Steve McQueen

[TwylaTwobits]

I have always loved Steve McQueen so while puttering around looking at pics on Life.com I found this photo gallery of never before seen pics.

Enjoy :)

http://www.life.com/image/first/in-gallery/41172

[Hephaestion]

Thanks for this.

H.

PS - yeah - secretly I was Steve McQueen in my youth.

[bicurcple]

Awesome pictures.......thanks, he was a great actor, wish he would have been around longer.

[TwylaTwobits]

Glad you all enjoyed, it was 30 years he has been gone. I found out some info earlier looking on wiki that I never knew about him. He had been sent to a boys camp in Chino as a incorrigible teen. He straightened up and maintained contact with the boys who were there even after he made it famous. Always returned letters from the kids and quite possibly was the one person who turned a lot of lives around.

[12voltman59]

Wow--those are totally awesome photos---what a priviledge for that photgrapher who got to spend time and capture those intimate moments with McQueen, his wife and others---that was the kind of photo assignment a photog has to dream about.

He was a great talent---and they talked in one caption about him getting ready to make a move with Natalie Wood--another gorgeous human being who was a favorite actor/actress--I still wonder about her death.

They were all part of an incredible generation of actors--most of whom are all gone now----Brando, James Dean and so many others of that era.

I know that they say the "Golden Age of Hollywood" was earlier on---but I really think that the era that McQueen, Wood and the rest with the films they did had to stack up as at least another top time in the history of Hollywood---maybe it was the "Platnum Age"

Think of the great films that McQueen did like: "The Great Escape" "Papillion" "The Sand Pebbles" and "Bullit" to name his top films.

Thanks for the great post!!

[12voltman59]

Going back and taking a very close look at those pics---they were great photos--and not just for the fact of their subject being Steve McQueen doing his thing--but for the quality of the photos themselves----I don't know what sort of camera the photographer used--but I kind of bet they were taken with a "medium format" style of film camera.

Those cameras certainly did have a very special quality to them----for one thing--they were built like tanks and in those days--the film used in those cameras tended to be black and white---they had a great depth of field to them and with their high quality optics too--they were just great for catching all kinds of background detail without taking away from the main subject of the photos.

When you look at those photos--look closely at not only the subject---but things like the furniture, items on counters and such.

Digital photgraphy is certainly a great advancement in photography in lots of ways---but there is still much to be said for things done "old school" too.

It is kind of interesting too--for Steve McQueen to be the big star he already was at that point---he lived a very comfortable life to be sure---but his living space was "not over the top" like you see these days with just about anyone who "hits it big" it seems.

[welickit]

To anyone who grew up or lived the Steve McQueen era, this is a tribute and something to be appreciated. We loved it and appreciate it. One day we will catch up with him. He died way before his time..........or maybe not. Who will ever know? Thank You.