“Karate Kid” actor Chad McQueen, the only son of Hollywood legend and racing driver Steve McQueen, died on Wednesday. He was 63 years old.
The father of three died of organ failure at his Palm Desert home after never fully recovering from injuries sustained in a 2020 fall, his longtime friend and attorney told The Hollywood Reporter and The New York Times.
A post on the actor’s Instagram page signed by McQueen’s wife Jeanie and their two children Madison and Chase asked for privacy as they “remember and celebrate his extraordinary life.” McQueen also leaves behind a son from a previous marriage, Steven, known as an actor in “The Vampire Diaries.”
“His remarkable journey as a loving father to us and his unwavering devotion to our mother truly exemplified a life of love and dedication,” the Instagram post reads. “His passion for racing not only highlighted his extraordinary talent, but was also a way to honor his father’s legacy, a testament to the values instilled in him. He passed on his passion, knowledge and dedication to us, and we will carry on not only his legacy, but that of our grandfathers.”
The surviving child of the late Steve McQueen and Filipino actress Neile Adams – his older sister Terry died of respiratory failure in 1998 at the age of 38 – McQueen followed in the acting footsteps of his father, who at one point withdrew from public life to concentrate on racing. But while his father, once the highest-paid actor in the world, only took a break from acting to compete in motorcycle races, McQueen retired from the entertainment industry entirely to devote himself to it full-time.
However, his career in Hollywood began in 1984 when he was cast as antagonist Dutch in “The Karate Kid” and reprised the role in “The Karate Kid II.” He went on to produce or star in projects such as “Martial Law,” “Death Ring” and “Red Line” before retiring from acting after a role in 2001.
RELATED STORY | James Earl Jones, legendary actor and voice of Darth Vader and Mufasa, dies at the age of 93
He then competed in various races for years until an accident ended his career in 2006. But in 2010 he founded McQueen Racing, a custom car and motorcycle company that is now run by Chase and Madison, according to its website.
Jon Hurwitz, one of the creators of the Netflix series “The Karate Kid” “Cobra Kai,” said in a post on X that McQueen almost reprised his role as Dutch in the series, but “his racing injuries limited his options.”
“Dutch was perhaps the purest Cobra of them all. Ruthless and dangerous through and through. That’s what we loved about him. And it was all because of Chad McQueen’s performance,” wrote Hurwitz. “The fan community mourns the loss of a Karate Kid legend today.”
