Steve McQueen - the last mile

[Rocky]

One of my birthday gifts was a large 235 page coffee table type of book written by Barbara Minty-McQueen - Steve's last wife. It's called "Steve McQueen, The Last Mile."
It's written from her point of view and only about those years she knew him. The book is full of never before published photos from their private collections and gives you an insight into the last few years of McQueen's life.
I've only just begun to read it and am enjoying the anecdotes and incidents from their private lives.
When they met he was 45 and she was a young and gorgeous 20. Sigh, I guess it only happens in the movies and to movie stars :ya2:

 

[Simmer]

Wow Rocky!! That sounds like a great book and wonderful gift. It always amazes me how as we get older, I am about to turn 67, little things mean so much. Hope you had a wonderful day.

Dave

 

[DaveM]

Now that is a cool gift :y18: Yes rocky some things only happen in the movies sigh :y114:

 

[Rocky]

There are lots of pictures of Barbara in the book and she was pretty yummy alright :y115:
She was a Cosmo model when they met and she more or less gave it up to be with Steve and ramble around the country in his old pickup truck whenever the mood struck him.
There are some funny stories in there about how they were received by townsfolk and the law when they arrived in a very small town - him being so much older with a scruffy long beard and long hair - and her being so young.

 

[DaveM]

Rocky is this her

 

[Rocky]

No, that's Neile Adams, his first wife.
It was his third wife, Barbara Minty, who wrote the book.
Steve was dying from lung cancer but died from heart failure after an operation to remove lung tumors. He survived the operation OK but his heart just wasn't strong enough to bring him through the post-op.
I'm glad she confirmed that in the book as that was what I understood to be the cause of death.

 

[DaveM]

Ah yes here they are I can see what you mean about the cops looking at them funny at the time

 

[CarlS]

I am another who is green with envy. I will have to read that. Nice gift!

 

[Rocky]

I finished the book last night. It's about 75% pictures so the actual reading didn't take very long.
Steve was pretty rough looking during those last 10 years. He looked much older than his actual years.
But he liked the way he looked and could go anywhere and not be recognized or bothered.
Of course you have to ask the question, if he had not been Steve McQueen would she have given him the time of day. He sure wasn't pretty to look at :ya2:
I laughed when I read that at a swap meet the vendor mistook Steve for Barbara's father.
She says she was 26 when Steve died at age 50.

 

[DaveM]

Wow I did not realize he was only 50 when he died :sad:

 

[CarlS]

I really like him; he was definitely an icon.