It featured an unprecedented (and endlessly imitated) car chase through San Francisco. Although McQueen did the driving that appeared in closeups, his was about 10% of what is seen in the film's car chase. The rest of the driving by McQueen's character was done by stunt drivers Bud Ekins and Loren Janes.

Did Steve McQueen make the motorcycle jump in The Great Escape?

Ekins, acting as stunt double for Steve McQueen while filming The Great Escape, was the rider who performed what is considered to be one of the most famous motorcycle stunts ever performed in a movie.

Did Steve McQueen have a stunt double in The Great Escape?

James Sherwin “Bud” Ekins was his stunt double for both “The Great Escape” and “Bllitt.” While Steve McQueen apparently did most of his easier stunts, stunt men did the more difficult ones.

Who was the highest paid actor in The Great Escape?

Watch the trailer for The Great Escape (1963)

By then, Steve McQueen was the undisputed big name, but he was actually paid $87,500, to James Garner's $150,000. During filming he had become powerful enough to threaten to walk off the project if he wasn't given a bigger role, and he made various other ego-driven demands.

Did Steve McQueen ride Harleys?

McQueen began to earn money by competing in weekend motorcycle races at Long Island City Raceway and purchased the first of many motorcycles, a Harley-Davidson and Triumph. He soon became an excellent racer, and went home each weekend with about $100 in winnings.

Steve McQueen - The Great Escape (motorcycle scene)

Did Steve McQueen do his own riding?

McQueen was an avid motorcycle and race car enthusiast. When he had the opportunity to drive in a movie, he performed many of his own stunts, including some of the car chases in Bullitt and the motorcycle chase in The Great Escape.

How many motorcycles did Steve McQueen own?

For McQueen, racing cars and motorcycles was his way of clearing his mind. McQueen owned around 200 motorcycles. Some of these vintage bikes included: 1951 Triumph Thunderbird, 1933 Matchless Silver Hawk, 1912 Harley-Davidson X8E Big Twin, 1970 Husqvarna 400 Cross, 1915 Cyclone Boardtracker and more.

What were the mistakes in The Great Escape?

Factual errors

The airmen did not pack overnight bags for their missions. The film shows the executions being carried out by uniformed German troops using a Spandau machine gun. In reality, the executions were done by Gestapo agents who used pistols at close range.

Who actually got away in The Great Escape?

There were three successful escapees: Per Bergsland, Norwegian pilot of No. 332 Squadron RAF, escapee #44. Jens Müller, Norwegian pilot of No. 331 Squadron RAF, escapee #43. Bram van der Stok, Dutch pilot of No. 41 Squadron RAF, escapee #18.

How accurate was The Great Escape?

The Great Escape plays as much like a heist as a prison break. For the most part, however, it's a broadly accurate retelling of how, in March 1944, 76 POWs tunnelled their way out of Stalag Luft III. According to historian Guy Walters, author of The Real Great Escape, it's the tone that's wrong.

Who rode the motorbike in The Great Escape?

A live demonstration of one of the world's most iconic and valuable motorcycles - the original Triumph TR6 from the 1962 film 'The Great Escape' as ridden by Steve McQueen and Bud Ekins for the world-renowned jump - was ridden onto centre stage for the exclusive, delighted audience.

What happened to the motorcycle from The Great Escape?

The bikes used in those scenes were modified Triumphs and one of them used in the film has resurfaced after many years. The bike will be on display at the Blenheim Palace's Salon Privé Concours d'Elegance near Oxford, England. McQueen was known as a hands-on actor often doing his own stunts in his films.

What actor has never had a stunt double?

Arnold Schwarzenegger. Partially because filmmakers could not find a stunt double that matched the actor's unique frame, Arnold Schwarzenegger has done many of his own stunts throughout his career. It's no surprise that he was always up for the task, given that he got his start in bodybuilding.

Was Steve McQueen a real race car driver?

McQueen loved to compete and did so often. He was once in notable races such as Mojave Desert 500 and 12 Hours of Sebring, and even filmed his 1971 classic Le Mans on site of an actual race. "A good race driver won't try something his car can't do," he said.

Was Fonzie's motorcycle used in The Great Escape?

In later seasons, it was a mildly 'bobbed' Triumph Trophy 500. As he could not ride, Henry Winkler says that he learned on the same Triumph 650 6T ridden (and jumped) by Bud Ekins in 'The Great Escape' and ended up stuffing it under a truck.

Who was Steve McQueen stunt double in The Great Escape?

Bud Ekins was Steve's stunt double. Given that McQueen was professional level motorcyclist, he might well have been able to do all of his own stunts, including the spectacular fence jump, but put yourself in the Producer and Director's shoes.

Who was the snitch on The Great Escape?

76 men who broke out of the camp in March 1944. Notoriously, fifty were shot in cold blood by the Gestapo on Hitler's direct orders after they were rearrested. Plunkett – loosely portrayed by the actor Donald Pleasance in the film – was the camp forger who made many of the fake ID documents used by the escapees.

What happened to the bodies of The Great Escape?

The cremated remains of the Great Escapers were returned to Stalag Luft III. The newly-appointed camp commandant was appalled by the killings and allowed the prisoners to build a memorial to house the ashes. In 1948, a Royal Air Force search team travelled to the camp to collect the ashes.

How many prisoners died in The Great Escape?

The escape enraged the Germans and a directive was issued by Hitler to shoot all of the recaptured men. In the end 50 were killed, an act that horrified the Luftwaffe. Charles said: "The following day [after The Great Escape] we were kept most of the day on the parade ground.

Why did Colin go blind in The Great Escape?

Blythe realises he is going blind due to progressive myopia, and Hendley takes it upon himself to be Blythe's eyes outside the camp. The POWs complete Harry, but on the night they break to the surface they find themselves 20 feet short of the woods.

How many men actually escaped in the real Great Escape?

Only three men successfully fled to safety—two Norwegians who stowed away on a freighter to Sweden and a Dutchman who made it to Gibraltar by rail and foot. A furious Adolf Hitler personally ordered the execution of 50 of the escapees as a warning to other prisoners.

What happened to the tunnels in The Great Escape?

Untouched for almost seven decades, the tunnel used in the Great Escape has finally been unearthed. The 111-yard passage nicknamed 'Harry' by Allied prisoners was sealed by the Germans after the audacious break-out from the POW camp Stalag Luft III in western Poland.

What was Steve McQueen's favorite car?

1967 FERRARI 275 GTB/4

The Ferrari was delivered to McQueen whilst he was on set, and it went on to become one of his favourite machines, cementing his love for Ferrari.

Who inherited Steve McQueen's money?

His pups—Juice, Callum and Minter—were included in his suicide note and had even walked the runway with him. He left the same amount of money to his godson, nieces, and nephews, as well as each of his two housekeepers. McQueen's two brothers and three sisters will each receive $410,000.

What happened to Steve McQueen's son?

Chadwick McQueen is a professional sports car driver and endured a horrific crash during a race in Daytona FL, leaving him in a 3 week coma with many broken bones. In an official interview he is thankful to be alive, but this has definitely altered his abilities in Karate as his body heals.