THE FESTIVAL IS CLOSED (A TRIBUTE )!

Steve with Neile

Ali MacGraw

Steve with Barbara McQueen

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This Blog is my tribute to you--to each of you--who for the past 3 years have stopped by either as a BLOG "lurker" or one who has bravely left me a "Comment" during "The 3rd Annual Steve McQueen Film Festival". My Website and my own life itself, is but a tiny corner of the world we live in. My late father used to say during our night time walks after dinner to me as a child: "You know about the Cosmos? Life is just mili-seconds long". During a recent telephone conversation with my Aunt, 88, she commented that for my Dad, "His time is over". But in my heart, my father's memory lives on. In the film world, it is quite obvious that Steve McQueen is missed. I've read e-mailed comments to me from Japan, Germany, Italy, The Netherlands, Spain, France and The United Kingdom. Stop for a moment and imagine how many 20-Somethings and 30-Somethings are just now discovering Steve McQueen. Serious Actors studying their craft commonly have lively in-class debates about all of Steve's films. From his stage work in all versions of "A Hatful of Rain" to the films, "The Magnificent Seven", "Love with the Proper Stranger", "Bullitt" and all the way to "Junior Bonner and "The Hunter". The topics are rich. Steve was and remains a much beloved and missed actor and his Legacy---while a complicated man---his struggles were all too human. And that's the Steve McQueen millions of us worldwide relate to, revere and miss. And yet, as you'll read below, his spirit is still very much alive.

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Here is my fascination: His mother, Julian Crawford married Bill McQueen. At just 6 months old, Bill McQueen left Steve and Julian. Terrence Steve McQueen was born in Beech Grove, Indiana on March 24, 1930. I drove through Beech Grove in late 2007. At age 3, Steve was sent to Slater, Missouri to live with his great Uncle Claude on a farm. At age 5, his mother remarried and returned to take Steve back to Indianapolis where he fell in with kids who committed petty thefts. At age 12, the family moved to Los Angeles and Steve continued to find his way into trouble. His mother (who had remarried an abusive husband) felt overwhelmed with caring for Steve and sent him to The Boys Republic in Chino Hills, California. At 17, Steve left school to join the Marines where he was assigned to the Tank Division. Following his Honorable Discharge, he used his G.I. Bill in New York's Greenwich Village to learn acting. Of the 2,000 applicants at the time, only Steve McQueen and Martin Landeau were accepted into the prestigious Lee Strasberg School of Acting. Honing his skills at "The Neighborhood Playhouse", he applied himself. And the rest is history. It takes a remarkable man to survive so much.

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Hellen Keller once wrote: "Character cannot be developed in ease and quiet. Only through experience of trial and suffering can the soul be strengthened, ambition inspired and success achieved". That epitomizes Steve McQueen to me. When Steve died on November 7, 1980 of Mesothelioma, a deadly and painful form of cancer lined to asbestos exposure, he willed a significant gift to The Boys Republic, where he visited annually in-person--and not just for "photo ops". He wanted to give back to the institution that helped him, and spent genuine quality time with the boys at the camp. Today, Steve's first wife Neile sits on the board of directors. In 1983, a plaque was installed outside the newly constructed Steve McQueen Recreation Center. The plaque reads: "Steve McQueen came here as a troubled boy but left as a man. He went on to achieve stardom in motion pictures but returned to this campus often to share of himself and his fortune. His legacy is hope and inspiration to those students here now, and those yet to come".

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Steve and Neile's daughter Terry sadly passed away at age 38 in 1998. Our first feature, the documentary "Steve McQueen: The Essence of Cool" premiered in the U.S. from TCM in Los Angeles, California at The Peterson Automotive Museum on May 24, 2005. Among the celebrities in attendance was Neile Adams and son Chad McQueen, and actresses Dana Delaney of TV's "China Beach" fame and Doris Roberts from TV's "Everybody Loves Raymond". Neile re-issued her updated book, "My Husband, My Friend", and was widowed after 25 years of marriage in 2005 to Alvin Toffel. Neile continues to sing and record. Steve and Neile's son Chad McQueen participated in a book with Matt Stone called "McQueen's Machines: The Cars and Bikes of a Hollywood Icon" and has remained busy as an actor, producer and auto racer. A serious crash in 2006 ended his auto racing career, however he continues to thrive. Steve's second Wife, Ali MacGraw wrote a well-received memoir in 1990 called "Moving Pictures" and was hailed in 1991 by People Magazine as one of the "50 Most Beautiful People in the World". She made her Broadway acting debut in New York City in 2006 in "Festin". Steve's third wife and widow, former Cosmopolitan magazine and Ford Agency fashion model Barbara McQueen Brumsvold co-authored a book with Marshall Terrill entitled: "Steve McQueen: The Last Mile". Barbara and husband David are both motorcycle enthusiasts who divide their time between homes in Northwest Arizona and Montana. In summary, the magic lives on! And that is why I produce this Website Blog "Festival". As we have done and will continue to do each year--God-Willing--below is a parade of movie posters from this past week as a Tribute to each of you. Thank You for your patience and kind words of support privately and publicly. I sincerely hope you enjoyed it as much as I did.


---Michael

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With your kind permission, I'd like to speak briefly about "The Boys Republic" because it was so important to Steve, and Neile is today a board member of the non profit organization.

There are Four Cornerstones that make up the Philosophy of The Boys Republic:

1. Accountability
2. The Group Is The Target of Change
3. Earning Self Esteem Through Personal Accomplishment
4. Nothing Without Labor

For further information about how you can support The Boys Republic in Steve's memory, please contact their Office of Development at : (909) 628-1217, extension 206.

See You Again in 2009!