Steve McQueen - Marc Eliot [107]
THE FILM died a quick and merciful death, grossing about $6 million in its initial domestic release, not nearly enough to cover the cost of making it or pay back what was left of Solar (on paper) or Steve himself, let alone turn a profit.10
However, the real costs to Steve were much higher and more personal. During the making of the film he had ruined his relationship with John Sturges, with whom he never reconciled. He had lost his longtime agent, Stan Kamen, and the William Morris Agency, which had been so vital in setting up deals for him and finding money partners to fund his projects. He had lost his company, Solar (although it did continue to exist in name only as a tax shelter). And he had lost Bob Relyea.
The second director, Lee Katzin, wanted nothing more to do with Steve, or the movies. After making one more feature, he returned to the more familiar confines of the TV lots, where he continued to grind out small-screen fare.
Not long after, Steve was hit with a $2 million lien from the IRS for unpaid back taxes. The government wanted everything. As part of the deal, the racing overalls he wore during the race were given up and sold off to a British newspaper that used them for a circulation-boosting contest that was won by a local schoolboy.
But the worst loss of all for Steve was the end of his marriage to Neile. In one last attempt to salvage it, Steve vowed to Neile that he would give up drugs and try to get himself back to the man she had married when she was a big star and he was a struggling actor. On Memorial Day 1971, they arranged to go out on a date. That evening he came to the Castle, spent a little time with the children, Terry and Chad, and then escorted Neile to the car. On the way to the restaurant, Steve reached into the glove compartment and took out a vial of cocaine.
They ate at Chez Jay, a popular Venice Beach seafood restaurant. Very little was said between them. On the way home he took more coke. He told her not to worry about it. Before they arrived at the Castle, Steve was higher than a kite and began asking questions about the man with whom Neile had had the affair, including where she had met him. Neile, frozen with fear, said nothing. When Steve pulled up to the driveway of the Castle, he ran around to the passenger side, even as Neile was desperately trying to get out and run to the house. He kicked her from behind, and she went flying onto the cobblestones of the courtyard. Steve screamed, “Why did you do it, you whore?” and began slapping her on the head. As she crawled to the house, Steve began saying softly, “I’m sorry, so sorry.”
NEILE OFFICIALLY filed for divorce in October 1971. Steve was shocked when he was served with the papers, believing up until the very end of the process that she could not actually go through with it. He was sure no matter how hard he pushed her away, no matter how crazy he got, no matter how he tested her limits, she would never leave. But he’d pushed too hard, and she did.
Two weeks after Neile filed papers in a Santa Monica court to end their marriage, Steve signed on to star in Junior Bonner. While the lawyers fought over the division of their considerable property—and that would take more time than either party expected—Steve sought to lose himself in this new project about a talented but over-the-hill rodeo cowboy who tries to reconcile with his difficult family. Not a lot of Method research was needed by Steve for this one.
Junior