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CONTACT: Ron Christenson
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MidAmericaAuctions.com
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Stacey Spiegel
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STEVE MCQUEEN’S ANTIQUE MOTORCYCLES AT PEBBLE BEACH Barbara McQueen, Widow of Legendary Actor Steve McQueen, Serves as Guest of Honor at MidAmerica Auctions MarketPlace Featuring 1OO Rare Antique and Classic Motorcycles for sale and online auction at the 62nd Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance®.
Pebble Beach, CA: Barbara McQueen, widow of the late film actor, Steve McQueen, will make a rare guest appearance to commence the opening of MidAmerica Auctions’ 4th Annual Antique Motorcycle MarketPlace. She will share memories of her famous husband with fans and sign copies of her new book, “Steve McQueen: The Last Mile…revisited.”
Amid the classic Bentleys, Bugattis and Ferraris, a select group of motorcycles, will be presented at the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance ® next to RetroAuto, including a 1940 Indian 4 Cylinder and a 1938 Triumph Speed Twin owned by the world-renown actor and motorcycle aficionado, Steve McQueen.
“Steve McQueen is a historically iconic image of the quintessential motorcycle enthusiast, and we’re honored to have his wife Barbara join us to commemorate his passion,” notes Ron Christenson, the president of MidAmerica Auctions, the world’s largest seller of antique motorcycles. Christenson, will also be on hand to discuss the event’s collection of bikes. “These motorcycles will both complement and contrast the automobiles on the field. In a very real way, they expand on the history of the car; many early automakers started by making two and three-wheelers. We’re proud to have been invited to the world’s premier celebration of the automobile masterpiece.”
The eclectic selection includes headliners such as rare collection of six 1963-1967 Triumph Bonneville T120 TT Specials, a 1916 Harley Davidson 8-Valve Racer, 1953 Vincent Black Shadow Series C, 1939 Brough Superior 1150 V-Twin, and a 1912 Wagner Belt Drive Single. The auction will also be available online at www.MidAmericaAuctionsBid.com to those collectors that cannot personally attend.
Each antique motorcycle has a unique story, a piece of history, but none as beautifully written as Barbara McQueen’s recorded account of shared adventures with Steve. When asked for the reason behind her book she explained, “My hundreds of pictures of him stayed tucked away in the closet for nearly 25 years. Then something happened inside me when I turned 50, the same age Steve was when he died. It was if a veil had been lifted and I could finally look back on our life together and examine it without fear. I know he would have been proud of it.” Barbara’s newly revised book includes never-before published photos and several new passages of her life and times with ‘The King of Cool.’
In the new edition, Barbara dedicates a page of her book to asbestos education, discussing her late husband’s December 1979 diagnosis and battle with Mesothelioma, the preventable asbestos-caused cancer that ultimately claimed the life of the silver screen icon. In a Washington D.C. press conference last month, Barbara addressed the U.S. House of Representatives staff briefing stating, “I want to bring awareness that asbestos is still legal in the U.S. and continues to kill. It can kill a movie star, a musician or a construction worker. It takes no prisoners.” She will be available to sign copies of her book and greet fans at the MidAmerica Auctions MarketPlace at the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance Friday, August 17 – Sunday, August 19, 2012.
For more information on the motorcycles featured visit www.MidAmericaAuctions.com
For more information on the Concours d’Elegance visit: www.pebblebeachconcours.net
For more information on Barbara McQueen’s book visit: www.daltonwatson.com
MidAmerica Auctions MarketPlace at the 62nd Annual Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance®.
WHEN: Fri., Aug. 17 – Sun., Aug. 19, 2012
TIME: 10:00 am – 5:00 pm Fri. & Sat.; 8:00 am – 6:00 pm Sun
WHERE: Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance, RetroAuto Pavilion
PHOTO CREDIT: Steve and Barbara McQueen, Pacific Coast Highway, 1978
ABOUT MIDAMERICA AUCTIONS: St. Paul-based MidAmerica Auctions is the world’s largest seller of antique motorcycles and has sold more than 15,000 bikes since 1990. Their Antique Motorcycle Auctions have become a mecca for antique motorcycle enthusiasts worldwide and sets more world records for motorcycles than all other auctions companies combined.
ABOUT BARBARA MCQUEEN: Barbara Minty McQueen is the widow of American film star Steve McQueen and is a former model and photographer. She is also the author of Steve McQueen: The Last Mile…Revisited (Dalton Watson Fine Books, 2012), which documents their three-and-a-half year relationship and includes candid shots from 1977 to 1980. McQueen has hosted several art exhibits of her work with shows in London, Tokyo, Hamburg, San Francisco, Nashville, Phoenix and Idaho, where she resides.
MidAmerica Auctions
2008 County Road C West
St. Paul, Minnesota 55113
United States
ph: 651-633-9655
fax: 651-633-3212
email: midauction@aol.com
PR Contact for MidAmerica Auctions:
Ron Christenson
Sandy Doll
651-633-9655
midauction@aol.com
PR Contact for Barbara McQueen:
Marshall Terrill
480-332-7554
Marshzoe@aol.com