111. Even though Steve played the second lead in the play Two Fingers of Pride, and excelled in the role according to critics, his name wasn’t listed on advertising posters or billboards outside the theater. All the other actors in the play had more experience, and were represented by their own agents fighting for them. Although Steve had an agent, he was of little importance and therefore had nobody looking out for his best interests.
112. Rather than wait in the cold as an extra on Somebody Up There Likes Me, Steve decided to rest in a parked limo where he ended up falling asleep. It turned out to be Pier Angeli’s limo, and her husband, Vic Damone, was irate to find the young man sleeping in it. Steve was briskly kicked back out into the cold.
113. Steve McQueen and his Actor’s Studio partner, Peggy Feury, chose a scene to perform in which a catholic nun falls in love with one of her students and leaves the convent. To prepare their characters, Feury, dressed as a nun, and McQueen strolled the streets of New York, often taking breaks to show their affection for one another. According to Peggy Feury, Steve was in a panic throughout the walk thanks to his strong catholic upbringing. He thought that somebody, or somebody up there, would forcibly put a stop to their portrayal.
114. When McQueen and Feury finally performed the scene in front of Lee Strasberg, a nervous Steve couldn’t take it anymore when Feury slipped out of her habit to reveal sexy lace lingerie underneath. He burst into tears at the sight and couldn’t continue the scene.
115. While struggling to find work as an actor in New York City in the early 1950s, Steve, and many other actors and actresses, posed for detective and crime magazines. Photographers proved to be a wonderful resource for unemployed actors, as the work guaranteed a couple of bucks and could be done only when needed.
116. Steve’s future wife, Neile, posed for the same kinds of magazines when she was a young up-and-comer. Chances are they crossed paths at some point or another before actually meeting.
117. Although most critics of A Hatful of Rain disliked Steve’s performance, Variety made the important distinction that it was a very difficult role for anyone to play and that McQueen did fine for his Broadway debut. In her memoir, Neile mentions that his youth, compared to on-stage wife Vivian Blaine, hurt the performance since it didn’t appear real for him to be with the more mature actress.
MOVIE AUTOMOBILE FACTS
118. Although Time Out For Ginger didn’t feature any cars or motorcycles, the playbill relayed McQueen’s love of riding and racing motorcycles. It reads, “Steve McQueen (Eddie Davis) was born in Los Angeles and when he is not acting he races motorcycles. He prefers the stage, which he considers only a little less hazardous. When questioned he said, ‘Well, motorcycles may break your bones, but the theatre can break your heart.’”
119. Steve McQueen worked as a motorcycle mechanic while he attended acting school and was beginning his career. James Dean was out riding his motorcycle one day when it started acting up, so he limped it to the nearest shop in the area, which just happened to be where Steve was working that day. At the time, he was still under the belief that James Dean was taking all the roles that were otherwise meant for him. Although Dean likely had no idea who the young man working on his motorcycle was, Steve definitely knew who James Dean was!
120. While Steve was on tour in Chicago with the Time Out For Ginger production, he helped co-star Nancy Malone buy her first car. Since he had recently purchased an MG, he suggested that she do the same. Malone paid $2,500 cash for a brand-new 1953 MG at the Arnolt dealership in Chicago. Steve told her he would give her driving lessons, which he unfortunately wasn’t able to do because he left the production shortly thereafter.
121. McQueen reported for duty at the Ogunquit Playhouse in Maine for Two Fingers of Pride on his motorcycle, naturally. He rode 300 miles through a rainstorm with his girlfriend on the back.
122. The yellow 1951 Chevrolet Styline Deluxe convertible driven by Ralph “Papa” Thorsen in The Hunter was purchased by McQueen after filming. Although it never took on quite the persona and following as the Bullitt Mustang, the Chevy was driven by McQueen at length throughout the film, and the fact that it was in his collection at his death makes it an important car. The vehicle remained in the limelight through the years and was even featured on two episodes of the popular TV series Pawn Stars. It was purchased at Barrett-Jackson’s 2018 Scottsdale auction for $126,500.
AUTOMOBILE COLLECTION
123. McQueen bought his first sports car, a red 1948 TC-MG, in 1954 while on tour in Columbus, Ohio, with Time Out For Ginger. Although he wasn’t earning much from the play, the crew played poker every night and he was the usual winner. The MG cost $750, so McQueen put $450 down and sent the seller money every week until it was paid off.
124. He had the car delivered to Chicago, where the play was based, and then took it back to New York with him after he was fired. “I thought I was kind of Jack L. Warner’s son, you know,” he said of the MG. “I didn’t have any dough and lived in a cold-water flat, but I had that MG parked outside.” He eventually sold it to pay the rent.
125. While living in Greenwich Village, Steve became somewhat of a local character by riding his motorcycle around shirtless, much to the joy of the girls in the area. Perhaps it was this display that caught the affection of actress Susan Oliver, whom Steve dated in 1950. She recalled riding around the Village on his motorcycle, although eventually grew tired of loaning him money for gas and food.
126. One of Steve’s friends in his early acting days in Greenwich Village was fellow actor Richard Martin who owned an MG sports car. One day he let Steve drive it, which certainly made a young, broke Steve McQueen a happy man. He went on to buy his own MG a few years later, possibly because of this first experience in the British lightweight.
127. McQueen once rode his motorcycle into Louis’ Tavern, his favorite hangout spot. Because the bar was below the sidewalk, he rode down the stairs and right into the barroom. You can assume he wasn’t doing this slowly, since he crashed through a glass door once inside and landed on the floor. At the time, there just happened to be a couple of wiseguys inside, who removed Steve and his motorcycle from the bar.
128. Although McQueen rode a motorcycle as his only form of transportation, he didn’t have a license! This wasn’t a problem until his girlfriend, Janet Conway, hit her head into the back of his head after he hit a pothole. She had a serious cut over her left eye and they had to go to the emergency room. They couldn’t tell the doctor that the accident had occurred on a motorcycle, so she fibbed and said that she had fallen so that Steve wouldn’t get in trouble.
129. Steve purchased his first motorcycle in 1950, “a mean old” 1946 Indian Chief with sidecar.
130. Right after buying it he rode over to show it off to a girl he was dating at the time. Naturally, he was proud of his first major purchase. She told him, “You don’t expect me to ride around with you on that?” He got her to try it, but she hated the bumpy sidecar and told him, “Either the bike goes or I go!” In his own words: “The girl went, but the bike stayed.” His 1946 Chief sold at auction in 2013 for $143,750.
131. Steve once handed down an old, beat-up motorcycle helmet to fellow actor George Peppard who had just started riding. The helmet had deep gouges in it from when Steve had slid on a set of railroad tracks and crashed into someone’s front porch one night. The helmet had seen much use and abuse; it obviously was worn by a motorcyclist who had seen and done a thing or two. The novice Peppard could throw a leg over the old, leaky BSA, and even though he was still learning to ride, McQueen’s helmet made him look as hardened of a biker as anyone.
132. Broadway’s famed Lyceum Theater used to have a little, easily-accessible yard behind it where NYPD mounted police could leave their horses and go on break. This spot also provided a place where Steve and fellow actor Ed Julien could park their motorcycles while working on A Hatful of Rain.