CO-STAR AND FRIEND DON GORDON ON MCQUEEN!

Left to Right: Steve, Don Gordon & Dustin Hoffman

from "Papillon".
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Character Actor Don Gordon was a close friend of Steve McQueen. Don transitioned from the stage to the big screen during his middle life. Among the films he co-starred with McQueen were: "Wanted Dead or Alive", the 1950's television series where McQueen achieved his first fame as bounty hunter Josh Randal. Then came "The Magnificent Seven", "Bullitt", "Papillon" and "The Towering Inferno". His filmography begins in 1939 and extends through to films such as "Lethal Weapon". He's a wonderful Actor and here are some of Don's recollections.

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DON GORDON: "There was a very different McQueen on the set than when you said, "Cut"! Steve would only show that side of him that he figured somebody could handle. When he corrected scripts, and directors would get a little crazy and say, "What's a matter with this guy? What does he think he is? He's just a television actor." But he knew he was more than that. So, he worked hard at it. And when he worked hard, he wanted you to work hard. What's a matter with that? We'd be doing a scene and Steve would say "You're doing too much, let the camera do it all". And he was right.

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"Steve used to change his phone number like once a week--once every two weeks. You could never get a hold of him. But then he would come by my house on his bike. And he'd begin some elaborate, crazy, wild story about the fight he got into and the fact he thinks he killed this guy. But straight! You know? Then he would read the newspapers to see if there were any stories. Because he would tell only me that story. And of course, I wouldn't say anything. It's none of my business. And he'd say, "Oh, by the way, I'm changing my phone number". And he'd give me the number. He wanted to see if people were trustworthy---and for good reason. When you're a big movie star, people tend to use you. Because if he liked you, he liked you! If he didn't like you, he didn't hide it. You can't get much straighter than that. He didn't like a lot of dialogue. He liked it when someone else talked and he would nod. (Laughing) There would be four paragraphs of dialogue and he'd say, "Let Don do it". And I said, "McQueen, what is this?" (Impersonates Steve) And he'd say, "Whadya gonna do? I'm the star!"

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"We had a great time with "Papillon" because Dustin (Hoffman) would show up on the set and you never knew what he was going to be wearing. McQueen said to me, "What's he doin?" I said, "He's wearing glasses". And (begins laughing) Steve saw those glasses. Now he had to think, 'What am I going to do?' Dustin kept him on his toes. They really brought out the best in one another. He was honest. He was pure. There was no bullshit. He was right there---and he never betrayed a friend---ever!"

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Tomorrow: Steve's Personal Assistant, Mario Iscovich!