Golden Age Of Hollywood
Steve McQueen
Troubled Beginnings
The “King of Cool” was certainly was one of the biggest blue-eyed heartthrobs of his time, but it was humble and troubled beginnings for the Hollywood actor. McQueen’s childhood was in no way rosy. Born to a teenage sex worker, he never met his father and was sent to live with a great uncle in Missouri for years at a time with his mother taking him back occasionally. At the age of nine, one of his mother’s husbands beat him so badly he took to sleeping on the streets and joined a street gang at the age of 16. He then enrolled in the marines in 1947 and was honorably discharged in 1950.
Movie Bests…
McQueen’s first breakout role was in the TV Western series, Tales of Wells Fargo. He received an Academy Award nomination for his role in The Sand Pebbles. His other popular films include The Cincinnati Kid, Love With the Proper Stranger, The Getaway, and Papillon, as well as all-star ensemble films such as The Magnificent Seven and The Towering Inferno. In 1974 he became the highest-paid movie star in the world, although he did not act in films again for four years. McQueen was disagreable and a “nightmare to work with” but his popularity with filmgoers placed him in high demand and allowed him to command large pay rises.
“I’m not interested in cinema for cinema’s sake. I’m interested in life – what one does and how one interacts. I’m certainly not who people think I am. I live for myself and I answer to nobody. My films are personal to me.”