Spins and Grins

Tim Considine in his OSCA (left), Steve McQueen in his Porsche Speedster (center) and Ronnie Bucknum in his Speedster (right) stage a publicity shot for McQueen just before they get down to some serious racing. Photo: AuthorÕs Collection

A French Kiss with Death. Is that a great title or what? It’s the name of Michael Keyser’s new book about Steve McQueen and, in particular, the making of his movie, Le Mans. Dynamite book, with great photos and lots of interesting details about the popular actor/racer. And make no mistake, McQueen was a racer.

When I first met Steve McQueen in the mid- to late-‘50s, he was fresh from New York and looking for work as an actor (as most actors are most of the time). He’d spied the Ferraris and other Italian exotics at Ernie McAfee Engineering on Sunset Blvd. and stopped to admire them one day that I just happened to be there. Meaning the place was open.

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