}</ref>

<ref name="Fried 2006">{{cite magazine |last=Fried |first=Ellen |date=Spring 2006 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=CNVLAQAAMAAJ&pg=PA10 |title=VIPs in Uniform; A Look at the Military Files of the Famous and the Famous-to-Be |magazine=Prologue: The Journal of the National Archives |publisher=[[National Archives and Records Administration|National Archives and Records Service]], [[General Services Administration]] |volume=38 |issue=1 |archive-date=April 24, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210424215507/https://books.google.com/books?id=CNVLAQAAMAAJ&pg=PA10 |url-status=live |access-date=January 10, 2020 }}</ref>

<ref name="Laurie 2019">{{cite book |last=Laurie |first=Greg |title=Steve McQueen: The Salvation of an American Icon |date=2019 |publisher=Zondervan |isbn=978-0-310-35620-2 }}</ref>

<ref name="Myers 2011">{{cite news |last=Myers |first=Marc |title=Chasing the Ghosts of 'Bullitt' |url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424052748704698004576104001598265530?mod=WSJ_LifeStyle_Lifestyle_5 |newspaper=The Wall Street Journal |date=January 26, 2011 |archive-date=August 21, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170821044844/https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424052748704698004576104001598265530?mod=WSJ_LifeStyle_Lifestyle_5 |url-status=live |access-date=January 26, 2011 }}</ref>

<ref name="Nolan 1984">{{cite book |last=Nolan |first=William |author-link=William F. Nolan |date=1984 |title=McQueen |publisher=Congdon & Weed |isbn=978-0-312-92526-0 |url-access=registration |url=https://archive.org/details/mcqueen00nola }}</ref>

<ref name="Terrill 1993">{{cite book |last=Terrill |first=Marshall |author-link=Marshall Terrill |date=1993 |title=Steve McQueen: Portrait of an American Rebel |url=https://archive.org/details/isbn_9781556113802 |url-access=registration |publisher=Donald I. Fine |location=New York City |isbn=978-1-556-11380-2 }}</ref>

<ref name="Terrill 2020">{{cite book |last=Terrill |first=Marshall |author-link=Marshall Terrill |date=2020 |title=Steve McQueen: In His Own Words |url=https://press.uchicago.edu/ucp/books/book/distributed/S/bo52924796.html |location=Deerfield, Illinois |publisher=Dalton Watson |isbn=978-1-85443-271-1 |archive-date=April 16, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210416113238/https://press.uchicago.edu/ucp/books/book/distributed/S/bo52924796.html |url-status=live |access-date=March 21, 2025 }}</ref>

<ref name="Zimmerman 2017">{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=NnpFDwAAQBAJ&pg=PT18 |title=The Life Steve McQueen |first=Dwight Jon |last=Zimmerman |publisher=Motorbooks |year=2017 |isbn=978-0-7603-5811-5 |page=17 |access-date=January 10, 2020 |archive-date=August 19, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200819153749/https://books.google.com/books?id=NnpFDwAAQBAJ&pg=PT18 |url-status=live }}</ref>

}}

==Bibliography==
* {{cite book |last=Niemi |first=Robert |date=October 17, 2013 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ZcGNAQAAQBAJ |title=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 |publisher=[[ABC-CLIO]] |location=[[Santa Barbara, California]] |isbn=978-1-61069-198-7 }}
* {{cite book |last=Sanford |first=Christopher |date=February 19, 2003 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=yeerw22YwmUC |title=McQueen: The Biography |publisher=[[Rowman & Littlefield|Taylor Trade Publications]] |location=[[Lanham, Maryland]] |isbn=978-0-87833-307-3 }}
* {{cite book |last=Wright |first=Kate |date=2004 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=0Cl1S1V0NW0C |title=Screenwriting is Storytelling: Creating an A-list Screenplay That Sells! |publisher=[[Penguin Group|Perigee Books]] |location=New York City |isbn=978-0-399-53024-1 }}

==Further reading==
* [[Jim Beaver|Beaver, Jim]]. ''Steve McQueen''. Films in Review, August–September 1981.
* Satchell, Tim. ''McQueen''. (Sidgwick and Jackson Limited, 1981) {{ISBN|0-283-98778-2}}
* Siegel, Mike. ''Steve McQueen: The Actor and his Films'' (Dalton Watson, 2011)
* {{Cite news |last=McQueen |first=Steve |date=November 1966 |magazine=[[Popular Science]] |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=kSkDAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA76 |title=Motorcycles: What I Like in a Bike—and Why |volume=189 |issue=5 |issn=0161-7370 |pages=76–81 }}
* Terrill, Marshall. ''Steve McQueen: A Tribute to the King of Cool'', (Dalton Watson, 2010)
* Terrill, Marshall. ''Steve McQueen: The Life and Legacy of a Hollywood Icon'', (Triumph Books, 2010)

==External links==
{{Portal|Biography}}
{{Commons category|Steve McQueen}}
* {{Official website}}
* {{IMDb name}}
* {{Tcmdb name}}
* {{IBDB name}}
* [https://www.virtual-history.com/movie/person/1593/steve-mcqueen Steve McQueen] at Virtual History
* [https://techchannel.att.com/play-video.cfm/2011/12/21/AT&T-Archives-Family-Affair Bell System Film "A Family Affair"], McQueen's debut, at The AT&T Tech Channel
* [https://www.walter-riml.at/welcome/photogallery/1962-the-great-escape/ 1962 The Great Escape] – private photos of the shooting and documents of 2nd unit cameraman Walter Riml

{{Authority control}}

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[[Category:Military personnel from Indiana]]
[[Category:Neighborhood Playhouse School of the Theatre alumni]]
[[Category:Off-road motorcycle racers]]
[[Category:Off-road racing drivers]]
[[Category:People from Beech Grove, Indiana]]
[[Category:People from Echo Park, Los Angeles]]
[[Category:People from Saline County, Missouri]]
[[Category:Racing drivers from Indiana]]
[[Category:Racing drivers from Los Angeles]]
[[Category:Racing drivers from Missouri]]
[[Category:United States Marines]]
[[Category:United States Merchant Mariners]]
[[Category:United States Merchant Mariners of World War II]]
[[Category:Western (genre) television actors]]
[[Category:World record setters in motorcycling]]
[[Category:World Sportscar Championship drivers]]