Re: Steve McQueen:
Excerpts from wikipedia:
Steve McQueen
... McQueen's father, William McQueen, a stunt pilot for a barnstorming flying circus, left his mother, Julia Ann (or Julianne) Crawford, six months after meeting her....
McQueen's mother married, and when the boy was eight, she brought him ...to live with her and her new husband in Indianapolis. ...
Dyslexic and partially deaf due to a childhood ear infection, McQueen did not adjust well to school or his new life. His stepfather beat him to such an extent that at the age of nine, he left home to live on the streets. ...
McQueen was caught stealing hubcaps by the police and handed over to his [second] stepfather, who beat him severely. He threw the youth down a flight of stairs. McQueen looked up at his stepfather and said, "You lay your stinking hands on me again and I swear, I'll kill you."...
After this incident, McQueen's stepfather persuaded his mother to sign a court order stating that McQueen was incorrigible, remanding him to the California Junior Boys Republic in Chino. ...
McQueen had an unusual reputation for demanding free items in bulk from studios when agreeing to do a film, such as electric razors, jeans and other items. It was later discovered McQueen donated these things to the Boys Republic reformatory school, where he had spent time during his teen years.