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| Remembering Steve McQueen | Mar '09 |
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| By Harlis Brend |
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 | | Photo By Harlis Brend, Artwork by Wendell Dowling | | | |
More than two decades after his untimely passing, wife Barbara McQueen comes "home" to Santa Paula Airport
The Santa Paula Airport and the City of Santa Paula co-sponsored a tribute to their most famous resident, Steve McQueen, with a weekend of aviation activities Dec. 6 and 7, 2008. The Saturday evening reception and dinner was held at the airport and was attended by 265 aviation and McQueen enthusiasts.
It featured a book signing for "Steve McQueen:
The Last Mile" by co-authors Barbara McQueen and Marshall Terrill. The event continued on Sunday with the airport's traditional First Sunday Open House. The book was in high demand and sold out by mid-day Sunday (over 160 copies)—additional mail orders were also taken. Terrill said that it was the best book signing event they had ever hosted. According to museum director Janice Dickenson, feedback on the whole weekend was "phenomenal."
Around the Santa Paula Airport, Barbara McQueen is affectionately known as "Barbie." This was her first trip back to Santa Paula since her husband's death in November 1980.
Author Marshall Terrill has had a life-long special interest and connection with Steve McQueen. Terrill's father was a big McQueen fan, and one of their favorite past times was watching his movies together. In 1989, Terrill embarked on a journey to write a biography of Steve McQueen. He spent three and a half years researching McQueen's life. In December 1993, "Steve McQueen: Portrait of an American Rebel" was released.
Then 15 years later, a mutual friend informed him that Barbara McQueen wanted to co-author another book about her husband. She had 400 photographs of him that had never been published before. They worked together for nine months and produced the 250-page book, "Steve McQueen: The Last Mile," which contains more than 150 photographs that were taken from 1977 to 1980. Barbara had only one rule for the book. She wanted it to be "sweet, kind and nice." The book was released in November 2006, coinciding with the 26th anniversary of McQueen's death.
 | | Photo By Harlis Brend | | | “Barbie” McQueen was the guest of honor during Santa Paula Airport’s December tribute to its most famous resident, Steve McQueen. She is seen here during the sold-out book signing of “Steve McQueen: The Last Mile.” | |
After dinner in Santa Paula, McQueen and Terrill entertained questions from the assembled friends and guests. When asked why she felt compelled to do the book 26 years after his death, McQueen replied, "It was a beautiful time in his life, and he loved the Santa Paula Airport so much. He was the kind of guy that could sit around any table in this room and be right at home, and you would have no clue who he was."
McQueen continued to reminisce about their life together at Santa Paula. "Living in the Santa Paula hangar was among the best times I ever had. We got up in the morning, pushed the button to open the hangar door, made coffee and enjoyed life. Steve flew every morning. He loved it—this was his church, his space."
When they were living in Santa Paula, most of their time was spent at the airport rather than their ranch. Both earned their pilot licenses at Santa Paula. He soloed in a Stearman and owned a 1931 Pitcairn mail plane. His favorite airplane was the Pitcairn; his favorite car was a Porsche, and his favorite motorcycle was the Indian. When his widow was asked why she left Santa Paula, she simply said, "Because Steve died."
So how did it feel to come back? McQueen said it was a little bittersweet. "I haven't been here for a long time. This life fits me to a tee," she said. "This morning I got up early at the hangar and watched a yellow Stearman come in. It was cool, just like Steve's. When it landed, I burst into tears. I just couldn't handle it! It's nice to be back—it's a special lifestyle."
Terrill finished the evening by saying, "When I was writing the book and researching, I could never figure out why this major movie star would want to live in a hangar with his bikes and airplanes. Now that I've spent a weekend here, I completely get it. It's a very cool place."
McQueen's movie and TV career began in the early 1950s and concluded with his last movie "The Hunter" in 1980. He was one of the top box office draws in the 1960s and 1970s. According to published reports, he became the highest paid movie star in the world after appearing in the 1974 film "The Towering Inferno." In 1966, he was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role in "The Sand Pebbles."
 | | | | This 1945 Boeing Stearman B75N1, formerly owned by Steve McQueen, has been fully restored to flying condition and is currently owned by Bill Allen of San Diego. The aircraft's N-number is Steve McQueen's old reform school number. | |
McQueen developed a cough in 1978, and he was having difficulty breathing during the year that followed. In December 1979, doctors made the diagnosis: mesothelioma, an incurable cancer of the lining of the lungs related to asbestos exposure. His doctors gave him a gloomy prognosis, but they treated him with radiotherapy and chemotherapy to try to shrink the cancer. The doctors finally ran out of options. Despite warnings that the tumor was inoperable and that his heart could not withstand the surgery, in late October 1980, McQueen flew to Cjudad Juarez, Mexico, to have a five-pound abdominal tumor removed. He died on Nov. 7, 1980, at age 50 due to cardiac arrest just one day after the surgery.
"Santa Paula was the beginning and end of Steve McQueen's aviation roots. Steve used to say, 'Santa Paula Airport is my kinda country club,'"said Mike Dewey, Santa Paula Museum board member.
McQueen's last interview was in 1979 with a high school student reporting for his school newspaper. McQueen was asked, "Why this kid, when all the big magazines want to interview you?"
His explanation was, "I love youth." Now that says a lot about the man.
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