- Jan 7, 2002
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Steve McQueen, the actor, racecar driver and discerning collector, is having what many of his peers would consider a career year, appearing on television; in books, theaters and music videos; and in several forms of advertising. Not bad for someone who has been dead for 25 years.
McQueen, who was 50 when he died of lung cancer in 1980, recently seemed to come back to life, appearing in computer-generated action sequences for "The Legend Lives," the advertising campaign that introduced the 2005 Ford Mustang. In a scene reminiscent of the players' arrival in "Field of Dreams," the baseball fantasy movie, a digital Steve McQueen emerges from a cornfield to slip behind the wheel of a new Mustang, which he pushes to its limits on a racetrack carved through the rows.
McQueen's relationship to the Mustang was forged in "Bullitt," the 1968 crime thriller best remembered for a heroic 9-minute, 42-second chase scene in which McQueen and villains in a Dodge Charger take turns chasing each other through the streets of San Francisco.
The McQueen persona is appearing not only in television commercials, but in cultural attractions, too. An exhibit at the Petersen Automotive Museum in Los Angeles, "Steve McQueen: The Legend and the Cars," attempts to connect many of the vehicles from his screen performances with those that served his personal passion for speed. The show, which opened over the weekend, runs through Jan. 22.
"On the sad anniversary of his death 25 years ago," said Leslie M. Kendall, the show's curator, "we thought it appropriate to celebrate his life and achievements and the way he inspired so many other people."
The exhibit features dozens of cars, motorcycles and mementos from McQueen's cinematic and racing careers. Included is a 1956 Jaguar XK-SS roadster that was perhaps the personal favorite among his collection of vehicles.
"It was essentially a grand prix car, detuned for the street," Kendall said. "It really does speak to his personality. He saw it being driven around Hollywood and prevailed upon the owner to sell it to him.
"People would hear him coming down the Hollywood Hills in it; he almost lost his license speeding in it, numerous times. At one time, he sold it. But he was so nostalgic for it, he bought it back and kept it until his death."
In 1984, McQueen's heirs, his son, Chad, and daughter, Terry, auctioned more than 650 items, including such signature vehicles as a Porsche used in the 1971 racing docudrama "Le Mans." Chad McQueen, who has tried to follow in his dad's footsteps as an actor and racer, helped find many of the owners and encouraged them to put their vehicles on display.
The exhibit does not include the Mustang that McQueen drove in "Bullitt." The film used two modified Mustangs -- both of which have mysteriously disappeared.
"An intermediary came to me a few years ago and said, There's a guy in Kansas or Pennsylvania or someplace who has it," Chad McQueen said. "I contacted the guy, but I've never been allowed to see the car. I've seen some pictures, but nothing with a serial number on it or anything.
"But he says it's not for sale."
Kendall, the curator, said, "If that car ever came up for auction, I'm sure it would set a record for vehicles of its type."
The second Mustang? According to Chad McQueen, someone in the secretarial pool at the movie studio ended up with it. But that car had only a 289-cubic-inch V-8 engine; the Mustang that was mainly used in the filming was equipped with a powerful 390 V-8.
http://www.detnews.com/2005/autosinsider/0509/26/0auto-326987.htm
McQueen, who was 50 when he died of lung cancer in 1980, recently seemed to come back to life, appearing in computer-generated action sequences for "The Legend Lives," the advertising campaign that introduced the 2005 Ford Mustang. In a scene reminiscent of the players' arrival in "Field of Dreams," the baseball fantasy movie, a digital Steve McQueen emerges from a cornfield to slip behind the wheel of a new Mustang, which he pushes to its limits on a racetrack carved through the rows.
McQueen's relationship to the Mustang was forged in "Bullitt," the 1968 crime thriller best remembered for a heroic 9-minute, 42-second chase scene in which McQueen and villains in a Dodge Charger take turns chasing each other through the streets of San Francisco.
The McQueen persona is appearing not only in television commercials, but in cultural attractions, too. An exhibit at the Petersen Automotive Museum in Los Angeles, "Steve McQueen: The Legend and the Cars," attempts to connect many of the vehicles from his screen performances with those that served his personal passion for speed. The show, which opened over the weekend, runs through Jan. 22.
"On the sad anniversary of his death 25 years ago," said Leslie M. Kendall, the show's curator, "we thought it appropriate to celebrate his life and achievements and the way he inspired so many other people."
The exhibit features dozens of cars, motorcycles and mementos from McQueen's cinematic and racing careers. Included is a 1956 Jaguar XK-SS roadster that was perhaps the personal favorite among his collection of vehicles.
"It was essentially a grand prix car, detuned for the street," Kendall said. "It really does speak to his personality. He saw it being driven around Hollywood and prevailed upon the owner to sell it to him.
"People would hear him coming down the Hollywood Hills in it; he almost lost his license speeding in it, numerous times. At one time, he sold it. But he was so nostalgic for it, he bought it back and kept it until his death."
In 1984, McQueen's heirs, his son, Chad, and daughter, Terry, auctioned more than 650 items, including such signature vehicles as a Porsche used in the 1971 racing docudrama "Le Mans." Chad McQueen, who has tried to follow in his dad's footsteps as an actor and racer, helped find many of the owners and encouraged them to put their vehicles on display.
The exhibit does not include the Mustang that McQueen drove in "Bullitt." The film used two modified Mustangs -- both of which have mysteriously disappeared.
"An intermediary came to me a few years ago and said, There's a guy in Kansas or Pennsylvania or someplace who has it," Chad McQueen said. "I contacted the guy, but I've never been allowed to see the car. I've seen some pictures, but nothing with a serial number on it or anything.
"But he says it's not for sale."
Kendall, the curator, said, "If that car ever came up for auction, I'm sure it would set a record for vehicles of its type."
The second Mustang? According to Chad McQueen, someone in the secretarial pool at the movie studio ended up with it. But that car had only a 289-cubic-inch V-8 engine; the Mustang that was mainly used in the filming was equipped with a powerful 390 V-8.
http://www.detnews.com/2005/autosinsider/0509/26/0auto-326987.htm
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