Terrence Stephen McQueen (March 24, 1930 â€" November 7, 1980),
nicknamed the "King of Cool", was an American actor. His antihero
persona, emphasized during the height of the counterculture of the
1960s, made him a top box-office draw during the 1960s and 1970s.
McQueen received an Academy Award nomination for his role in The Sand
Pebbles. His other popular films include The Cincinnati Kid, Love With
the Proper Stranger, The Thomas Crown Affair, Bullitt, The Getaway,
and Papillon, as well as the all-star ensemble films The Magnificent
Seven, The Great Escape, and The Towering Inferno.In 1974, he became
the highest-paid movie star in the world, although he did not act in
films again for four years. McQueen was combative with directors and
producers, but his popularity placed him in high demand and enabled
him to command the largest salaries.Terrence Stephen McQueen was born
on March 24, 1930 at St. Francis Hospital in Beech Grove, Indiana, a
suburb of Indianapolis. McQueen, of Scottish descent, was raised a
Roman Catholic. His father, William McQueen (1907â€"1958), a stunt
pilot for a barnstorming flying circus, left McQueen's mother, Julia
Ann (a.k.a. Julian; née Crawford; 1910â€"1965),:9 six months after
meeting her. Several biographers have stated that Julia Ann was an
alcoholic.:72:7â€"8 Unable to cope with caring for a small child, she
left him with her parents (Victor and Lillian) in Slater, Missouri, in
1933. As the Great Depression set in shortly thereafter, McQueen and
his grandparents moved in with Lillian's brother Claude at his farm in
Slater. McQueen expressed having good memories of living on the farm,
noting that his great-uncle Claude "was a very good man, very strong,
very fair. I learned a lot from him."
nicknamed the "King of Cool", was an American actor. His antihero
persona, emphasized during the height of the counterculture of the
1960s, made him a top box-office draw during the 1960s and 1970s.
McQueen received an Academy Award nomination for his role in The Sand
Pebbles. His other popular films include The Cincinnati Kid, Love With
the Proper Stranger, The Thomas Crown Affair, Bullitt, The Getaway,
and Papillon, as well as the all-star ensemble films The Magnificent
Seven, The Great Escape, and The Towering Inferno.In 1974, he became
the highest-paid movie star in the world, although he did not act in
films again for four years. McQueen was combative with directors and
producers, but his popularity placed him in high demand and enabled
him to command the largest salaries.Terrence Stephen McQueen was born
on March 24, 1930 at St. Francis Hospital in Beech Grove, Indiana, a
suburb of Indianapolis. McQueen, of Scottish descent, was raised a
Roman Catholic. His father, William McQueen (1907â€"1958), a stunt
pilot for a barnstorming flying circus, left McQueen's mother, Julia
Ann (a.k.a. Julian; née Crawford; 1910â€"1965),:9 six months after
meeting her. Several biographers have stated that Julia Ann was an
alcoholic.:72:7â€"8 Unable to cope with caring for a small child, she
left him with her parents (Victor and Lillian) in Slater, Missouri, in
1933. As the Great Depression set in shortly thereafter, McQueen and
his grandparents moved in with Lillian's brother Claude at his farm in
Slater. McQueen expressed having good memories of living on the farm,
noting that his great-uncle Claude "was a very good man, very strong,
very fair. I learned a lot from him."
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