Chad McQueen, the son of actor Steve McQueen, has died at the age of 63. McQueen’s longtime friend Arthur Barens reportedly stated that the actor and auto-racer died of “organ failure” on Wednesday night; McQueen had been dealing with health challenges ever since he suffered a fall in 2020, from which he never fully recovered. McQueen is survived by his wife, Jeanie, and his children, Chase, Madison, and Steven (an actor whose roles include The Vampire Diaries and Chicago Fire). The McQueen family released a statement confirming the passing of Chad McQueen, which you can read below:
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“It is with a heavy heart that we announce the passing of our father, Chad McQueen. His remarkable journey as a loving father to us, along with his unwavering commitment to our mother, truly exemplified a life filled with love and dedication. His passion for racing not only highlighted his exceptional talent but also served as a way to honor his father’s legacy, a testament to the values instilled in him.”
“He passed his passion, knowledge, and dedication down to us, and we will continue not only his legacy but our grandfather’s as well. As a family, we need to navigate this difficult time, and we kindly ask for privacy as we remember and celebrate his extraordinary life.”
Steve McQueen died when his son Chad was just nineteen (in 1980), but Chad managed to follow closely in his dad’s footsteps. Born and raised in Los Angeles (his mother was actress Neile Adams), Chad quickly picked up his father’s penchant for automobiles, motorcycles, and racing; at age 11, he won a children-only auto racing competition on the set of the Steve McQueen racing film Le Mans (1971); at age 12 he won the World Mini Grand Prix dirtbike racing competition in his class.
Chad jumped into acting and got his first major movie role as a competing skateboarder in the 1978 film Skateboard. However, Chad McQueen got his breakout role in 1984 with The Karate Kid, in which he played the role of “Dutch,” the sadistic sidekick to Johnny Lawrence, and a member of John Kreese’s Cobra Kai dojo. He also appeared briefly in The Karate Kid Part II, but not the third film. There was talk about getting McQueen back for an appearance in Netflix’s Kobra Cai spinoff series (the show claimed Dutch ended up in prison, but it never panned out.
McQueen never saw the kind of stardom his father did. After Karate Kid it was mostly direct-to-video action films or box office bombs like Jimmy Hollywood (the Barry Levinson film starring Joe Pesci and Christian Slater). Chad was done with acting by the 2000s but remained active in racing – culminating in a 2006 crash while practicing for the Daytona Sports Car race, which ended his racing career. By 2010, McQueen started McQueen Racing LLC, which did collaborations with leading motorcycle and custom-car brands to develop “high-performance, limited-edition custom cars, motorcycles, and accessories.”
R.I.P. Chad Steven McQueen. Condolences to his family, friends, and fans in their time of grieving.
