When McQueen was king

USA Today (Society for the Advancement of Education), Sept, 2007 by Wes D. Gehring

Of course, McQueen's sense of humor hardly was limited to his "Wanted" years. Well into his stardom, McQueen once was asked what he would be doing in 10 years. Laughing, he replied, "I'm guessing I'll be all gray by then and be playing Paul Newman's father." At the same time, McQueen confessed that he still found his first wife (Neile Adams) something of an enigma, but then wryly added, "Did you ever know any man who understood his wife?"

Regardless, Hopper would coin a two-word description of McQueen as a young Western star--"He excites!" For most future film fans, that never ceased to be true.

Wes D. Gehring, Associate Mass Media Editor of USA Today, is professor of film, Ball State University, Muncie, Ind. His more than two dozen books often key on biographies of filmmakers, including his current Steve McQueen study.