Do You Remember the Day Steve McQueen Was Arrested?

LE MANS, Steve McQueen, 1971 — Everett Collection

Steve McQueen was the epitome of cool in the 1960s and 1970s, a star who established his reputation in films like Bullitt and The Great Escape. Yet in 1972, McQueen was arrested for drunk driving and reckless behavior in Anchorage, Alaska, amid his divorce from his first wife, Neile Adams. Do you remember when the news hit that he was arrested and seeing his mugshot? It was a jarring image for fans accustomed to seeing him as the ultimate movie hero.

The arrest happened while McQueen was in Anchorage, where he had rented an Oldsmobile Toronado. Locals recall him tearing through downtown streets, spinning circles, and showing off the kind of daredevil moves that probably only belonged in movies. When officers stopped him, they asked him to walk a straight line for a sobriety test. Instead of passing, McQueen reportedly somersaulted down the painted strip, almost as if he was still performing for an audience. A mugshot was taken that night, and it now sits in the Alaska State Trooper Museum as a curious piece of Hollywood history.

Everett Collection

At the time, McQueen’s personal life was just as turbulent as his career was successful. His marriage to Adams had been unraveling after 15 years, largely due to his infidelities and restless nature. Professionally, though, he was still riding high. The early 1970s saw him release Junior Bonner and The Getaway, the latter pairing him with actress Ali MacGraw, who would soon become his second wife.

The Anchorage arrest ultimately did not derail his career or tarnish his enduring popularity. If anything, it reinforced the idea that McQueen was living the same kind of fast, reckless life that his on-screen characters embodied. Fans continued to pack theaters for his movies, and Hollywood kept offering him leading roles. Rather than weaken his legend, the incident became another story in the larger myth of the “King of Cool.”