Lot 67
Steve McQueen’s screen-worn Sunglasses from his 1971 film "Le Mans”
The custom-made sunglasses worn by Steve McQueen in his 1971 film,“Le Mans”. The shades feature gold-toned frames, plastic lenses, and McQueen’s name engraved along the top of the frame. The glasses were made by Dennis Roberts of the Optique Boutique, known as the eyeglass maker to the stars. They come with a wooden carrying case. Accompanied by a Certificate of Authenticity from Dennis Roberts.
The King of Cool
Steve McQueen was a popular American movie actor, with an "anti-hero" persona developed at the height of the Vietnam counterculture. He was one of the top box-office draws of the 1960s and 1970s. McQueen received an Academy Award nomination for his starring role in 1966’s The Sand Pebbles as an engine-room sailor opposite Richard Attenborough and Candice Bergen. His other popular films include The Magnificent Seven, The Great Escape, The Thomas Crown Affair, Bullitt, The Getaway, Papillon, and The Towering Inferno. In 1974, he became the highest-paid movie star in the world. Although McQueen was combative with directors and producers, his popularity put him in high demand and enabled him to command large salaries. He was an avid racer of both motorcycles and cars. While he studied acting in the early 1950s, he supported himself partly by competing in weekend motorcycle races and bought his first motorcycle with his winnings.
He is recognized for performing many of his own stunts, especially the majority of the stunt driving during the high-speed chase scene in Bullitt. Perhaps the most memorable were the car chase in Bullitt and motorcycle chase in The Great Escape. Although the jump over the fence in The Great Escape was actually done by Bud Ekins for insurance purposes, McQueen did have a considerable amount of screen time riding his 650cc Triumph TR6 Trophy motorcycle. According to the commentary track on The Great Escape DVD, it was difficult to find riders as skilled as McQueen. At one point, due to clever editing, McQueen is seen in a German uniform chasing himself on another bike.
McQueen in “LeMans”
McQueen considered becoming a professional race car driver. In the 1970 “12 Hours of Sebring” race, Peter Revson and McQueen (driving with a cast on his left foot from a motorcycle accident two weeks before) won with a Porsche 908/02 in the 3 litre class and missed winning overall by 23 seconds to Mario Andretti/Ignazio Giunti/Nino Vaccarella in a 5 litre Ferrari 512S. The same Porsche 908 was entered by his production company Solar Productions as a camera car for Le Mans in the 1970 24 Hours of Le Mans later that year. McQueen wanted to drive a Porsche 917 with Jackie Stewart in that race, but his film backers threatened to pull their support if he did. Faced with the choice of driving for 24 hours in the race or driving the entire summer making the film, McQueen opted to do the latter. Le Mans is considered to be an historically accurate representation of the race because of the incredibly realistic racing scenes and total on-location filming.
Synopsis of “LeMans”
The Golden Globe-nominated movie “Le Mans” was made in 1971, and starred Steve McQueen as race car driver Michael Delaney. Siegfried Rauch stars as his race rival Erich Stahler, and Elga Anderson as Lisa Belgetti, the widow of a fellow driver, for whose death he feels guilty. The relationship between Delaney and Lisa is cordial but awkward. The media is playing up a rivalry between Delaney, driving for Team Gulf-Porsche, and Erich Stahler, driving for Team Ferrari, although they are friends off the track. As problems mount at just about halfway through the race due in part to treacherous road conditions, the drivers, their team, and their personal supporters think all the more about winning the race regardless of what happens in their lives afterward.” [IMDB]
Lee Katzin was the director of this quiet American classic movie, made in a quasi-documentary style that shows the real effort that driving the Le Mans race took, the grueling endurance test that it was. Katzin was more famous for directing many quality American 1960s television show episodes, from the “Wild, Wild West” to the “Mod Squad” to the original “Mission: Impossible”. His last movie was “Restraining order” starring Eric Roberts and Dean Stockwell in 1999. He died in Beverly Hills in 2002.
Posthumously, McQueen remains one of the most popular stars, and his estate limits the licensing of his image to avoid the commercial saturation experienced by some other deceased celebrities. As of 2007, McQueen has entered the top 10 of highest-earning dead celebrities.
Estimate: $35,000 - $45,000