1 00:00:00,720 --> 00:00:18,320 Speaker 1: Disgraceland as a production of Double Elvis. The stories about 2 00:00:18,360 --> 00:00:22,479 Speaker 1: Steve McQueen are insane. He was a hustler on the 3 00:00:22,520 --> 00:00:25,560 Speaker 1: streets of New York. He had a long standing bet 4 00:00:25,600 --> 00:00:28,480 Speaker 1: with the US President over who could sleep with more women. 5 00:00:29,280 --> 00:00:32,120 Speaker 1: He waved around his magnum forty four at the funeral 6 00:00:32,159 --> 00:00:36,400 Speaker 1: of j Sebring, a victim of Charles Manson's murderous family. 7 00:00:37,320 --> 00:00:40,400 Speaker 1: He was targeted by that same family who had him 8 00:00:40,440 --> 00:00:44,080 Speaker 1: at the very top of their infamous hit list. But 9 00:00:44,200 --> 00:00:46,559 Speaker 1: Charles Manson never got to carry out a hit on 10 00:00:46,640 --> 00:00:52,160 Speaker 1: Steve McQueen. Steve McQueen survived the paranoia of late sixties Hollywood, 11 00:00:52,560 --> 00:00:56,640 Speaker 1: and he made great films, unlike that clip I played 12 00:00:56,640 --> 00:00:59,120 Speaker 1: for you at the top of the show that wasn't 13 00:00:59,160 --> 00:01:02,600 Speaker 1: from a great film, that was a preset looke my 14 00:01:02,680 --> 00:01:08,520 Speaker 1: mellotron called Bandits and Donuts MK. Two. I played you 15 00:01:08,560 --> 00:01:11,200 Speaker 1: that clip because I can't afford the rights to a 16 00:01:11,240 --> 00:01:14,560 Speaker 1: clip from in the year twenty five twenty five by 17 00:01:14,640 --> 00:01:18,000 Speaker 1: Zager and Evans. And why would I play you that 18 00:01:18,160 --> 00:01:22,120 Speaker 1: specific slice of one hit Wonder Cheese? Could I afford it? 19 00:01:22,959 --> 00:01:26,680 Speaker 1: Because that was the number one song in America on 20 00:01:26,800 --> 00:01:30,840 Speaker 1: August ninth, nineteen sixty nine, and that was the day 21 00:01:30,959 --> 00:01:34,360 Speaker 1: Steve McQueen narrowly escaped death at the hands of the 22 00:01:34,360 --> 00:01:39,600 Speaker 1: Manson family for the first time. On this episode Hustling 23 00:01:39,959 --> 00:01:44,800 Speaker 1: a magnum forty four presidential sex contests Charles Manson's hit 24 00:01:44,880 --> 00:01:47,240 Speaker 1: list in Steve McQueen. 25 00:01:47,960 --> 00:02:14,120 Speaker 2: I'm Jake Brennan, and this this disgrace slant. 26 00:02:16,160 --> 00:02:19,200 Speaker 1: The stringy hippie chick like to run her mouth all 27 00:02:19,240 --> 00:02:21,240 Speaker 1: about how she was picked up in a raid on 28 00:02:21,360 --> 00:02:26,080 Speaker 1: Charles Manson's compound and death valley. Most of Crazy Charlie's 29 00:02:26,160 --> 00:02:29,960 Speaker 1: family were arrested for auto theft, but she got charged 30 00:02:30,000 --> 00:02:33,560 Speaker 1: with the torture and murder of one Gary Hinman from earlier. 31 00:02:33,639 --> 00:02:38,240 Speaker 1: In that bloody summer of nineteen sixty nine, Susan Atkins 32 00:02:38,440 --> 00:02:43,280 Speaker 1: wasn't going anywhere inside the joint. She settled in, made 33 00:02:43,280 --> 00:02:48,680 Speaker 1: some friends with other inmates, got comfortable, then she got chatty. 34 00:02:48,880 --> 00:02:52,640 Speaker 1: She let slip that Gary Hinman wasn't her only victim. 35 00:02:53,040 --> 00:02:58,080 Speaker 1: She was behind one of California's most notorious unsolved massacres. 36 00:02:58,720 --> 00:03:04,440 Speaker 1: Susan Atkins the knife to Sharon Tate. She detailed the 37 00:03:04,440 --> 00:03:09,160 Speaker 1: grizzly murders of Sharon Jay Sebring Boychick Frakowski, Abigail Folger, 38 00:03:09,200 --> 00:03:12,360 Speaker 1: and Stephen Parrin at the house on Cielo Drive, a 39 00:03:12,440 --> 00:03:16,320 Speaker 1: love house turned into a house of horrors. Then she 40 00:03:16,400 --> 00:03:20,280 Speaker 1: talked about Phase two, the plans Charlie had for other 41 00:03:20,320 --> 00:03:24,760 Speaker 1: Hollywood fuckos. They were going to mutilate Liz Taylor, gouge 42 00:03:24,800 --> 00:03:27,560 Speaker 1: at her eyes and carve helter skelter into her face, 43 00:03:28,000 --> 00:03:32,480 Speaker 1: into her perfect skin, leaving her alive but hideous. They 44 00:03:32,480 --> 00:03:35,560 Speaker 1: were going to skin Frank Sinatra slowly while playing one 45 00:03:35,600 --> 00:03:39,520 Speaker 1: of Old Blue Eyes's old records, then make purses out 46 00:03:39,560 --> 00:03:41,960 Speaker 1: of his skin and seldom to rich La Pigs and 47 00:03:42,000 --> 00:03:46,800 Speaker 1: the boutiques on Rodeo Drive. Susan was personally going to 48 00:03:46,920 --> 00:03:50,440 Speaker 1: rape singer Tom Jones at knife point, slitting his throat 49 00:03:50,600 --> 00:03:55,480 Speaker 1: as he climaxed, but Charles Manson was saving the worst 50 00:03:55,560 --> 00:04:01,760 Speaker 1: for Steve McQueen. Maybe you know about Charles Manson's failed 51 00:04:01,840 --> 00:04:05,280 Speaker 1: musical career, how he befriended Dennis Wilson of the Beach Boys, 52 00:04:05,440 --> 00:04:08,520 Speaker 1: sent his demos to record producer Terry Melcher and never 53 00:04:08,600 --> 00:04:11,400 Speaker 1: hurt back, how that rejection might have led to the 54 00:04:11,480 --> 00:04:14,120 Speaker 1: murders in the house at one zero zero five zero 55 00:04:14,200 --> 00:04:17,440 Speaker 1: Clo Drive, where Melcher lived for a time, which had 56 00:04:17,440 --> 00:04:20,080 Speaker 1: since become the rented residence of Sharon Tate and her 57 00:04:20,160 --> 00:04:25,279 Speaker 1: husband Roman Polanski. But months before Manson sent his music 58 00:04:25,320 --> 00:04:29,320 Speaker 1: to Terry Melcher, he sent the screenplay to Steve McQueen's 59 00:04:29,320 --> 00:04:32,919 Speaker 1: production company. No one read the thing. It rotted in 60 00:04:32,960 --> 00:04:36,719 Speaker 1: the slush pile at the offices of Solar Productions. Manson 61 00:04:36,800 --> 00:04:39,640 Speaker 1: got tired of waiting for a response. He made the 62 00:04:39,680 --> 00:04:43,320 Speaker 1: nearly hour long drive from Spawn Ranch to Steve's offices 63 00:04:43,360 --> 00:04:46,720 Speaker 1: in West Hollywood. Steve just so happened to be getting 64 00:04:46,760 --> 00:04:49,000 Speaker 1: out of his car. He didn't look twice at the 65 00:04:49,000 --> 00:04:51,320 Speaker 1: squirrely guy with the beard trying to get his attention 66 00:04:52,000 --> 00:04:56,640 Speaker 1: frush dry past him. Everything Steve McQueen did was fast, 67 00:04:57,240 --> 00:05:00,479 Speaker 1: including getting out of one of his nine cars, maybe 68 00:05:00,520 --> 00:05:04,239 Speaker 1: the D type Jaguar or was it the portion didn't matter, 69 00:05:05,040 --> 00:05:08,720 Speaker 1: But it wasn't just that. To Steve McQueen, aka the 70 00:05:08,839 --> 00:05:13,840 Speaker 1: King of Cool aka Lieutenant Frank Bullet, Charles Manson looked 71 00:05:13,960 --> 00:05:18,159 Speaker 1: just like another piece of hippie trash. But Charles Manson 72 00:05:18,520 --> 00:05:21,680 Speaker 1: wasn't going to be ignored. He shoved Steph McQueen up 73 00:05:21,680 --> 00:05:24,680 Speaker 1: against his fancy car, and Steve pulled back, square it 74 00:05:24,760 --> 00:05:28,120 Speaker 1: up and popped Manson right in the face. Blood gushed 75 00:05:28,120 --> 00:05:33,440 Speaker 1: from Manson's nose. Steve McQueen simply walked away. Back at 76 00:05:33,480 --> 00:05:36,520 Speaker 1: the Manson compound. That night, Charlie put The King of 77 00:05:36,600 --> 00:05:40,080 Speaker 1: Cool at the top of his growing hit list. The 78 00:05:40,200 --> 00:05:43,520 Speaker 1: murder of Steve McQueen would be a family affair, an 79 00:05:43,640 --> 00:05:47,920 Speaker 1: unholy communion. The family would strip him down, tie him up, 80 00:05:48,320 --> 00:05:50,359 Speaker 1: and they'd carved bits of flesh off of him and 81 00:05:50,440 --> 00:05:53,720 Speaker 1: eat them while Steve watched. The goal would be to 82 00:05:53,800 --> 00:05:56,560 Speaker 1: keep him alive for as much of the feast as possible. 83 00:05:57,440 --> 00:06:01,239 Speaker 1: Steve McQueen was going to die slow, and Steve McQueen 84 00:06:01,400 --> 00:06:04,960 Speaker 1: was going to die screaming, and he would have too 85 00:06:05,600 --> 00:06:08,240 Speaker 1: if a last minute hookup call hadn't saved him from 86 00:06:08,240 --> 00:06:15,560 Speaker 1: a grizzly death. Steve McQueen met Sharon Tate in nineteen 87 00:06:15,680 --> 00:06:18,240 Speaker 1: sixty two when she was an extra on the set 88 00:06:18,240 --> 00:06:23,080 Speaker 1: of The Honeymoon Machine, Steve's failed attempt to break into comedy. 89 00:06:24,000 --> 00:06:27,159 Speaker 1: He was married with two kids, but that didn't stop 90 00:06:27,240 --> 00:06:30,880 Speaker 1: him or even slow him down. He started an on again, 91 00:06:31,120 --> 00:06:34,440 Speaker 1: off again thing with Sharon in the mid sixties. They 92 00:06:34,480 --> 00:06:38,520 Speaker 1: were regularly seen at LA clubs with Jay Sebring, hairstylist 93 00:06:38,600 --> 00:06:43,080 Speaker 1: to the stars but also an unrepentant starfucker. Jay didn't 94 00:06:43,080 --> 00:06:46,000 Speaker 1: just have access to high quality salon products. He had 95 00:06:46,040 --> 00:06:50,920 Speaker 1: access to high quality cocaine. On the afternoon of August ninth, 96 00:06:51,080 --> 00:06:54,920 Speaker 1: nineteen sixty nine, Steve and Jay went out to lunch together. 97 00:06:55,720 --> 00:06:58,719 Speaker 1: Jay invited Steve to a party that night at Sharon's house. 98 00:06:59,240 --> 00:07:02,520 Speaker 1: Polanski would be there. That diminutive Prick had just split 99 00:07:02,560 --> 00:07:04,560 Speaker 1: for London to begin work on his next movie, and 100 00:07:04,839 --> 00:07:07,640 Speaker 1: also to work on getting himself some strange far away 101 00:07:07,680 --> 00:07:12,080 Speaker 1: from his pregnant wife's prying eyes. Jay told Steve it 102 00:07:12,200 --> 00:07:15,120 Speaker 1: was a dinner party. The King of Cool hoped that 103 00:07:15,200 --> 00:07:21,160 Speaker 1: dinner was actually code for cocaine in sex. Later that afternoon, however, 104 00:07:21,440 --> 00:07:25,320 Speaker 1: Steve's phone rang. It was a young blonde, aspiring actress 105 00:07:25,320 --> 00:07:27,800 Speaker 1: who wanted to spend some one on one time with him. 106 00:07:28,480 --> 00:07:31,640 Speaker 1: He weighed his options. Tonight he felt more like some 107 00:07:31,680 --> 00:07:35,560 Speaker 1: traditional adultry rather than a coke fueled orgy. He flaked 108 00:07:35,560 --> 00:07:38,200 Speaker 1: on the Ciellow Drive shindig. There'd be other nights with 109 00:07:38,280 --> 00:07:42,960 Speaker 1: Jay Sebring and Sharon Tate or so Steve McQueen thought, 110 00:07:43,320 --> 00:07:50,160 Speaker 1: so everyone thought. The murders of Sharon Tate, j Sebring, 111 00:07:50,400 --> 00:07:54,240 Speaker 1: and the others on that very night shocked Hollywood and 112 00:07:54,320 --> 00:07:58,960 Speaker 1: went unsolved for months. Even when LAPD arrested Manson and 113 00:07:59,000 --> 00:08:03,200 Speaker 1: his family, it wasn't in connection with those murders. The 114 00:08:03,240 --> 00:08:05,440 Speaker 1: cops thought they were busting up a car theft for ing. 115 00:08:06,240 --> 00:08:09,800 Speaker 1: That is until Susan Atkins confessed to her new family 116 00:08:10,280 --> 00:08:14,080 Speaker 1: her jailhouse friends, who then promptly ratted her out for 117 00:08:14,120 --> 00:08:17,240 Speaker 1: the twenty five thousand dollars reward. Roman Polanski was offering 118 00:08:17,480 --> 00:08:21,520 Speaker 1: for information about his wife's murder, but as summer turned 119 00:08:21,560 --> 00:08:24,560 Speaker 1: to fall, before Charlie and his crew were id'd as 120 00:08:24,560 --> 00:08:29,720 Speaker 1: the purpse, Hollywood was mired in full blown paranoia. Every 121 00:08:29,760 --> 00:08:33,199 Speaker 1: celebrity believed they were the next target. A few of 122 00:08:33,240 --> 00:08:38,440 Speaker 1: them were actually right. Jerry Lewis didn't have shit to 123 00:08:38,440 --> 00:08:40,480 Speaker 1: worry about, but he sunk a ton of money into 124 00:08:40,480 --> 00:08:44,400 Speaker 1: an alarm system for his house. Frank Sinatra couldn't have known. 125 00:08:44,480 --> 00:08:47,160 Speaker 1: Manson viewed him as a musical competition and was planning 126 00:08:47,240 --> 00:08:50,760 Speaker 1: the Buffalo bills ass into botique purses, but he disappeared 127 00:08:50,760 --> 00:08:54,560 Speaker 1: from public eye all the same Steve McQueen knew that 128 00:08:54,600 --> 00:08:56,480 Speaker 1: if he'd chosen a different piece of ass on that 129 00:08:56,559 --> 00:08:59,920 Speaker 1: hot August night, he'd have been butchered alongside Sharon and Jay. 130 00:09:01,160 --> 00:09:04,040 Speaker 1: So he bought a forty four magnum, a hand cannon 131 00:09:04,040 --> 00:09:06,480 Speaker 1: of a gun, carried it with him everywhere he went. 132 00:09:07,160 --> 00:09:09,640 Speaker 1: He even brought it to j Severings's funeral, which he 133 00:09:09,679 --> 00:09:13,960 Speaker 1: attended with his wife. Jay's celebrity clients were there, the 134 00:09:13,960 --> 00:09:17,200 Speaker 1: ones who weren't too scared to attend, that is, Paul Newman, 135 00:09:17,440 --> 00:09:22,840 Speaker 1: Warren Baby, Peter Fonda, and Steve McQueen coked up, stoned 136 00:09:23,240 --> 00:09:26,080 Speaker 1: the wife he'd been unfaithful to on one hip, the 137 00:09:26,120 --> 00:09:29,000 Speaker 1: magnum on the other, watching along with the rest of 138 00:09:29,000 --> 00:09:31,840 Speaker 1: the mourners as one of Jay's former lovers threw himself 139 00:09:31,880 --> 00:09:36,760 Speaker 1: on the casket and sobbing uncontrollably. Something came over Steve 140 00:09:36,800 --> 00:09:39,520 Speaker 1: in that moment, not only the grip of drugs, but 141 00:09:39,920 --> 00:09:43,360 Speaker 1: the grip of fear, the grip of sadness. He leaped 142 00:09:43,400 --> 00:09:46,240 Speaker 1: from a seat, whipped out his magnum and pointed it 143 00:09:46,280 --> 00:09:49,480 Speaker 1: directly at the guy's head. Steve was shouting, but he 144 00:09:49,480 --> 00:09:51,840 Speaker 1: didn't know what he was saying. Just a jumble of 145 00:09:51,880 --> 00:09:56,120 Speaker 1: words and tears and spit. Security cooled out the scene, 146 00:09:56,760 --> 00:09:59,880 Speaker 1: wisely choosing to remove the hysterical mourner rather than try 147 00:09:59,920 --> 00:10:04,880 Speaker 1: to remove Steve McQueen's gun. But Steve McQueen didn't cool out, 148 00:10:05,679 --> 00:10:09,360 Speaker 1: not in the least. He was haunted by long spells 149 00:10:09,400 --> 00:10:12,560 Speaker 1: of paranoia for the rest of his life. They took 150 00:10:12,600 --> 00:10:16,120 Speaker 1: hold and then took him for a ride, not the 151 00:10:16,200 --> 00:10:20,520 Speaker 1: kind of ride that got him off. Standing there, surrounded 152 00:10:20,559 --> 00:10:25,000 Speaker 1: by shocked mourners close to Jay's corpse, he thought about 153 00:10:25,000 --> 00:10:27,480 Speaker 1: the wind in his hair and the sun on his face. 154 00:10:28,400 --> 00:10:31,720 Speaker 1: Steve McQueen wanted to be anywhere but here burying a 155 00:10:31,720 --> 00:10:34,640 Speaker 1: friend after being nearly devoured by Charles Manson and his 156 00:10:34,760 --> 00:10:37,679 Speaker 1: fucked up family. He wanted to be on a bike, 157 00:10:38,200 --> 00:10:41,839 Speaker 1: in a car. He closed his eyes, he heard the 158 00:10:41,920 --> 00:10:45,280 Speaker 1: rump of a three ninety gt Mustang, the throttle of 159 00:10:45,320 --> 00:11:15,319 Speaker 1: a Harley, and then Steve McQueen was gone. Steve McQueen 160 00:11:15,400 --> 00:11:17,920 Speaker 1: became an actor not because he had a special calling 161 00:11:18,040 --> 00:11:21,640 Speaker 1: or some god given talent. Watch any Steve McQueen movie 162 00:11:21,640 --> 00:11:24,600 Speaker 1: and it's obvious that his talent was more about vibe 163 00:11:24,640 --> 00:11:28,920 Speaker 1: than it was. A last poor yurick bullshit. No, Steve 164 00:11:29,000 --> 00:11:31,280 Speaker 1: McQueen became an actor so that he didn't have to 165 00:11:31,320 --> 00:11:34,480 Speaker 1: bust his ass work in a real job. Real work 166 00:11:34,880 --> 00:11:38,319 Speaker 1: was shitwork. Real work was his mother, turning tricks in 167 00:11:38,360 --> 00:11:42,320 Speaker 1: the small apartments and flophouses where they lived, Struggling to 168 00:11:42,440 --> 00:11:46,160 Speaker 1: raise Steve on her own, struggling with booze, Struggling with 169 00:11:46,200 --> 00:11:49,880 Speaker 1: a rotating cast of boyfriends and temporary husbands who beat 170 00:11:49,920 --> 00:11:52,640 Speaker 1: on the brat and kicked little Steve out into the streets. 171 00:11:53,280 --> 00:11:58,240 Speaker 1: And out on those streets, he hustled, running scams, shoplifting, 172 00:11:58,520 --> 00:12:01,960 Speaker 1: petty theft, anything that put a few bucks in his pocket. 173 00:12:01,960 --> 00:12:05,240 Speaker 1: It didn't require punching a clock. He got enough of that, 174 00:12:05,320 --> 00:12:09,640 Speaker 1: regimented bullshit with the Marines three years for Uncle Sam 175 00:12:09,679 --> 00:12:12,480 Speaker 1: before an honorable discharge put him back onto the streets 176 00:12:12,520 --> 00:12:18,160 Speaker 1: of New York, once again, hustling and rolling bumbs for cash. Now, 177 00:12:18,360 --> 00:12:21,120 Speaker 1: in nineteen fifty four, he was a student at Les 178 00:12:21,160 --> 00:12:26,200 Speaker 1: Strasburg's legendary actor's studio, the place that launched Marilyn Monroe 179 00:12:26,240 --> 00:12:31,040 Speaker 1: in Marlon Brando. But Steve was no Brando, not yet 180 00:12:31,040 --> 00:12:33,600 Speaker 1: at least, and in order to pay for his non 181 00:12:33,640 --> 00:12:36,400 Speaker 1: working actor lifestyle. He had to make some money on 182 00:12:36,440 --> 00:12:39,240 Speaker 1: the side, so he worked a different kind of hustle, 183 00:12:39,760 --> 00:12:43,319 Speaker 1: a fast hustle. Motorcycle races over in Long Island on 184 00:12:43,360 --> 00:12:45,679 Speaker 1: the weekends yielded a couple hundred bucks if you were 185 00:12:45,720 --> 00:12:51,480 Speaker 1: fast enough, and Steve was lightning Cars bikes didn't matter. 186 00:12:52,120 --> 00:12:54,240 Speaker 1: He got a pair of hammerbars or a steering wheel 187 00:12:54,240 --> 00:12:58,400 Speaker 1: in his hands and just cooked. Long stretches of open road, 188 00:12:58,559 --> 00:13:02,720 Speaker 1: blind curves didn't matter. He rode fast and hot on 189 00:13:02,760 --> 00:13:05,199 Speaker 1: the road. There was no ego, not like there was 190 00:13:05,240 --> 00:13:07,440 Speaker 1: in the movies. There was just you and the guy 191 00:13:07,480 --> 00:13:09,800 Speaker 1: on the bike next to you. He didn't have to talk, 192 00:13:10,200 --> 00:13:12,480 Speaker 1: didn't have to pretend to be someone who weren't. You 193 00:13:12,679 --> 00:13:17,160 Speaker 1: just had to be fast. Unlike the escort service, Steve 194 00:13:17,240 --> 00:13:20,680 Speaker 1: also occasionally worked for where you didn't have to be fast. 195 00:13:20,760 --> 00:13:22,520 Speaker 1: You just had to do what you were told if 196 00:13:22,520 --> 00:13:26,640 Speaker 1: you wanted to get paid. Tonight, Steve was told to 197 00:13:26,679 --> 00:13:31,000 Speaker 1: be a distraction arm candy from Marlena Dietrich, the icy 198 00:13:31,120 --> 00:13:35,840 Speaker 1: German sex queen. Once paramounts answered to Greta Garbo, now 199 00:13:35,880 --> 00:13:40,240 Speaker 1: a high paid cabaret act. Steve accompanied Marlena inside the 200 00:13:40,240 --> 00:13:44,680 Speaker 1: ballroom at the Plaza Hotel, some snooty charity event or whatnot. 201 00:13:45,720 --> 00:13:49,480 Speaker 1: At the bar, Marlena introduced Steve to her friends, a 202 00:13:49,520 --> 00:13:53,319 Speaker 1: former US ambassador and his wife, Joseph and Rose Kennedy, 203 00:13:53,920 --> 00:13:57,040 Speaker 1: along with the couple's oldest son and his new bride. 204 00:13:57,160 --> 00:14:01,640 Speaker 1: Their son, the junior Senator from Massachusetts, John F. Kennedy, 205 00:14:02,000 --> 00:14:07,679 Speaker 1: and his wife Jacqueline. Jfk was older than Steve by 206 00:14:07,760 --> 00:14:12,280 Speaker 1: thirteen years, already on his path to the presidency. Steve 207 00:14:12,480 --> 00:14:15,080 Speaker 1: was white trash who'd never met his own father, a 208 00:14:15,120 --> 00:14:18,840 Speaker 1: small time actor who raced motorcycles and worked expensive hustles 209 00:14:18,880 --> 00:14:22,280 Speaker 1: to make ends me but the two get along fine. 210 00:14:22,400 --> 00:14:26,280 Speaker 1: Kennedy insisted Steve call him Jack, and as the evening 211 00:14:26,280 --> 00:14:30,920 Speaker 1: wore on, Marlena Dietrich gave Steve the signal. She excused 212 00:14:30,960 --> 00:14:34,360 Speaker 1: herself to go to the ladies room. A few minutes later, 213 00:14:34,440 --> 00:14:37,040 Speaker 1: Joseph Kennedy pushed back his chair and announced he was 214 00:14:37,080 --> 00:14:40,520 Speaker 1: going to hit the head. Steve McQueen started on the 215 00:14:40,600 --> 00:14:44,560 Speaker 1: job he'd been hired for, distracting Rose Kennedy, while her husband, 216 00:14:44,680 --> 00:14:49,240 Speaker 1: the US Ambassador Joe Kennedy, rushed upstairs to fuck Marlena Dietrich. 217 00:14:50,360 --> 00:14:53,440 Speaker 1: But as the minutes went by, Steve began to doubt 218 00:14:53,440 --> 00:14:56,200 Speaker 1: that anyone was pulling a fast one on Rose Kennedy. 219 00:14:57,000 --> 00:14:59,680 Speaker 1: She knew exactly where her husband was and what he 220 00:14:59,720 --> 00:15:04,920 Speaker 1: was too Irish Joe Kennedy didn't take long when he returned. 221 00:15:05,400 --> 00:15:09,240 Speaker 1: Steve excused himself to take a leak, and Jack Kennedy followed. 222 00:15:10,120 --> 00:15:12,160 Speaker 1: They stood next to each other at the urinals in 223 00:15:12,200 --> 00:15:17,280 Speaker 1: the plaza men's room. JFK's eyes wandered. The junior senator 224 00:15:17,280 --> 00:15:20,000 Speaker 1: from Massachusetts was a little jealous of what Steve was 225 00:15:20,040 --> 00:15:23,880 Speaker 1: packing and his gig as an escort, but despite that, 226 00:15:24,400 --> 00:15:27,800 Speaker 1: he bet Steve that in the long run he Jack 227 00:15:27,880 --> 00:15:33,040 Speaker 1: Kennedy would get more ass than Steve McQueen. Steve McQueen 228 00:15:33,080 --> 00:15:37,240 Speaker 1: looked over at JFK, the puffy face, quaffed hair, the 229 00:15:37,280 --> 00:15:40,400 Speaker 1: picket fence of teeth. Then he glanced down at the 230 00:15:40,480 --> 00:15:45,160 Speaker 1: rich Bostonians less than remarkable endowment, and Steve took that bet. 231 00:15:45,960 --> 00:15:48,040 Speaker 1: Kennedy shook the piss off of him and then shook 232 00:15:48,040 --> 00:15:50,760 Speaker 1: Steve's hand, promising they'd meet up in a couple of 233 00:15:50,840 --> 00:16:01,440 Speaker 1: years and compare their scores. And by the time they 234 00:16:01,480 --> 00:16:05,640 Speaker 1: reconvened to talk, bedpost notches. Steve McQueen was no longer 235 00:16:05,680 --> 00:16:08,760 Speaker 1: a small time actor relying on side hustles to survive 236 00:16:09,760 --> 00:16:13,240 Speaker 1: his breakout role on the CBS western Wanted Dead or Alive, 237 00:16:13,560 --> 00:16:16,000 Speaker 1: got under the big time and to the big screen. 238 00:16:16,760 --> 00:16:19,400 Speaker 1: And though his luck had changed, his speed had not. 239 00:16:20,280 --> 00:16:23,840 Speaker 1: He still did everything fast. His gun was out of 240 00:16:23,880 --> 00:16:27,160 Speaker 1: his holster faster than James Colborn or Charles Bronson could blink. 241 00:16:27,720 --> 00:16:30,240 Speaker 1: He fired off three shots before eule Brenner even had 242 00:16:30,240 --> 00:16:33,040 Speaker 1: a chance to raise his revolver in the air. Yuell 243 00:16:33,120 --> 00:16:34,960 Speaker 1: didn't know what the fuck he was doing with that thing. 244 00:16:35,480 --> 00:16:41,360 Speaker 1: Steve showed him nineteen sixty Mexico principal photography for The 245 00:16:41,400 --> 00:16:45,000 Speaker 1: Magnificent Seven. The only thing more magnificent than the film 246 00:16:45,040 --> 00:16:50,720 Speaker 1: set were the local brothels. But Steve never carried cash, 247 00:16:51,080 --> 00:16:54,080 Speaker 1: so when the bill came due seven hundred dollars for 248 00:16:54,120 --> 00:16:56,760 Speaker 1: a tequila soiak romp with seven women in a cozy 249 00:16:56,840 --> 00:17:00,200 Speaker 1: room upstairs, Steve and one of his co stars came 250 00:17:00,280 --> 00:17:03,280 Speaker 1: up a few hundred short. The way that Madam saw it, 251 00:17:03,680 --> 00:17:06,000 Speaker 1: the co star was the one with the money, so 252 00:17:06,080 --> 00:17:09,480 Speaker 1: he was free to go. Steve, on the other hand, 253 00:17:10,040 --> 00:17:13,080 Speaker 1: was not. He knew they were going to extract payment 254 00:17:13,080 --> 00:17:16,240 Speaker 1: from him by any means necessary, and he wasn't about 255 00:17:16,240 --> 00:17:18,200 Speaker 1: to wait around to find out how big the dues 256 00:17:18,240 --> 00:17:22,040 Speaker 1: were who would be doing the extracting. Steve closed his eyes. 257 00:17:22,440 --> 00:17:25,320 Speaker 1: Who was in a car on a bike? The road 258 00:17:25,400 --> 00:17:29,320 Speaker 1: went on for miles ahead. He opened his eyes, and 259 00:17:29,359 --> 00:17:34,520 Speaker 1: then he bolted out of the room, down the stairs, 260 00:17:34,560 --> 00:17:37,560 Speaker 1: out the front door, into a garden outside, where massive 261 00:17:37,640 --> 00:17:41,280 Speaker 1: enforcers were waiting for him. A big capable men. They 262 00:17:41,320 --> 00:17:43,760 Speaker 1: grabbed him and dragged his deadbeat ass back inside and 263 00:17:43,800 --> 00:17:46,760 Speaker 1: back upstairs to an empty room. They slammed the door 264 00:17:46,800 --> 00:17:49,440 Speaker 1: behind them. Then they rolled up their sleeves and went 265 00:17:49,480 --> 00:17:52,480 Speaker 1: to work on Steve McQueen with their huge fists. He 266 00:17:52,640 --> 00:17:55,200 Speaker 1: begged him to k not fuck up his face. Beaten 267 00:17:55,280 --> 00:17:58,040 Speaker 1: and bloodied, Steve was allowed to make one phone call. 268 00:17:58,760 --> 00:18:02,919 Speaker 1: He rang up John stir the Magnificent Sevens director. He 269 00:18:03,040 --> 00:18:07,000 Speaker 1: needed money now, but not the three hundred dollars that 270 00:18:07,080 --> 00:18:11,160 Speaker 1: was owed on the tap triple that plus some on top. 271 00:18:12,040 --> 00:18:15,480 Speaker 1: John Sturgis sent over one thousand dollars in cash and 272 00:18:15,720 --> 00:18:23,000 Speaker 1: save Stephen Queen's life. The Mexican brothel incident never made 273 00:18:23,040 --> 00:18:25,480 Speaker 1: it to the tabloids, but it didn't have to in 274 00:18:25,600 --> 00:18:29,400 Speaker 1: order to attract the attention of the FBI. Jay Edgar 275 00:18:29,440 --> 00:18:32,760 Speaker 1: Hoover saw plenty in Life magazine's profile of Steve that 276 00:18:32,840 --> 00:18:36,320 Speaker 1: ran a few years later in nineteen sixty three, around 277 00:18:36,320 --> 00:18:39,119 Speaker 1: the time he was starring in another John Sturgis epic, 278 00:18:39,480 --> 00:18:43,399 Speaker 1: The Great Escape, now pulling down three hundred grand a picture. 279 00:18:44,400 --> 00:18:48,280 Speaker 1: In that article, Steve's tawdry passed life as a hustler 280 00:18:48,320 --> 00:18:51,320 Speaker 1: was laid bare for all to see. Man if I 281 00:18:51,359 --> 00:18:54,120 Speaker 1: hadn't made my own scene, he was quoted, I could 282 00:18:54,119 --> 00:18:57,240 Speaker 1: have wound up a hood instead of an actor. Hoover 283 00:18:57,400 --> 00:19:00,840 Speaker 1: had to admit he was titillated, but he also wondered 284 00:19:00,880 --> 00:19:03,280 Speaker 1: what kinds of illegal thing Steve McQueen had done and 285 00:19:03,359 --> 00:19:07,160 Speaker 1: was perhaps still doing. The people that ran in his circle. 286 00:19:07,600 --> 00:19:10,919 Speaker 1: It's a fast circle, a circle that was becoming increasingly 287 00:19:11,000 --> 00:19:16,960 Speaker 1: crowded with Jaguars, Triumphs, Mini Cooper's Lincoln's Portis. Steve McQueen 288 00:19:17,080 --> 00:19:20,040 Speaker 1: had the federal government's attention, if they can keep up, 289 00:19:20,600 --> 00:19:24,840 Speaker 1: but the chase didn't last. Just three months later, shots 290 00:19:24,920 --> 00:19:28,760 Speaker 1: rang out in Dallas. Hoover and the Bureau had their 291 00:19:28,800 --> 00:19:32,080 Speaker 1: plates full with the assassination of Steve's one time sex 292 00:19:32,200 --> 00:19:36,200 Speaker 1: race buddy. Steve never found out if his bedroom appetite 293 00:19:36,280 --> 00:19:39,560 Speaker 1: was bigger than Jack Kennedy's, and that race was over, 294 00:19:40,359 --> 00:19:49,000 Speaker 1: but another was just beginning. We'll be right back after this. 295 00:19:49,119 --> 00:19:50,400 Speaker 2: We're, We're, We're. 296 00:19:55,760 --> 00:19:59,600 Speaker 1: Steve McQueen, the King of Cool, got an unexpected phone 297 00:19:59,640 --> 00:20:05,800 Speaker 1: call from another king. Anytime Elvis Presley called anybody who 298 00:20:05,840 --> 00:20:10,520 Speaker 1: was unexpected. Elvis wanted Steve to come hang at his place, 299 00:20:11,280 --> 00:20:16,359 Speaker 1: not Graceland, his pad in la This was nineteen sixty six, 300 00:20:17,080 --> 00:20:19,560 Speaker 1: a time when Elvis was trying to establish himself as 301 00:20:19,600 --> 00:20:23,159 Speaker 1: a serious actor, and he viewed Steve then on his 302 00:20:23,200 --> 00:20:25,439 Speaker 1: way to becoming one of the biggest actors in the world. 303 00:20:26,240 --> 00:20:31,560 Speaker 1: As a combination of inspiration and competition, Elvis did his research, 304 00:20:32,200 --> 00:20:35,679 Speaker 1: and not just on Steve's movies. He stalked his place 305 00:20:35,760 --> 00:20:39,560 Speaker 1: with a shit ton of old Milwaukee, Steve's favorite. Steve 306 00:20:39,720 --> 00:20:43,639 Speaker 1: was impressed, even more so that his famously teetotaling host 307 00:20:43,800 --> 00:20:47,600 Speaker 1: was substituting his usual bottle of pepsicola for a frosty brew. 308 00:20:48,400 --> 00:20:52,160 Speaker 1: Steve McQueen and Elvis sat around cracking cold ones, each 309 00:20:52,200 --> 00:20:56,320 Speaker 1: one tasting good, each one tasting like another one, until 310 00:20:56,440 --> 00:20:58,639 Speaker 1: one of Elvis's guys brought a couple of pills in. 311 00:20:59,680 --> 00:21:02,440 Speaker 1: Steve didn't ask what they were. He knocked them back 312 00:21:02,480 --> 00:21:05,000 Speaker 1: with the rest of his can of beer. Soon his 313 00:21:05,040 --> 00:21:09,440 Speaker 1: head got loopy, the room began to spin. Conversation took 314 00:21:09,480 --> 00:21:14,879 Speaker 1: a strange turn to what the fuck were they talking about? 315 00:21:14,960 --> 00:21:19,639 Speaker 1: Planning the assassination of Colonel Parker. No, Steve must have 316 00:21:19,680 --> 00:21:23,159 Speaker 1: heard that wrong. There was no way Elvis or anyone 317 00:21:23,160 --> 00:21:26,320 Speaker 1: else could take down the colonel. The colonel was actually 318 00:21:26,359 --> 00:21:30,160 Speaker 1: the badass in this scenario, the real king, so to speak. 319 00:21:30,840 --> 00:21:34,600 Speaker 1: And there were those rumors, rumors that Colonel Tom Parker, 320 00:21:35,080 --> 00:21:38,560 Speaker 1: if that really was even his name, had killed someone 321 00:21:38,600 --> 00:21:43,320 Speaker 1: back in his native Holland. Steve shook his head. Another 322 00:21:43,400 --> 00:21:47,880 Speaker 1: round of beers, another handful of pills, more spinning, more 323 00:21:48,000 --> 00:21:52,880 Speaker 1: Colonel Tom shit talking, and then Steve McQueen blacked out. 324 00:21:57,960 --> 00:22:00,840 Speaker 1: He woke up at two in the afternoon, bed next 325 00:22:00,840 --> 00:22:05,480 Speaker 1: to Elvis Presley, snoring, buck ass naked. Steve was naked too, 326 00:22:05,920 --> 00:22:08,080 Speaker 1: but had no recollection of how he got that way. 327 00:22:08,720 --> 00:22:11,080 Speaker 1: He got dressed and quickly got the fuck out of 328 00:22:11,119 --> 00:22:15,320 Speaker 1: their hold up. That story is so bizarre that I'm 329 00:22:15,359 --> 00:22:17,399 Speaker 1: not even sure if I buy it, but it comes 330 00:22:17,440 --> 00:22:21,159 Speaker 1: directly from one of Elvis's bodyguards, and it sets up 331 00:22:21,160 --> 00:22:26,240 Speaker 1: what happened next. Two years later, in nineteen sixty eight, 332 00:22:26,800 --> 00:22:30,399 Speaker 1: Steve got another call from Elvis, not an old Milwaukee 333 00:22:30,400 --> 00:22:34,600 Speaker 1: blackout drunk call, but one about a mutual friend. Back 334 00:22:34,640 --> 00:22:38,080 Speaker 1: in the fifties, Nick Adams was a promising young actor, 335 00:22:38,680 --> 00:22:41,479 Speaker 1: befriending sal Mineo and James Dean on the set of 336 00:22:41,520 --> 00:22:44,479 Speaker 1: Revel Without a Cause and even dubbing some of Dean's 337 00:22:44,560 --> 00:22:48,520 Speaker 1: lines and Giant. After the actor's death, he became friends 338 00:22:48,520 --> 00:22:53,320 Speaker 1: with Elvis and later with Stephen Queen. By nineteen sixty eight, however, 339 00:22:53,720 --> 00:22:58,440 Speaker 1: Nick Adams was struggling to find work. Now, Nick Adams 340 00:22:58,480 --> 00:23:01,280 Speaker 1: was writing a tell all book, and he told Elvis 341 00:23:01,520 --> 00:23:03,600 Speaker 1: that if he wanted to avoid being named in it, 342 00:23:03,880 --> 00:23:06,920 Speaker 1: he'd have to cough up one hundred grand. This is 343 00:23:07,000 --> 00:23:10,399 Speaker 1: what Elvis was calling Steve about. Steve was another of 344 00:23:10,400 --> 00:23:13,480 Speaker 1: the high caliber names Nick Adams was threatening to expose. 345 00:23:14,400 --> 00:23:18,600 Speaker 1: Elvis thought Steve should pay Nick a visit convince him otherwise, 346 00:23:19,480 --> 00:23:23,399 Speaker 1: so Steve did. Nick didn't seem to care. In fact, 347 00:23:23,800 --> 00:23:26,160 Speaker 1: he was pretty confident about his little Black man's scheme. 348 00:23:26,760 --> 00:23:28,240 Speaker 1: You don't have to be included in the book, he 349 00:23:28,320 --> 00:23:30,880 Speaker 1: told Steve. But it would hurt sales if you weren't. 350 00:23:31,200 --> 00:23:33,800 Speaker 1: Maybe you could make up the difference, say one hundred 351 00:23:33,840 --> 00:23:38,520 Speaker 1: thousand dollars. Hell no, Steve McQueen wasn't giving Nick Adams 352 00:23:38,560 --> 00:23:41,399 Speaker 1: that kind of money. In fact, he wasn't giving him 353 00:23:41,440 --> 00:23:45,199 Speaker 1: one cent, he reminded Nick. The people who crossed Colonel 354 00:23:45,240 --> 00:23:48,720 Speaker 1: Tom Parker wound up getting hurt. It was the last 355 00:23:48,760 --> 00:23:55,639 Speaker 1: time Steve McQueen saw Nick Adams alive. A month later, 356 00:23:55,920 --> 00:23:59,480 Speaker 1: Nick Adams's body was found in his Hollywood apartment, dead 357 00:23:59,480 --> 00:24:03,679 Speaker 1: of an apparent an overdose prescription tranquilizers and sedatives, or 358 00:24:03,720 --> 00:24:06,760 Speaker 1: so they said. His family and friends insisted it was 359 00:24:06,840 --> 00:24:11,159 Speaker 1: foul play, but the coroner ruled it an accident. Whatever 360 00:24:11,240 --> 00:24:13,560 Speaker 1: story Nick Adams is going to tell about, Elvis and 361 00:24:13,600 --> 00:24:18,639 Speaker 1: Steve McQueen died with Nick Adams five hours north of 362 00:24:18,640 --> 00:24:22,720 Speaker 1: Hollywood in San Francisco. More stories were dying as more 363 00:24:22,800 --> 00:24:27,199 Speaker 1: people were being murdered. Not the Zodiac killer. That wouldn't 364 00:24:27,200 --> 00:24:30,040 Speaker 1: be a thing until the end of the year. Right now. 365 00:24:30,440 --> 00:24:35,280 Speaker 1: One case in particular, had detective stumped a woman assaulted 366 00:24:35,520 --> 00:24:38,080 Speaker 1: and viciously murdered in cold blood while on her way 367 00:24:38,160 --> 00:24:42,240 Speaker 1: to a wedding. The killer vanished. The cops had little 368 00:24:42,240 --> 00:24:45,399 Speaker 1: to go on, but they went on good old fashioned 369 00:24:45,440 --> 00:24:49,560 Speaker 1: police work, real work. They chased down leads, they got 370 00:24:49,560 --> 00:24:55,119 Speaker 1: people to talk, mountains of paperwork. Months went by, and 371 00:24:55,200 --> 00:24:59,240 Speaker 1: finally it paid off. It didn't always, but when it did, 372 00:24:59,520 --> 00:25:04,040 Speaker 1: it felt it's amazing. The departed's credit card was used 373 00:25:04,119 --> 00:25:07,760 Speaker 1: up north, all the way in Seattle. The trail suddenly 374 00:25:07,800 --> 00:25:11,479 Speaker 1: got hot, and the detectives got excited. They could feel it. 375 00:25:12,200 --> 00:25:15,960 Speaker 1: They were one step closer to nabbing this degenerate. They 376 00:25:16,000 --> 00:25:19,399 Speaker 1: followed the money, the receipts. Soon they had the purp 377 00:25:19,480 --> 00:25:22,280 Speaker 1: and cuffs back in a jail cell by the bay. 378 00:25:23,119 --> 00:25:27,280 Speaker 1: The detectives wanted the ultimate punishment, two thousand volts of 379 00:25:27,359 --> 00:25:30,800 Speaker 1: pure justice. As he sat strapped to the chair. They 380 00:25:30,840 --> 00:25:33,880 Speaker 1: would have gotten it too easy if the bastard didn't 381 00:25:33,920 --> 00:25:35,840 Speaker 1: hang himself from his belt the first night he was 382 00:25:35,880 --> 00:25:39,280 Speaker 1: behind bars. The case may have been closed, but the 383 00:25:39,320 --> 00:25:42,200 Speaker 1: cops didn't feel a sense of closure, and never would 384 00:25:43,119 --> 00:25:45,199 Speaker 1: they and the victim's family had been robbed of that. 385 00:25:45,960 --> 00:25:49,320 Speaker 1: It left them feeling helpless, pissed off, and it sent 386 00:25:49,359 --> 00:25:51,280 Speaker 1: them to the bottom of another bottle in the start 387 00:25:51,280 --> 00:25:55,160 Speaker 1: of another case. More than the ride alongs, more than 388 00:25:55,160 --> 00:25:59,040 Speaker 1: the drug bus, more than every other opportunity, Steve McQueen 389 00:25:59,119 --> 00:26:03,000 Speaker 1: had to shadow this San Francisco Police Department. This moment 390 00:26:03,119 --> 00:26:06,239 Speaker 1: stuck with him the longest. He could feel what they 391 00:26:06,240 --> 00:26:10,120 Speaker 1: were feeling, even if he couldn't explain it. Didn't have 392 00:26:10,200 --> 00:26:13,399 Speaker 1: to explain it. He just had to translate that feeling 393 00:26:13,440 --> 00:26:18,240 Speaker 1: for the movies and portray it for all to see. 394 00:26:18,359 --> 00:26:22,800 Speaker 1: After all, this movie, the first made by his production company, 395 00:26:23,240 --> 00:26:27,119 Speaker 1: was going to be nothing if not authentic. Lieutenant Frank 396 00:26:27,160 --> 00:26:30,520 Speaker 1: Bullet was the real McCoy, right down to the fast 397 00:26:30,600 --> 00:26:34,280 Speaker 1: draw double shoulder holsters. He wore the same ones worn 398 00:26:34,320 --> 00:26:36,680 Speaker 1: by one of the San Francisco cops Steve McQueen got 399 00:26:36,720 --> 00:26:40,400 Speaker 1: to know working this murder case. But Steve wanted more 400 00:26:40,440 --> 00:26:43,640 Speaker 1: than just the outfits to look real. He wanted every 401 00:26:43,640 --> 00:26:47,240 Speaker 1: part of the film to be real, especially the car chase. 402 00:26:48,800 --> 00:26:52,879 Speaker 1: This wasn't the Great Escape, This wasn't Steve hauling ass 403 00:26:52,920 --> 00:26:55,640 Speaker 1: while the German stunt riders closed in, only to quit 404 00:26:55,720 --> 00:26:58,320 Speaker 1: before it got really dangerous, so that his stuntman was 405 00:26:58,359 --> 00:27:00,920 Speaker 1: the one to clear, breathtaking John over a six foot 406 00:27:01,000 --> 00:27:05,480 Speaker 1: high barbed water fence. This was a green Mustang tearing 407 00:27:05,520 --> 00:27:08,680 Speaker 1: through the very real hills of San Francisco at very 408 00:27:08,760 --> 00:27:11,960 Speaker 1: real speeds of one hundred miles an hour. Shot so 409 00:27:12,200 --> 00:27:15,359 Speaker 1: tight and so close he could feel the tension radiating 410 00:27:15,400 --> 00:27:20,480 Speaker 1: from Steve McQueen's face. It was absolutely riveting stuff, the 411 00:27:20,600 --> 00:27:24,160 Speaker 1: right stuff, the stuff that got Steve McQueen an invitation 412 00:27:24,280 --> 00:27:26,800 Speaker 1: to become a member of the British Motor Corporation in 413 00:27:26,920 --> 00:27:30,600 Speaker 1: race pro in Europe. He turned that down, but he 414 00:27:30,680 --> 00:27:34,160 Speaker 1: did race motorcycle trials with the American team in East Germany. 415 00:27:34,800 --> 00:27:36,920 Speaker 1: He would have done just fine too, if his bike 416 00:27:37,000 --> 00:27:43,879 Speaker 1: hadn't swiped someone else's. It all happened so fast. Steve 417 00:27:44,000 --> 00:27:47,159 Speaker 1: was going for the land speed record. A needle buried 418 00:27:47,200 --> 00:27:49,840 Speaker 1: on the right side of the odometer. He didn't even see. 419 00:27:49,840 --> 00:27:53,320 Speaker 1: The other guy came out of nowhere. Steve clipped him. 420 00:27:53,640 --> 00:27:57,000 Speaker 1: Poor bastard drove straight into a tree, bam, lights out. 421 00:27:57,960 --> 00:28:01,960 Speaker 1: Steve meanwhile was airborne, the sound of his tires tearing 422 00:28:02,040 --> 00:28:04,119 Speaker 1: up the road replaced with the aching, white noise of 423 00:28:04,200 --> 00:28:07,520 Speaker 1: wind in his ears. He came down hard. His face 424 00:28:07,560 --> 00:28:10,560 Speaker 1: went directly into a rock. The skin torn from both 425 00:28:10,600 --> 00:28:14,359 Speaker 1: his kneecaps, but he walked away. What are you gonna do? 426 00:28:14,960 --> 00:28:20,639 Speaker 1: It was what it was, occupational hazard, And now on 427 00:28:20,680 --> 00:28:23,000 Speaker 1: the set of Bullet he couldn't help but think of 428 00:28:23,040 --> 00:28:26,120 Speaker 1: that bike crash. Not that that would stop him from 429 00:28:26,160 --> 00:28:28,920 Speaker 1: doing what he enjoyed, driving the shit out of an 430 00:28:28,960 --> 00:28:33,000 Speaker 1: awesome automobile. The director called for another run through the 431 00:28:33,119 --> 00:28:37,159 Speaker 1: soon to be iconic chase scene. Steve took the wheel. 432 00:28:37,680 --> 00:28:41,680 Speaker 1: He slammed the gearshift into first, hit the gas. He 433 00:28:41,720 --> 00:28:44,959 Speaker 1: took corners and turns the way he always did fast. 434 00:28:46,080 --> 00:28:49,040 Speaker 1: He overshot each one. He rammed the Mustang into a 435 00:28:49,080 --> 00:28:52,000 Speaker 1: parked car. All good. He tried it again and again. 436 00:28:52,160 --> 00:28:55,320 Speaker 1: He botched the turn East Germany. All over again. Get 437 00:28:55,400 --> 00:28:58,000 Speaker 1: him out of the fucking car. Someone shouted, He's gonna 438 00:28:58,080 --> 00:29:01,680 Speaker 1: kill somebody, bottom body, Steve, I wasn't listening. He went 439 00:29:01,720 --> 00:29:04,320 Speaker 1: from the top of the hill. The Mustang caught air. 440 00:29:04,840 --> 00:29:07,040 Speaker 1: He felt a rush of adrenaline as the machine in 441 00:29:07,120 --> 00:29:09,320 Speaker 1: the ground, and he put his foot on the brake. 442 00:29:09,680 --> 00:29:13,440 Speaker 1: Nothing happened. He was shitting. Probably wore those fuckers out. 443 00:29:13,960 --> 00:29:17,600 Speaker 1: He downshifted little by little, and then turned the car 444 00:29:17,640 --> 00:29:20,680 Speaker 1: onto a street with an incline, and that did the trick. 445 00:29:23,680 --> 00:29:26,440 Speaker 1: It also scared the hell out of the studio, not 446 00:29:26,560 --> 00:29:29,959 Speaker 1: to mention Steve's wife at the time. The next morning, 447 00:29:30,280 --> 00:29:33,400 Speaker 1: six am, the crew shot the rest of the car chase, 448 00:29:33,720 --> 00:29:37,920 Speaker 1: the most dangerous part, without Steve. Steve was still asleep 449 00:29:38,400 --> 00:29:40,479 Speaker 1: thanks to a late wake up call that the director 450 00:29:40,600 --> 00:29:45,080 Speaker 1: arranged on purpose. When Steve did arrive on set, he 451 00:29:45,120 --> 00:29:48,480 Speaker 1: watched as his stunt double finished his job for him. 452 00:29:48,920 --> 00:29:52,440 Speaker 1: Not that anyone was the wiser. When Bullet hit theaters 453 00:29:52,520 --> 00:29:56,440 Speaker 1: in October of nineteen sixty eight, all audiences saw was 454 00:29:56,520 --> 00:30:01,000 Speaker 1: Steve McQueen making that three ninety gt Mustang go. And 455 00:30:01,120 --> 00:30:04,600 Speaker 1: not even one year later, the man who made cinemas 456 00:30:04,640 --> 00:30:08,000 Speaker 1: come alive was being marked for death by a disgruntled 457 00:30:08,040 --> 00:30:12,760 Speaker 1: screenwriter and musician with pinballs for eyes and murder on 458 00:30:12,880 --> 00:30:38,000 Speaker 1: his brain. Steve McQueen posted bail and hit the road. 459 00:30:38,480 --> 00:30:42,200 Speaker 1: His Mercedes Benz three hundred sel roared to life. He 460 00:30:42,280 --> 00:30:45,160 Speaker 1: punched the clutch and threw it in first. The engine 461 00:30:45,160 --> 00:30:52,760 Speaker 1: opened up the road ahead too. Nineteen seventy two, Alaska 462 00:30:53,120 --> 00:30:56,000 Speaker 1: busted for drunk driving, busted in the nose, but he 463 00:30:56,000 --> 00:30:59,840 Speaker 1: couldn't remember how He wasn't blaming the cops. They were 464 00:30:59,880 --> 00:31:03,040 Speaker 1: just doing their job, and he did his. Not give 465 00:31:03,080 --> 00:31:06,360 Speaker 1: a damn and just wait for release, and the release 466 00:31:06,360 --> 00:31:08,840 Speaker 1: said only a car or a bike could give him. 467 00:31:09,080 --> 00:31:12,479 Speaker 1: First came release from police custody. He flashed a smile 468 00:31:12,520 --> 00:31:14,640 Speaker 1: as well as a peace sign for the camera and 469 00:31:14,720 --> 00:31:17,240 Speaker 1: turned to the left when told to do so. He 470 00:31:17,320 --> 00:31:20,120 Speaker 1: got his one phone call, he got the necessary dough 471 00:31:20,160 --> 00:31:23,080 Speaker 1: to bust the hell out, and then he was gone. 472 00:31:23,960 --> 00:31:26,800 Speaker 1: He tore down a back road and Anchorage some fishing 473 00:31:26,800 --> 00:31:29,640 Speaker 1: trip this had turned out to be. Wasn't sure if 474 00:31:29,640 --> 00:31:31,840 Speaker 1: he was up or down at this point, but it 475 00:31:31,880 --> 00:31:35,400 Speaker 1: didn't matter. The only thing that mattered was the road ahead. 476 00:31:36,040 --> 00:31:39,560 Speaker 1: Putting all that bad shit behind him. He hit second 477 00:31:39,560 --> 00:31:44,040 Speaker 1: gear in the Anchorage police station faded away, He gunned 478 00:31:44,040 --> 00:31:46,080 Speaker 1: it into third, and the rumble of the leather seat 479 00:31:46,160 --> 00:31:49,320 Speaker 1: drove all that Manson shit from his mind, like shaking 480 00:31:49,400 --> 00:31:54,280 Speaker 1: dirt from a welcome Matt, Charlie, Jay Sharon, the paranoia, 481 00:31:54,920 --> 00:31:57,920 Speaker 1: and the motherfucker of a hand cannon. As nice as 482 00:31:57,960 --> 00:32:00,560 Speaker 1: it felt in his hand, none of it would welcome. 483 00:32:01,480 --> 00:32:08,040 Speaker 1: Driving was welcome. Driving, Racing was the great equalizer. No 484 00:32:08,040 --> 00:32:10,680 Speaker 1: one gave a damn who you were, not even the 485 00:32:10,720 --> 00:32:14,040 Speaker 1: cops back at the station. You were just another dirtback, 486 00:32:14,520 --> 00:32:18,720 Speaker 1: another swinging dick in the hot seat. He accelerated, He 487 00:32:18,840 --> 00:32:22,720 Speaker 1: rolled down the window, too fast for mosquitos to worm 488 00:32:22,760 --> 00:32:27,200 Speaker 1: their way inside, bound for anywhere, but here where. None 489 00:32:27,240 --> 00:32:30,800 Speaker 1: of this actually mattered. He drove not unlike he drove 490 00:32:30,840 --> 00:32:33,960 Speaker 1: him bullet or in the Getaway, gritty crime film he 491 00:32:34,120 --> 00:32:37,600 Speaker 1: just made with Sam peckhampahd Ali McGrath, the Smoke Show 492 00:32:37,640 --> 00:32:41,520 Speaker 1: you had just stolen from studio exec Robert Evans. But 493 00:32:41,680 --> 00:32:45,360 Speaker 1: unlike the Getaway, he wasn't racing against the clock. Batshit 494 00:32:45,440 --> 00:32:49,160 Speaker 1: crazy Al Latiri on his ass, hustling to the Mexican 495 00:32:49,200 --> 00:32:51,000 Speaker 1: border with a shit ton of stolen money in a 496 00:32:51,040 --> 00:32:56,880 Speaker 1: satchel out on bell, still haunted by the helter skelter 497 00:32:57,000 --> 00:33:02,320 Speaker 1: of hot La Knights, thinking about Ali mcgo long, black hair, alive, 498 00:33:03,360 --> 00:33:23,920 Speaker 1: kicking fast. I'm Jake Brennan, and this is Disgraceland. Disgraceland 499 00:33:24,000 --> 00:33:26,560 Speaker 1: was created by Yours Truly and is produced in partnership 500 00:33:26,600 --> 00:33:29,680 Speaker 1: with Double Elvis. Credits for this episode can be found 501 00:33:29,720 --> 00:33:33,280 Speaker 1: on the show notes page at disgracelampod dot com. If 502 00:33:33,280 --> 00:33:36,320 Speaker 1: you're listening as a Disgraceland All Access member. Thank you 503 00:33:36,360 --> 00:33:39,320 Speaker 1: for supporting the show, we really appreciate it, and if not, 504 00:33:39,560 --> 00:33:41,600 Speaker 1: you can become a member right now by going to 505 00:33:41,680 --> 00:33:46,560 Speaker 1: disgracelampod dot com slash Membership. Members can listen to every 506 00:33:46,640 --> 00:33:50,479 Speaker 1: episode of Disgraceland ad free, Plus you'll get one brand 507 00:33:50,480 --> 00:33:55,120 Speaker 1: new exclusive episode every month, weekly unscripted bonus episodes, special 508 00:33:55,160 --> 00:33:59,400 Speaker 1: audio collections, and early access to merchandise and events. Visit 509 00:33:59,440 --> 00:34:03,840 Speaker 1: disgracelpod dot com slash Membership for details, rate and review 510 00:34:03,880 --> 00:34:06,280 Speaker 1: the show, and follow us on Instagram, TikTok, Twitter, and 511 00:34:06,400 --> 00:34:10,480 Speaker 1: Facebook at disgracelamdpod and on YouTube at YouTube dot com 512 00:34:10,480 --> 00:34:18,000 Speaker 1: slash at disgracelampod, Rock and Roller. He's a bed don man.