1001 Steve McQueen Facts. Tyler Greenblatt

and they both gave me my money back and they said, ‘Go on outta here.’ Ya know … I just gave up right then and there.”

      214. One of the skits McQueen performed on Bob Hope’s 1959 Christmas USO tour was called “Operation: Eggroll” in which he and Hope played a couple of Japanese soldiers about to be captured by US forces. The special aired on January 13, 1960.

      215. Steve was paid $7,500 to appear on Kraft Music Hall, otherwise known as The Perry Como Show, in 1960. He began a dance number that took place in an Old West saloon with him playing the town’s sheriff. When it came time to do the actual dance, he just mouthed a couple of words, looked as if he would take a step, and then the number ended without him singing or dancing at all.

      216. Steve appeared on the game show It Could Be You hosted by Bill Leyden in 1960 to promote Wanted Dead or Alive. As part of his skit, two women from the audience were invited to stand on stage. Leyden then told an embarrassing story about one of the women and Steve had to guess which one it was. The idea was to see if he possessed any of the traits that a real bounty hunter would have. McQueen easily identified the correct woman by how much she blushed at the relaying of her story.

      217. Not many people know that it was actually Yul Brenner’s son, Rock, who suggested Steve McQueen for the role of Vin alongside his dad in The Magnificent Seven. Like many kids, he was a fan of McQueen’s from Wanted Dead or Alive. Brenner then watched an episode of the show and agreed with his son.

      218. Can you believe that the actual blob used in the movie is still in existence and has never dried out? It’s even still in the original pail used for transportation for the movie. It has made appearances at the annual Blobfest in Phoenixville, Pennsylvania.

      219. McQueen’s character of Vin Tanner in The Magnificent Seven never once made mention of being married in the film. Yet, he can be seen wearing a wedding ring throughout the entire movie, which you might guess was Steve’s actual ring.

      220. Steve disliked his movie The Honeymoon Machine so much that he walked out of the first public preview screening. He had yet to perfect his on-screen persona when he took on the role of Lt. Ferguson ‘Fergie’ Howard in 1961 and was uncomfortable watching himself in that role.

      221. McQueen was a cast member in a 1957 episode of The 20th Century Fox Hour called “Deep Water.” The plot was based on an actual event during World War II in which a team of high-strung Navy Frogmen (now known as the elite Navy SEALS) who didn’t get along with each other were sent on a mission. McQueen played the role of Kinsella.

      222. Steve McQueen appeared in a 1958 episode of Climax! called “Four Hours in White.” In the episode he actually plays two characters: identical twins Henry and Anthony Reeves who have just been in an accident. One of the twins would die unless he received a kidney transplant from the other twin, which in the 1950s was a difficult and dangerous procedure. The surgeon must decide if it is worth risking one man’s life to save the other from certain death.

      223. McQueen has a solid role in a 1958 episode of Tales of Wells Fargo called “Bill Longley” in which he plays wanted outlaw Bill Longley. He joins forces with main character Jim Hardie (played by Dale Robertson) to retrieve money stolen from Wells Fargo for a $5,000 reward. Another outlaw working with them ends up stealing the reward from Hardie and the girl from Longley.

MOVIE AUTOMOBILE FACTS

      224. Steve McQueen’s car in The Blob is a blue 1953 Plymouth Cranbrook convertible with a red interior. The Cranbrook was updated for the 1953 model year, which saw an updated body and a few extra ponies, bringing the six-cylinder flathead’s power from 97 to 100 hp.

      225. For 1954, the Cranbrook was renamed Belvedere, making the convertible from The Blob a one-year-only item. The car’s exact whereabouts are unknown today. In case you were wondering, the car has no special abilities to completely deflect the wind away from passengers with the top down as in the scenes where Jane’s hair doesn’t move while driving.

      226. While on the set of The Blob, Steve was arrested in a nearby town for reckless driving in his MG. Producer Jack Harris had to bail him out, but under the condition that he clean up his act on-and off-set.