LOCAL PRESS FOR BARBARA MCQUEEN

The last two films of Steve McQueen: (Above) "Tom Horn" Co-Starring Linda Evans. (Below) "The Hunter", Co-Starring Kathryn Harrold and filmed on the South Side of Chicago.

'Steve McQueen: The Last Mile'

(The Arizona Republic): For Barbara Minty McQueen, Jan. 16, 1980, was an important day — she married Steve McQueen. But on Nov. 7 the same year, her heart sank. The actor's health took a turn for the worse, and their life together was cut short. She did not even have a chance to say goodbye. Several years after Steve's death, Barbara, who became a widow at 27, realized she had hundreds of pictures, and that's how the book and photo exhibit “Steve McQueen: The Last Mile” started.

-

The exhibit at the Chandler Center for the Arts, which runs from March 6 to April 11, includes 30 photographs taken by Barbara from 1977 through the end of the actor's life. “They are beautiful private, private pictures,” she said. “I had them forever. They sat in a box in my basement, and I finally thought people would really like it, and it would be a really nice story to tell.” In the past two years, the photo exhibit has been showcased in London; San Francisco; Carmel-by-the-Sea, Calif.; Ketchum, Idaho; Slater, Mo.; and Nashville. Some of the photos portray the actor hitting the road in his vintage pickup trucks, driving 700 miles for a rare WWI motorcycle, flying antique planes in rural California and avoiding the Hollywood buzz.

-

“One of my favorite photos is when it was early in the morning, and he was dressed as I called his aviator garb,” McQueen said. “He had his leather jacket, scarf and a cup of coffee, and he was in front of a plane. It is a side view, but it is beautiful. The sunlight is just perfect.”

-

Tempe's Marshall Terrill, who co-authored the book, said the exhibit is a look at Steve McQueen in a time when people were wondering what he was doing. After reaching the top with “The Towering Inferno” — when he became the highest-paid movie star in the world — McQueen left the spotlight. “The photos show that he was basically kind of learning to live again,” Terrill said. “He was traveling in cars. He was flying antique planes in Santa Paula. The bottom line is that he was learning to live and enjoy his life after searching for peace and happiness.”

-

An opening reception of the exhibit with Barbara will take place March 6. Guests will include Jeb Rosebrook, who wrote the screenplay for “Junior Bonner,” a 1972 movie in which McQueen had a lead role and which was filmed in Prescott. For Rosebrook, McQueen had a knack for the feeling of the character he was to portray. “Steve McQueen is a motion-picture icon in the same way that you would speak of Paul Newman. He is not one to be forgotten.”