“I never saw him work so hard or get so bored as he was after those six months in Taiwan. By the time we got to Hong Kong, he’d really had it. He couldn’t wait to get home.” When the McOueen family safely landed on U.S. soil, Steve got out and literally kissed the ground.
“Anything I ever did wrong,” Steve confessed, “I paid for in Taiwan. I just hope something good comes out of it.” Steve McQueen,
Steve McQueen in Taiwan, filming The Sand Pebbles in 1966. On a Suzuki T20.
This is a whole website talking about the movie with images, maps and locations.
http://taipics.com/douglas.php
color version:
[quote]“I never saw him work so hard or get so bored as he was after those six months in Taiwan. By the time we got to Hong Kong, he’d really had it. He couldn’t wait to get home.” When the McOueen family safely landed on U.S. soil, Steve got out and literally kissed the ground.
“Anything I ever did wrong,” Steve confessed, “I paid for in Taiwan. I just hope something good comes out of it.” Steve McQueen,[/quote]
I don’t think anyone was having fun in Taiwan in 1966.
Martial Law Taiwan should be defined in the urban dictionary as ‘a fun lobotomy’ with fun being a noun.
Is the movie worth watching?
Its a classic.
Its a classic.[/quote]
Enough 
anybody else notice the ‘SUZUKI’ is missing from the black and white photo?
I assume the B&W was a released still from the set back in the states.
Clearly anti-Japanese (pro-American) car/motorcycle attitude was pretty heavy then, but was this the only reason to remove it? Was an American manufacturer responsible for this? Did McQueen demand it?
any facts? any opinions?
That’s old-guy stuff, but you’re in luck–I’m an old guy. Japanese motorcycles were becoming popular at the time. I remember hearing the “Solo Suzuki” commercial on the radio. It’s a shame I can’t find it on YouTube. It was like, baritones in unison, with a kind of Mitch-Miller-esque, military-march kind of thing going on there. I was twelve or thirteen, I guess, and I remember kids my age used to make fun of that commercial a little bit. This should give you an idea of what I’m talking about:
[quote]. . . in . . . 1965. . . .
. . . the Hondells were singing about the glories of their Honda motor scooter: “First gear it’s all right, second gear I lean right, third gear–hang on tight–faster it’s all right.” Commercials for the smaller Japanese motorcycles began to appear on television with catchy little tunes. “Solo Suzuki” was sung with images of a young rider gliding along smoth country roads. . . .[/quote]–Josef N. Ferri, Trying to Catch the Wind is.gd/Solo_Suzuki
Here’s another reference to it:
[quote]The Suzuki Motor Corporation of Japan began selling motorcycles in the United States in the 1960’s. Some consumers with long memories might still be able to sing the ‘‘Solo Suzuki’’ jingle from commercials of that era.[/quote]–Stuart Eliot, “Campaign Spotlight: Suzuki Swaps Solo for Duo,” New York Times, November 13, 2006 query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.h … A9609C8B63
Here’s a “Solo Suzuki” ad in the September 1966 issue of American Motorcycling: is.gd/Solo_Suzuki2
So, Charlie Jack,
You think they airbrushed the Suzuki off the bike? America’s King of Cool…riding a Suzuki?
I’m in the ‘air-brushed-off by the studio’ camp, but it’s possible the missing ‘SUZUKI’ in this photo is just a product of our Photoshop/internet era.
Here’s a photo of Steve in short shorts:
T
Yes, and there was a bit of racial/national discrimination going on, too. I remember Harley-Davidson riding guys saying, “you won’t find no Jap piece of shit between my legs”…
[quote=“achdizzy1099”]So, Charlie Jack,
You think they airbrushed the Suzuki off the bike? America’s King of Cool…riding a Suzuki?
I’m in the ‘air-brushed-off by the studio’ camp, but it’s possible the missing ‘SUZUKI’ in this photo is just a product of our Photoshop/internet era.[/quote]
I was leaning toward the studio idea, but I hadn’t considered Photoshop. Photoshop (motivated by the King of Cool idea) sounds about as likely as studio (motivated by what Maceck and Tigerman talked about–but possibly with some King of Cool stuff in the mix).
Earlier I assumed that we just made fun of the jingle because it sounded hokey, but you’ve got me thinking now, because it’s quite possible there was racial or national discrimination involved in that.
Also, the way I remember things, “Made in Japan” pretty much meant “poor quality” to most Americans back then. Of course, the meaning of “Made in Japan” changed.
Is it possible the brand name was removed because of some issue of intellectual property, or some similar issue?
[quote=“Charlie Jack”] Of course, the meaning of “Made in Japan” changed.
[/quote]
One could argue that this happened with American help. Deming and “Kaizen” management were transplanted from the US to Toyota in the 1950s after the Big Three automakers at the time in the US rejected such principles.
Steve may have had advertising deals with other manufacturers and they pressed for Suzuki to be removed somehow.
Edit- yes, he had a deal with Honda by at least 1973. The image with no Suzuki at the front was probably doctored later by his press team after he signed a deal with Honda.
There’s also an article about him and bikes from 1966 on that link.
I know a retired chemical engineer who’s a big fan of Deming. This is the first I’ve heard of Kaizen. Thanks for the info.
That didn’t occur to me. That sounds quite plausible.
Saw this in a friendly Taiwan pub. Photo in Beitou hot springs. Who’s the girl? She’s not Taiwanese.
Just throwing stuff in here about Sand Pebbles movie filmed in Taiwan.
I wonder if anything in the movie is recognizable.
My wife has a crush on that twerp. Also on Paul Newman and Clint Eastwood. Oh, and Sean Connery.
I guess that back in the day, looking like a haggard geriatric was sexy.
I suppose that’s what attracted her to me.
It’s a super cool photo…the boy’s room in the Teabar.
