173. Steve’s first feature film was Somebody Up There Likes Me, which came out in 1956. The film is about the early life of boxer Rocky Graziano, played by Paul Newman, from his childhood until he won the World Middleweight Championship in 1947 at 28 years of age. McQueen’s uncredited performance as Fidel was limited to only a short scene, of which his wife, Neile, thought he was terrible in the part. At least he was paid $19 a day for his work!
174 Interestingly, the lead role was originally meant for another famous gearhead, James Dean, but he was killed just weeks before filming was set to start.
175. McQueen’s first credited feature film was Never Love a Stranger, which came out in 1958. He played the role of Martin Cabell, a Jewish district attorney, in a film where the other primary characters are also Jewish. His first credited film sure sounds a lot like his first role back in New York in 1952! The low-budget film was a flop, and Steve failed at playing the upstanding, good-guy gentleman.
176. In 1957, Steve acted in a two-part television series called The Defender, which was part of CBS’s Studio One series. The first part aired on February 25 and the second part on March 4, both of which received critical appraise for several actors, including Steve. CBS Executive Herbert Brodkin even wrote Steve a letter on March 5 thanking him for his fine work on the program.
177 While working on Thanks to his role on The Defender, Steve received his first bit of fan mail. Not only did he get his first letter, the CBS studio also fielded several calls from people saying they were “fans of Steve McQueen.”
178. Steve McQueen, billed as “Steven” for the last time, earned the lead role in The Blob after impressing the directors with his work on The Defender. Unfortunately, at 27 years old, they thought he was too old to play a high school student. He ran into one of the directors in New York and convinced him that he could play the role after reading a few lines from the script.
179. From his very first day on set, Steve made his presence known by throwing firecrackers at the crew and riding his motorcycle around. He insisted that he needed a bigger dressing room than the other actors and oftentimes brought his dog to the set. Because the crew of The Blob was so religious, they held daily prayer meetings where they prayed for a variety of things on the movie to go well. Every meeting concluded with one final prayer for the day: “God save us from Steve McQueen!”
180. There’s a popular rumor that McQueen was initially offered $2,500 or 10 percent of the profit for his work on The Blob. It makes for a funny story, but it’s false. He was paid $3,000 for his work and the option to appear in the studio’s two next films.
181. At the time, The Blob was made for only $130,000 and wasn’t expected to do all that well. It ended up shocking everyone and went on to become a symbol of 1950s popular culture. That first year, The Blob brought in a $6 million profit and is estimated to have grossed more than $40 million over the years.
182. One of the first people outside of the production staff to see The Blob was Dick Powell, head of Four Star Studios, who asked to see a rough cut of the film. The purpose of his viewing was to look at Steve McQueen and potentially cast him in an upcoming television show. Jack Harris, even with all that the crew went through on set with McQueen, gave his recommendation. The show Powell went on to produce? Wanted Dead or Alive.
183. Steve fired his horse on his first day of work on Wanted Dead or Alive. He was initially supplied with an older horse that he claimed had to be put on roller skates so it could get around the sound stage.
184. He asked Dick Powell if he could pick out his own horse, saying, “We’re going to be doing this series for a while; I’d kind of like a horse I got something with, you know?” He decided on a black one named Ringo who bucked him off during his first ride. Ringo bit all the other horses in his first week on set and destroyed several pieces of equipment.
185. McQueen also insisted on picking his own gun for his character of Josh Randall to use in Wanted Dead or Alive. The cut-down .44-40 Winchester Model 1892 rifle that he used was created by his friend, artist Von Dutch. Where a sawed-off shotgun is often referred to as a “hog’s leg,” Steve wanted his creation to instill fear without being “mean.” The name “Mare’s Leg” was chosen for the thigh-mounted rifle.
186. By the time filming on Never So Few had wrapped, Steve had so much practice handling firearms that he challenged the industry’s best, Sammy Davis, Jr., to a draw-and-shoot contest. The prize was a nickel-plated memorial Colt .45, otherwise known as the Peacemaker, plus a few side bets Steve took that were all going for Davis. McQueen ended up beating Davis, taking the show gun and some cash, but most importantly, the respect.
187. Steve McQueen’s method acting style meant that his characters and actions were based on some level of real-life experience or emotion. His character of Josh Randall in Wanted Dead or Alive was based on a cop he knew when he was a kid in New York. “There was no monkey business with him,” he said. “When he said he’d shoot, he meant it. Well, I think of him, and pretty soon I’m Josh Randall.”
188. The Federal Bureau of Investigation kept tabs on many Hollywood actors and businesspeople during J. Edgar Hoover’s term as director. The FBI created its first dossier on Steve McQueen with the airing of Wanted Dead or Alive, giving it the classification of a “Gangster Glorification Movie.” McQueen remained on the FBI’s radar in this manner until his death.
189. In 1960, Steve and Neile starred in an episode of Alfred Hitchcock Presents, “Man from the South.” The grisly tale features Steve as a gambler and Neile as a woman he meets in a bar and wants to leave town with, except they’re both broke. He takes a strange bet with an older man that if he can light his lighter ten times in a row, he’ll give him his new convertible. If he fails, the man gets to chop off his pinky finger. The episode was so macabre in fact, that CBS postponed the original January 1, 1960, air date to January 3 so it wasn’t so close to the holiday season.
190. Steve and Dick Powell had made a verbal agreement that if a movie opportunity came along for Steve, every possible option would be exhausted to make the scheduling work. For someone like Steve, who grew bored easily and had a burning desire to be a film star, an arrangement like this was extremely important. It actually paid off after the first season of Wanted.
191. Originally, Sammy Davis, Jr., was cast for the role of Corporal Bill Ringa in Never So Few after Frank Sinatra went to bat for him. Regular casting of people of color in Hollywood was very uncommon at the time, and Sammy’s $75,000 payday made a big splash in the industry. What also made a big splash was when Sammy criticized Sinatra’s manners in a radio interview. Just like that, he was out, and a replacement was needed.
192. Director John Sturges’ wife, Dorothy, was a fan of Steve McQueen on Wanted Dead or Alive, and thought his style would fit the role perfectly. Her husband agreed, and McQueen was cast with a $25,000 salary. An internal telegram announcing the switch to key people read, “Chicago replaced by Detroit.”
193. Early in filming of Never So Few, Frank Sinatra snuck a firecracker into McQueen’s belt loop while he was reading a script. The firecracker went off, sending Steve jumping backward and causing Sinatra to laugh. Never one to be outdone, Steve grabbed a nearby Tommy gun, loaded it with a magazine full of blanks, and fired right back at an unexpecting Sinatra, who jumped quite a few feet himself. He earned Sinatra’s respect with that comeback, and throughout filming they played similar pranks on each other, such as tossing surprise firecrackers at each other or playing with the production’s pyrotechnics equipment.
194. Never So Few was a critical disappointment considering the hype and star cast. This proved to be a blessing in disguise for McQueen, who delivered a stand-out performance and received numerous positive comments. Several reviews even suggested that he would go on to become a major star, although it’s unlikely they guessed how quickly that would happen. Sinatra was also impressed with Steve’s performance, and invited him to do more films together.
195. Although working with Frank Sinatra seemed like a huge opportunity at the