The actor credited his time at Boys Republic as life changing and for the good.

Foothills History

Over-the-top celebrity contract demands – ranging from demands for sports cars to candy bowls stocked without brown M&M candies – are the stuff of Hollywood legend.

But actor Steve McQueen can take top billing for linking big demands with a bigger heart.

The late actor insisted that his ‘swag’ (complimentary items for stars) be delivered to him in bulk. It was later revealed that he quietly donated them to the Chino Hills school he credited with saving him from a life on the wrong side of the law.

Founded in 1907, Boy’s Republic in Chino Hills (and its companion program Girl’s Republic) is a private, nonprofit, nonsectarian school and treatment community for what would today be termed ‘at-risk’ boys and girls, by equipping them with the resources and skills to make better lives through its central school and 200 – acre farm.

In 1946, McQueen was a young juvenile delinquent when his stepfather shipped him to Boys Republic in the hope the school would provide the kind of supervision McQueen had been missing since being abandoned by both his father and mother.

As a child, McQueen’s mother pawned him off on various relatives until his involvement with Los Angeles street gangs required that the family find someplace to provide the youngster with the structure and discipline he needed.

McQueen later credited his time at Boys Republic as a life changing experience.

“I would have ended up in jail or something,” he told his wife Neile. “I was a wild kid.”

After McQueen attained international success as one of the most popular and bankable movie stars, he frequently visited the school to show his gratitude and share his experiences with students and staff, often inviting journalists and photographers to accompany him.

In 1962, just as he was emerging as a major star, he established The Steve McQueen Fund – a four year scholarship for outstanding students.

When McQueen died from cancer in 1980, he left the school $200,000 and the school honored his memory by dedicating The Steve McQueen Recreation Center.

Emblazoned on the bronze plaque in the center are these words: “Steve McQueen came here as a troubled boy but left here a man. He went on to achieve stardom in motion pictures but returned to this campus often to share of himself and his fortune. His legacy is hope and inspiration to those students here now, and those yet to come.”

McQueen’s legacy is still celebrated with a gathering of classic car enthusiasts drawn from members and friends of the (Porsche) 356 Club of Southern California.

The Friends of Steve McQueen Car Show will be June 3 at Boys Republic.