Steve McQueen: The King Of Cool
During the 1960s and 1970s, you just couldn't get any cooler than Steve
McQueen. The legendary actor/anti-hero exuded hipness from his first appearance
on the screen as an extra in Girl On The Run (1953). Here are a dozen
things you might not have known about The King of Cool.--Of the 2000 people who tried out for Lee Strasberg's acting school in 1952, only McQueen and Martin Landau made the cut.
--He topped Charles Manson's hit list. Upon hearing this, McQueen began to carry a weapon.
--Even though he was the highest paid actor of the 60s, he seemed cheap, often asking for freebies like jeans or electric razors as part of his contract. Actually, he gave these to charity.
--McQueen was a Marine, a blackbelt, and a pilot.
See the next page for more cool Steve McQueen tidbits.
--He was slated to play the role of Rambo. When McQueen died
of lung cancer, Stallone replaced him.
--Everyone from Sheryl Crow to
Drive-By Truckers have written songs about him.
--As a protective
friend/lover of bombshell Mamie Van Doren, McQueen threatened Howard Hughes with
a punch in the nose if he didn't stop hitting on her. Hughes stopped.
--He
was once a motorcycle mechanic who worked on James Dean's motorcycle.
--He
left the set of The Great Escape because his role wasn't big enough. James
Coburn and James Garner convinced him to suck it up and return.
--After The
Towering Inferno became a mega-hit, McQueen turned down leading roles in One
Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest and Close Encounters of The Third Kind.
--Coolest
quote: I live for myself and I answer to nobody
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