McQueen's Machine

Cool. Handsome. Talented. Paranoid. Driven. Mercurial. Idealistic. Straightforward. And Sexy. Sexy as hell.

These are but a few of the words used to describe Terrence Steven McQueen.

Even now, nearly 25 years after his passing, Steve McQueen's legend lives large. A troubled, dyslexic, often homeless youth who found his calling on both stage and set, McQueen was the most complex of human beings. He could be kindhearted one moment, evil-spirited the next. He exhibited a wicked sense of humor and a violent temper. He was always the perfectionist. A man's man. And a lady's man.

McQueen's complicated life and wildly successful career paralleled the tenets of theater itself: Comedy and Tragedy. Possessing a steely blue gaze and a smoldering moodiness, he magnetized everyone with whom he came in contact, whether in person or only through the silver screen. His gritty sex appeal made him a star in life and a Hollywood icon ever since that life was cut short when he passed away on November 7, 1980, succumbing to cancer at only 50. Steve McQueen and his contemporaries--Newman, Brando, Garner, Coburn, and others--for decades defined the genre of macho American actors.

McQueen biographer Penina Spiegel quotes Faye Dunaway as saying, "He's the misunderstood bad boy you're sure you can cure with a little warmth and some home cooking."