Posted on 03/24/2010 1:06:39 PM PDT by Daffynition
Three Weeks in Steve McQueen's World
In the spring of 1963, Steve McQueen was on the brink of superstardom, already popular from his big-screen breakout as one of The Magnificent Seven and just a couple months away from entering the Badass Hall of Fame with the release of The Great Escape. Intrigued by his dramatic backstory and his off-screen exploits — McQueen was a reformed delinquent who got his thrills racing cars and motorcycles — LIFE sent photographer John Dominis to California to hang out with the 33-year-old actor and see what he could get. Three weeks and more than 40 rolls of film later, Dominis had captured some astonishingly intimate and iconic images, photos impossible to imagine in today's restricted-access celebrity world. Only a handful of those photos have ever been published… but now, in celebration of what would have been McQueen's 80th birthday (March 24), LIFE.com presents these never-before-seen gems from that legendary assignment, along with insights from Dominis about the time he spent with the man who would become known as the King of Cool.
Pictured: At his home in Palm Springs, McQueen practices his aim before heading out for a shooting session in the desert.
With Faye Dunaway on my favorite street on the planet ... inThe Thomas Crown Affair (1968)
reference post 80, great read!
Don’t forget “On Any Sunday”!
My daughter just called from college and is talking with my wife. I had to go downstairs and tell her about your family’s store and connection with Steve. She was speechless and thinks he was the coolest guy around. Last year we found and read online the Santa Paula stories about him.
I think my favorite movie of his may be the the last one. The one where he is a horrible driver. :^)
Funny I cannot think of one today's Hollywood actors who can measure up to any of the Old Hollywood's greats like Steve McQueen.
did he really? that’s wonderful.
They should have bought 1968 1/2 Cobra Jet Mustangs.Take off the hood scoops and they would be just as plain looking. They had more than enough power and would have to only modify the suspension.
A Balanced Life
"Man, after I've gotten my sugar out of this business, I'm going to take off — and run like a thief," McQueen told LIFE about his desire to get out of Hollywood. But he had several hits in him yet — Bullitt, The Thomas Crown Affair, The Getaway, and The Towering Inferno among them — and he'd continue working until the end of his life, at one point earning more "sugar" than any other star (by the early '70s he was the highest-paid actor in the world).
Photo: John Dominis/TIME & LIFE Pictures
They had to modify the 390s in the Mustangs to get them to do what they wanted. While making the Chargers slower to keep them from running away from the Mustangs. If they would have bought CJ Mustangs,those had 428 Cobra jet engines. The Mustangs would have ran right along side the Chargers. Thats all.
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