A photograph of Steve McQueen as Josh Randall in the television series Wanted Dead or Alive.
Steve McQueen as Josh Randall in Wanted Dead or Alive (1958–1961)

Steve McQueen (March 24, 1930 – November 7, 1980) was an American actor who had an extensive career in film and television.[1] Popularly known as the "King of Cool",[2] McQueen's screen persona was that of portraying cool, reticent antihero roles, which appealed strongly to the masses. This led him to cement his status as one of the most famous celebrities in Hollywood during the counterculture of the 1960s.[3]

After making his debut appearing in an uncredited role in the crime drama Girl on the Run (1953),[4] McQueen featured in the Paul Newman starrer Somebody Up There Likes Me (1956), in which he played the uncredited role of Fidel, a member of the protagonist's gang.[5][6] In 1958, he appeared in the science fiction film The Blob, which was his first film as a lead actor.[7] It proved to be commercially successful at the box office, grossing ($40,572,088 in 2022) against a budget of ($1,115,732 in 2022).[8] McQueen became known for portraying bounty hunter Josh Randall in the CBS television series Wanted Dead or Alive (1958–1961).[3][9][10] He continued to act in films, playing the lead in The Great St. Louis Bank Robbery (1959), and in a supporting role as a corporal in Never So Few (1959), his first of three films with John Sturges.[11]

In 1960, McQueen achieved stardom when he co-starred alongside Yul Brynner in Sturges' Western, The Magnificent Seven, which was based on Akira Kurosawa's 1954 film Seven Samurai.[1][3] After a series of unsuccessful films over the next two years, McQueen teamed up with Sturges again in the war drama The Great Escape (1963), in which he played Virgil Hilts,[12] a World War II prisoner of war who, along with fellow Allied POWs, makes an escape from a high security prisoner-of-war camp.[13] It emerged as one of the highest-grossing films of the year, winning McQueen the award for Best Actor at the Moscow International Film Festival.[14] In The Great Escape, a shot of Hilts riding a motorcycle and jumping a series of barbed-wire fences (performed by a stuntman) to escape from German soldiers is considered one of the best stunts ever made.[13][15][16]

McQueen received his first Golden Globe Award for Best Actor nomination for his role of a musician in Love with the Proper Stranger (1963),[17][18] in which he was paired opposite Natalie Wood.[19] He achieved critical and commercial success with The Cincinnati Kid (1965) and The Sand Pebbles (1966),[3][20][21] the latter garnering him the only Academy Award for Best Actor nomination of his career.[22][23] In 1968, McQueen appeared as millionaire Thomas Crown in the crime film The Thomas Crown Affair,[24] and in the thriller Bullitt as the eponymous police detective Frank Bullitt.[25][26] These films fared well at the box office, the latter garnering acclaim for its stunt sequences, particularly the car chase.[26][27] For his performance in The Reivers (1969), McQueen earned a third Golden Globe Award nomination.[28]

McQueen began the 1970s with the sports drama Le Mans (1971), a fictional take on the annual 24 Hours of Le Mans endurance races. The film was a critical and commercial disappointment, leaving him almost bankrupt.[29][lower-alpha 1] He followed it by starring in two back-to-back films under Sam Peckinpah: the Western Junior Bonner (1972), in which he featured as the titular character, a rodeo rider,[31] and the action film The Getaway (1972), in which he appears as an ex-conman who flees to Mexico with his wife after being double-crossed by his partners-in-crime.[32] In the latter, he was paired opposite his second wife, Ali MacGraw.[32] Both films were critically acclaimed. While Junior Bonner did not enjoy box office success, The Getaway went on to become one of the highest-grossing films of the year, marking a comeback for McQueen.[33]

In 1973, he featured alongside Dustin Hoffman in the prison film Papillon playing Henri Charrière, a prisoner convicted of murder who makes an escape attempt with fellow convict Louis Dega (Hoffman).[34] McQueen's performance earned him his fourth and final Golden Globe Award nomination in the Best Actor category.[35] He then starred alongside Paul Newman as a SFFD chief in the disaster drama The Towering Inferno (1974).[36] McQueen received $12 million for acting in the film, making him the highest-paid actor in the world up to that point.[37][38] The film was commercially successful, grossing ($824,808,367 in 2022) against a ($83,074,224 in 2022) budget.[39] After a four-year hiatus during which he focused on his motorcycle racing career,[38] McQueen returned to acting when he was cast against type as a scientist in An Enemy of the People.[40][41] He completed two more films before his death: Tom Horn and The Hunter (both released in 1980).[40]

Film

Film Year Role(s) Notes Ref(s)
Girl on the Run 1953 Young Man Trying to Ring the Bell Uncredited extra [4]
Somebody Up There Likes Me 1956 Fidel Uncredited role [5]
[42]
Never Love a Stranger 1958 Martin Cabell [7]
The Blob 1958 Steve Andrews Credited as Steven McQueen [7]
The Great St. Louis Bank Robbery 1959 George Fowler [43]
Never So Few 1959 Bill Ringa [43]
The Magnificent Seven 1960 Vin Tanner [44]
The Honeymoon Machine 1961 Lt. Ferguson "Fergie" Howard [45]
Hell Is for Heroes 1962 John Reese
The War Lover 1962 Buzz Rickson [46]
The Great Escape 1963 Cpt. Virgil Hilts (The Cooler King)[lower-alpha 2] Moscow International Film Festival Silver Prize Award for Best Actor [12]
[14]
Soldier in the Rain 1963 Sgt. Eustis Clay [46]
Love with the Proper Stranger 1963 Rocky Papasano Nominated — Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Motion Picture Drama [17]
[47]
Baby the Rain Must Fall 1965 Henry Thomas [47]
The Cincinnati Kid 1965 Eric Stoner (The Cincinnati Kid)[lower-alpha 2] [47]
Nevada Smith 1966 Max Sand (Nevada Smith)[lower-alpha 2] [47]
The Sand Pebbles 1966 Machinist's Mate First-Class Jake Holman Nominated – Academy Award for Best Actor
Nominated — Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Motion Picture Drama		 [22]
[23]
[47]
The Thomas Crown Affair 1968 Thomas Crown [25]
Bullitt 1968 Lt. Frank Bullitt [25]
The Reivers 1969 Boon Hogganbeck Nominated — Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Motion Picture Musical or Comedy [25]
[28]
Le Mans 1971 Michael Delaney [48]
On Any Sunday 1971 Himself Documentary film [49]
Junior Bonner 1972 Junior "JR" Bonner [50]
The Getaway 1972 Carter "Doc" McCoy [51]
Papillon 1973 Henri Charrière (Papillon)[lower-alpha 2] Nominated — Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Motion Picture Drama [34]
[35]
The Towering Inferno 1974 Michael O'Hallorhan [52]
An Enemy of the People 1978 Thomas Stockmann Also executive producer [40]
Tom Horn 1980 Tom Horn Also executive producer [40]
The Hunter 1980 Ralph "Papa" Thorson [53]

Television

Title Year Role(s) Notes Ref.
Goodyear Television Playhouse 1955 Guest appearance Episode: "The Chivington Raid" [54]
The United States Steel Hour 1956 Bushy Episode: "Bring Me a Dream"
Westinghouse Studio One 1957 Joseph Gordon Episode: "The Defender": Part 1 [55]
Westinghouse Studio One 1957 Joseph Gordon Episode: "The Defender": Part 2 [56]
The West Point Story 1957 Rick Episode: "Ambush" [57]
The 20th Century Fox Hour 1957 Kinsella Episode: "Deep Water" [58]
The Big Story 1957 Chuck Milton Episode: "Car 83" [59]
Climax! 1958 Anthony Reeves, Henry Reeves[lower-alpha 3] Episode: "Four Hours in White"
Tales of Wells Fargo 1958 Bill Longley Episode: "Bill Longley" [61]
Trackdown 1958 Josh Randall Episode: "The Bounty Hunter" [62]
Trackdown 1958 Mal Cody, Wes Cody[lower-alpha 3] Episode: "The Brothers" [60]
Wanted Dead or Alive 1958–1961 Josh Randall Main role: 94 episodes [3]
[9]
[63]
Alfred Hitchcock Presents 1959 Bill Everett Season 4 Episode 32: "Human Interest Story" [64]
Alfred Hitchcock Presents 1960 Gambler Season 5 Episode 15: "Man from the South" [65]

Notes

  1. ↑ McQueen's production company, Solar Productions, was a shareholder in Le Mans. After the film's lacklustre performance, McQueen received a notice from the Internal Revenue Service, which urged him to pay $2 million as tax. He had to make use of whatever profits he made as well as shut down his company to pay the tax.[30]
  2. 1 2 3 4 McQueen played a single character in the film who has two or more different names.
  3. 1 2 McQueen appeared in dual roles in this episode.[60]

References

  1. 1 2 B. Flint, Peter (November 8, 1980). "Steve McQueen, 50, Is Dead Of A Heart Attack After Surgery For Cancer". The New York Times. Archived from the original on December 3, 2017. Retrieved December 3, 2017.
  2. ↑ Borrows, Bill (May 31, 2015). "How Steve McQueen became the ultimate Hollywood man's man". The Daily Telegraph. Archived from the original on December 3, 2017. Retrieved December 3, 2017.
    Cosgrove, Ben (November 5, 2014). "Life With Steve McQueen: Photos of the King of Cool in 1963". Time. Archived from the original on December 3, 2017. Retrieved December 3, 2017.
    Rogersby, Sterling (October 20, 2014). "The Case For Steve McQueen, Icon". Maxim. Archived from the original on December 3, 2017. Retrieved December 3, 2017.
    "Steve McQueen: The Cars Of The King of Cool". DriveTribe. June 28, 2017. Archived from the original on December 3, 2017. Retrieved December 3, 2017.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 Seiler, Michael; Warga, Wayne (November 8, 1980). "From the Archives: Actor Steve McQueen Dies in Juarez Hospital". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on November 8, 2017. Retrieved December 3, 2017.
  4. 1 2 "Girl on the Run (1953)". AFI Catalog of Feature Films. Archived from the original on December 2, 2017. Retrieved December 2, 2017.
  5. 1 2 Sanford 2003, p. 465.
  6. ↑ "Somebody Up There Likes Me (1956)". AFI Catalog of Feature Films. Archived from the original on December 3, 2017. Retrieved December 3, 2017.
  7. 1 2 3 Terrill 1993, p. 430.
  8. ↑ Weaver 2002, p. 91.
  9. 1 2 Ebert, Roger (November 8, 1980). "Remembering Steve McQueen". RogerEbert.com. Archived from the original on December 3, 2017. Retrieved December 3, 2017.
  10. ↑ ""King of Cool" Steve McQueen dies". History. November 7, 1980. Archived from the original on December 3, 2017. Retrieved December 3, 2017.
  11. ↑ Terrill 1993, pp. 431–432.
  12. 1 2 Terrill 1993, p. 432; Niemi 2013, p. 129.
  13. 1 2 Adams, Derek. "The Great Escape". Time Out. Archived from the original on December 3, 2017. Retrieved December 3, 2017.
  14. 1 2 "1963 year". Moscow International Film Festival. Archived from the original on December 3, 2017. Retrieved December 3, 2017.
  15. ↑ Kim, Wook (February 16, 2012). "Top 10 Memorable Movie Motorcycles – The Great Escape". Time. Archived from the original on December 3, 2017. Retrieved December 3, 2017.
  16. ↑ McKay, Sinclair (December 24, 2014). "The Great Escape: 50th anniversary". The Daily Telegraph. Archived from the original on December 3, 2017. Retrieved December 3, 2017.
  17. 1 2 "Winners & Nominees 1964". Hollywood Foreign Press Association. Archived from the original on December 3, 2017. Retrieved December 3, 2017.
  18. ↑ Crowther, Bosley (December 26, 1963). "Screen: Eight New Movies Arrive for the Holidays: Natalie Wood Starred as a Salesgirl Doris Day Is in 'Move Over, Darling' 'Move Over, Darling' 'Sleeping in My Bed' 'The Best of Cinerama' 'Sword in the Stone' '4 for Texas' of 1870 'Kings of the Sun' '30 Years of Fun'". The New York Times. Archived from the original on December 3, 2017. Retrieved December 3, 2017.
  19. ↑ Terrill 1993, p. 433.
  20. ↑ Sanford 2003, pp. 175–176.
  21. ↑ "The Sand Pebbles (1966)". The Numbers. Archived from the original on December 3, 2017. Retrieved December 3, 2017.
  22. 1 2 "Winners & Nominees 1967". Hollywood Foreign Press Association. Archived from the original on December 3, 2017. Retrieved December 3, 2017.
  23. 1 2 "The 39th Academy Awards". Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. April 10, 1967. Archived from the original on December 3, 2017. Retrieved December 3, 2017.
  24. ↑ "The Thomas Crown Affair (1968)". Rotten Tomatoes. Archived from the original on December 4, 2017. Retrieved December 4, 2017.
  25. 1 2 3 4 Terrill 1993, p. 435.
  26. 1 2 "Bullitt (1968)". Rotten Tomatoes. Archived from the original on December 4, 2017. Retrieved December 4, 2017.
  27. ↑ Sanford 2003, p. 225.
  28. 1 2 "Winners & Nominees 1970". Hollywood Foreign Press Association. Archived from the original on December 3, 2017. Retrieved December 3, 2017.
  29. ↑ Terrill 1993, pp. 204–205.
  30. ↑ Terrill 1993, pp. 189–205.
  31. ↑ "Junior Bonner (1972)". Rotten Tomatoes. Archived from the original on December 4, 2017. Retrieved December 4, 2017.
  32. 1 2 "The Getaway (1972)". Rotten Tomatoes. Archived from the original on December 4, 2017. Retrieved December 4, 2017.
  33. ↑ Terrill 1993, pp. 216, 246–247; Weddle 1994, p. 310.
  34. 1 2 Ebert, Roger (December 16, 1973). "Papillon". RogerEbert.com. Archived from the original on December 3, 2017. Retrieved December 3, 2017.
  35. 1 2 "Winners & Nominees 1974". Hollywood Foreign Press Association. Archived from the original on December 3, 2017. Retrieved December 3, 2017.
  36. ↑ Canby, Vincent (December 20, 1974). "'The Towering Inferno' First-Rate Visual Spectacle". The New York Times. Archived from the original on December 4, 2017. Retrieved December 4, 2017.
  37. ↑ Terrill 1993, p. 281.
  38. 1 2 Shaw, Alan (September 15, 2017). "Steve McQueen would have made a Great Escape from being an actor". The Sunday Post. Archived from the original on December 4, 2017. Retrieved December 4, 2017.
  39. ↑ "Towering Inferno (1974)". The Numbers. Archived from the original on December 4, 2017. Retrieved December 4, 2017.
  40. 1 2 3 4 Terrill 1993, p. 437.
  41. ↑ Maslin, Janet (August 11, 1981). "McQueen In 1976 'Enemy Of The People'". The New York Times. Archived from the original on December 4, 2017. Retrieved December 4, 2017.
  42. ↑ "Somebody Up There Likes Me (1956)". Turner Classic Movies. Archived from the original on December 2, 2017. Retrieved December 2, 2017.
  43. 1 2 Terrill 1993, p. 431.
  44. ↑ "The Magnificent Seven (1960)". Moviefone. Archived from the original on December 2, 2017. Retrieved December 2, 2017.
  45. ↑ "The Honeymoon Machine (1961)". Rotten Tomatoes. Archived from the original on December 2, 2017. Retrieved December 2, 2017.
  46. 1 2 Terrill 1993, p. 432.
  47. 1 2 3 4 5 Sanford 2003, p. 467.
  48. ↑ Terrill 1993, pp. 435–436.
  49. ↑ Terrill 1993, p. 436.
  50. ↑ "Junior Bonner (1972)". Rotten Tomatoes. Archived from the original on December 3, 2017. Retrieved December 3, 2017.
  51. ↑ Terrill 1993, p. 436; Wright 2004, p. 7.
  52. ↑ Terrill 1993, pp. 436–437.
  53. ↑ "The Hunter (1980)". Rotten Tomatoes. Archived from the original on December 3, 2017. Retrieved December 3, 2017.
  54. ↑ "Steve McQueen Made His Debut On". Old Farmer's Almanac. Archived from the original on December 12, 2017. Retrieved December 12, 2017.
  55. ↑ "Season 9, Episode 1 The Defenders". TV Guide. Archived from the original on December 12, 2017. Retrieved December 12, 2017.
  56. ↑ "Season 9, Episode 2 The Defenders". TV Guide. Archived from the original on December 12, 2017. Retrieved December 12, 2017.
  57. ↑ The West Point Story, Episode 23 – Ambush. The West Point Story. New York City. March 8, 1957.
  58. ↑ "Season 2, Episode 16 Deep Water". TV Guide. Archived from the original on December 12, 2017. Retrieved December 12, 2017.
  59. ↑ "Car 83 (1957)". British Film Institute. Archived from the original on December 12, 2017. Retrieved December 12, 2017.
  60. 1 2 Lentz 1996, p. 520.
  61. ↑ "Season 2, Episode 23 Bill Longley". TV Guide. Archived from the original on December 12, 2017. Retrieved December 12, 2017.
  62. ↑ "The Bounty Hunter". TV Guide. Archived from the original on December 12, 2017. Retrieved December 12, 2017.
  63. ↑ "Wanted: Dead or Alive". TV Guide. Archived from the original on December 12, 2017. Retrieved December 12, 2017.
  64. ↑ "Season 4, Episode 32 Human Interest Story". TV Guide. Archived from the original on December 12, 2017. Retrieved December 12, 2017.
  65. ↑ "Alfred Hitchcock In The Schoolyard". Archive of American Television. January 5, 2010. Archived from the original on December 14, 2017. Retrieved December 14, 2017.

Bibliography

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