Chad McQueen, who followed his father, Steve McQueen, into acting and auto racing and portrayed the bully Dutch in the first two Karate Kid movies, has died. He was 63.
McQueen died Wednesday of organ failure at his ranch in Palm Desert, his friend of 40 years, Arthur Barens, told The Hollywood Reporter. He had been injured in a fall in 2020 and never fully recovered.
In a statement on Instagram, his children Chase and Madison wrote:
“His remarkable journey as a loving father to us, along with his unwavering commitment to our mother, truly exemplified a life filled with love and dedication. His passion for racing not only highlighted his exceptional talent but also served as a way to honor his father’s legacy, a testament to the values instilled in him.
“He passed his passion, knowledge and dedication down to us, and we will continue not only his legacy but our grandfather’s as well. As a family, we need to navigate this difficult time, and we kindly ask for privacy as we remember and celebrate his extraordinary life.”
As the Cobra Kai student Dutch in The Karate Kid (1984) and The Karate Kid Part II (1986), McQueen was not shy about giving Ralph Macchio’s Daniel LaRusso a hard time. He did not return for The Karate Kid Part III (1989) or for the current Cobra Kai TV series, where it was noted that Dutch was serving time in prison.
Chadwick Steven McQueen was born in Los Angeles on Dec. 28, 1960, and raised in Malibu. His mother was Filipino-born actress Neile Adams. His parents were married from 1956 until their 1972 divorce.
His acting résumé also included roles in the Dick Wolf-written Skateboard (1978), Martial Law (1991), New York Cop (1993), Death Ring (1992) and Red Line (1995).
Like his dad, McQueen was enthusiastic about auto racing. He began auto racing at age 10, winning his first race, a children-only Le Mans event created on the set of his father’s 1971 film Le Mans. His professional racing career started with events in the Sports Car Club of America series.
A crash at Daytona International Speedway in 2006 while practicing for the 24 Hours of Daytona event ended his racing career.
His company, McQueen Racing, founded in 2010 and now run by Chase and Madison, develops high-performance cars and motorcycles.
Steve McQueen, of course, was the star of such films as The Great Escape (1963), The Cincinnati Kid (1965), The Sand Pebbles (1966), The Thomas Crown Affair (1968), Bullitt (1968) and The Getaway (1972).
When Chad was 19, his dad died in November 1980 of a heart attack after a battle with cancer at age 50. Steve McQueen’s other child, daughter Terry, died in 1998 at age 38.
Chad’s survivors also include his mother; his second wife, Jeanie; another son, Steven, an actor known for his work on The Vampire Diaries and the spinoff Legacies; and his grandson, Michael.
A donation in his memory can be made to Boys Republic, which provides a home and support for disadvantaged children.
