Steve McQueen and Faye Dunaway Sizzle in this Sexy Classic Heist Film at the Marquis Theatre Sponsored by Urban Optiques, Tom Holzer Ford and Starring the Gallery

The “King of Cool” makes a return to the big screen tomorrow night in “The Thomas Crown Affair” — the latest of eleven classic films Urban Optiques is sponsoring during the “Movies at the Marquis Classic Film Series” at the historic Marquis Theatre in downtown Northville.

For generations who don’t know who Steve McQueen is, we’ll fill you in quickly.

But before we do this, check out these great clips from The Thomas Crown Affair, showing tomorrow night at the Marquis Theatre:

McQueen’s life had all of the marks of either a disaster or a major success story.

His father was a barnstorming stunt pilot and his mother was young, rebellious, alcoholic. McQueen’s mom left him at the doorstep of his grandparents, and for much of his youth, he bounced between stability and chaos. Eventually he wound up in a reform school, where he straightened up his act, became a leader and eventually moved on to take acting lessons.

Steve McQueen: Real Life Hero?

In 1947, McQueen joined the Marine Corps, where after seven demotions, he saved the lives of five other Marines during an Arctic exercise, pulling them from a tank before it broke through ice into the sea.

Once Steve McQueen hit Hollywood, he made one amazing movie after the other. His track record at the box office, as well as his cool swagger, made him the highest paid actor in Hollywood. Kind of like Brad Pitt now, but with way more attitude and street cred.

Unfortunately, McQueen died in 1980 from cancer, which he claimed was a product of exposure to asbestos used to line his racing helmets and suits (McQueen was an avid racecar driver and did most of his own stunts.)

Bottom line is that to this day, stars don’t get much bigger than Steve McQueen.

Period.

At Urban Optiques, we love Steve McQueen and The Thomas Crown Affair because not only do McQueen and co-star Faye Dunaway (who blows Angelina Jolie out of the water on the hotness scale, in our opinon) wear spectacular sunglasses in the movie, but McQueen himself demonstrates how someone from humble beginnings can persevere.

We ran across a great story about Steve McQueen recently, that says a lot about why he was truly so “cool.”

Apparently, McQueen had an unusual reputation for demanding free items in bulk from studios when agreeing to do a film, such as electric razors and jeans and several other products. It was later found out that McQueen requested these things because he was donating them to the Boy’s Republic reformatory school for displaced youth, where he had spent time during his teen years. McQueen made occasional visits to the school to spend time with the students, often to play pool and to speak with them about his experiences.

Just goes to show that being cool isn’t always what it seems.

Viewing guides for The Thomas Crown Affair are available here.

Urban Optiques will also be hosting a post-movie cocktail party to celebrate the life of the “King of Cool” so please join us after the film and check out our new eyeglass and sunglass frames.

Sunglasses are 20% and  we”ll also be giving away a free DVD copy of “Bullitt” — one of McQueen’s coolest movies next to The Thomas Crown Affair.

Tickets for The Thomas Crown Affair are available tomorrow at Starring the Gallery, just across the street from Urban Optiques.

Starring the Gallery will also be hosting a pre-film reception, so make sure to stop by Starring and support the local downtown Northville shopping district!

See you tomorrow night at the Marquis!