Steve McQueen

Born: 24th March 1930
Where: Beech Grove, Indiana
Died: 7th November 1980

Steve's feature debut came in 1956 in Somebody Up There Likes Me.

But he really began to develop his screen persona between 1958-60 in the TV series Wanted: Dead or Alive.

Director John Sturges, impressed with Steve's TV work, tapped him to replace Sammy Davis Jr. as Frank Sinatra's driver in Never So Few.

The collaboration proved fortuitous for both as Steve played key roles in two of Sturges finest films, The Magnificent Seven, and The Great Escape - a role for which he may be best remembered.

Two films in 1968 advanced his career to new heights: The Thomas Crown Affair, and Bullitt.

The crowning jewel of his film career was his performance as Franklin J. Schaffner's Papillon.

More than holding his own with heavyweight Dustin Hoffman, he gave a glimpse of the wonderful character actor he could have become had his life not been tragically cut short.

In 1979, Steve was first disgnosed with cancer and the following year managed to make his final two films, Tom Horn and The Hunter, before cancer took his life prematurely.