The life and times of bad boy Steve McQueen!
In American society, the name Steve McQueen involve images of roguish good looks, fast paced adventure, coolness, and stardom.
This man over the years has been turned into the ultimate icon of what a "Hollywood bad boy" is supposed to be. His rise, and sudden demise at the hands of lung cancer, is the stuff of legends.
Born into a harsh life Steve McQueen had to learn how to fend for himself at an early age. After struggling with life on the mean streets, he joined the US marines. He latter come out of the 3-year stint a hardened man.
Soon his path would lead him to Hollywood's bright lights with his first role in 1953. His acting career would see him make movies for the next twenty-seven years, ending with an appearance in the 1980 movie The Hunter. His long career included making action flicks, documentaries, and television series and enabled him to work with famous producers and fellow actors.
Steve McQueen's personal life
When it came to his personal life, some say that it mirrored the bad boy character he often played in movies. There is no mincing of words, Steve McQueen lived and promoted the bad boy image!
Just like Marylin Monroe who took Hollywood female actors sensuality to new heights, Steve McQueen personified the bad boy image and lent Hollywood a measuring stick for the 'ultimate cool man'.
Many cannot explain what it is about McQueen that made women so enthralled and made men want to impersonate the "McQueen image." There was simply something about him.
Movies like The Great Escape, The Sand Pebbles, Nevada Smith, Bullitt, The Getaway, are well known and well respected in the Hollywood industry. They helped to give Steve a firm grip on the title of the 'badest and coolest actor in Hollywood'.
Steve McQueen racing career
It is well known that McQueen had a burning passion for things that go fast and vroom! His fascination with racing is something that started long before his acting career. It was way before Hollywood would make it a "star-status symbol." He loved motorbikes, racecars, and anything that had an engine that would give him that rush of the road. He did not need to get a loan to buy his nice collection of Ferraris and Porsches.
His interest into the racing world was more than simple publicity. He toyed with the idea of becoming a full time racer (but stuck to producing awesome movies). Whether it was on the track or off road, this man simply loved to go fast and live hard.
He also has several wins in professional races accredited to his name, like the 1970 12 Hours of Sebring race. He did not talk the talk he walked it too.
Maybe what made him such an icon is the way with which he lived his life on and off the big screen/car tracks. Steve McQueen loved life and treated each moment with certain zeal, perhaps trying to make up for the dismal childhood that he suffered through.
His story is one that other Hollywood stars would latter come to recognize. It is the old story of rags to riches, which is the cornerstone of American dream. Steve McQueen is a celebrated Hollywood icon and it is hard to find any who live up to the principal of the 'McQueen look'.
