“If I hadn’t made it as an actor, I might have wound up a hood.” --Steve McQueen
Terence Steven "Steve" McQueen was an American actor. Called "The King of Cool", his "anti-hero" persona, developed at the height of the Vietnam War-era counterculture, made him a top box-office draw of the 1960s and 1970s.Born: March 24, 1930, Beech Grove, IN
Died: November 7, 1980, Ciudad Juárez, Mexico
Personal remembrances
- Watching The Great Escape (1963). I first encountered Steve McQueen on TV about 10 years after The Great Escape came out in theaters. I was about 13 at the time, and seriously into bicycling and escapes, and adventure-filled escapes on bicycles.
- Reading Papillon (Published 1969, English 1970, movie version starring Steve McQueen and Dustin Hoffman 1973). I read the novel in the early '70s because I was too young to get in to an R-rated movie at the time. But I was aware of the movie version starring the guy from the Escape movie.
Unfortunately, I first heard of the Thomas Crown Affair when it was remade (1999) with Pierce Brosnan in the leading role. The original and best (1968) starred Steve McQueen and Faye Dunaway
