Ambrose Wang
The year was 1966. The epic movie The Sand Pebbles was filmed on location in Taiwan. The star of the movie Mr. Steve McQueen shipped the full set of his gym equipment from Hollywood to Taipei. As an interpreter (see note 1), one of my early assignments was to oversee the setup of the workout equipment in his leased residence. (The house was an one-story single family home located in the middle of rice paddies near today's Cathay Hospital on Jen Ai Road. The rice paddies are now golden realty of leafy boulevards and luxury high rises.) I worked there for 6 days with 3 to 4 carpenters. I saw Mrs. McQueen, the actress Neile Adams, several times a day, but only ran into Mr. McQueen 3 or 4 times in those 6 days. The most memorable encounter took place during my second day there. The limousine I rode in (limo #5, see note 2) got stuck in the mud about 30 meters from his house. (At that time, there were almost no paved roads in the area.) The driver tried all he could but failed to get the car out of the muck. Then we saw Mr. McQueen drive home in his jeep (he didn't want a sedan.) Recognizing me from our previous day's discussion about the sports equipment, he stopped the jeep and asked if we needed his help. By then the driver and I were at our wits end.
"If you would," we replied,
With his jeep, Mr. McQueen roped our limo out of the muddy sinkhole!
What was most striking was what he said to me after the incident. "Ambrose, now you may tell your friends Steve McQueen saved you." To this day his words are etched deeply in my memory.
There is another story that has stayed fresh in my recollection:
Steve McQueen's wife Neile Adames was terrified that snakes might crawl into their yard. She asked me if there was any way to prevent that from happening. After some lengthy discussion, my carpenters told me "No can do." Because the dirt ground was uneven, if we added a beam to the bottom of the yard gate, it would be difficult to open and close the gate. Seeing the anxiety in Mr. McQueen's face, I didn't say it was impossible. I only told her that we would think about it.
On our ride back to the office, we had more discussions but the answer from the carpenters was always "no can do."
Getting out of the car, I glanced at the tire of the limo and had an eureka moment. I immediately told the driver to take us to a tire shop.
"Why are we going to a tire shop?" The carpenters wanted to know.
" I have found a savior," I told them.
The next day we brought several strips of shredded truck tires with us. We measured and cut out two pieces of rubber stripes that matched the width of the two gates. We affixed the rubber strip to the underside of the gate so that they brushed the ground slightly, just enough to prevent any snakes from slithering in, but did not obstruct the movement of the gates.
Mrs. McQueen was very happy with the solution.
"Ambrose, you're a genius," she said.
I never heard of any complaints about snake invasion during their stay. Obviously my solution not only gave Mrs. McQueen peace of mind but also actually worked.
Note :
1. My official title was interpreter, but my function was that of a full-fledged Production Assistant (PA).
2. 20th Century Fox Film Corporation commandeered 20 black limos, or almost all the large black sedans in Taipei. Every car had a number. #1 belonged to the director Robert Wise. Other numbers were assigned according to the user's title and function. My boss was rated #5.
__________________________________________________________________________________
Here is another story about Steve McQueen in Taipei in addition to my encounters with him;
While Steve McQueen was in Taiwan during the filming of the movie, Sand Pebble, most of the time, he preferred to driving a jeep himself, rather than riding in a sedan with a driver which the company provided.
One day, while driving in Shi Men Ding (old west part of Taipei city) he was stopped by a traffic policeman for violating a traffic rule which he was not familiar with. The policeman didn’t understand English. He stopped the jeep but, of course, had difficulty to explain in English to the driver what rules he had broken. (The cop didn’t know the driver was the famous movie star, Steve McQueen.) Anyway, he let McQueen go without giving him a ticket. Before McQueen drove away he asked the cop for his name and address.
Surprisingly, several months later the policeman received a letter from Steve McQueen, thanking him for not giving him the traffic ticket!
The policeman’s name was Dong Fu-Chuang, who happened to be a classmate and very close friend of mine! It was forty some years later when Dong told me the story. I immediately asked if he still had the letter he received from Steve McQueen. He said he found out the jeep driver he stopped was Steve McQueen only after he received the letter and he did keep the letter for many years but lost it when he moved his apartment from one place to another and he moved several times during the half decade.
What a pity! (Dong passed away two years ago.)
____________________________________________________________________________
Conversation around Steve McQueen stories:
Subject: Re: Another Steve McQueen story
Dear Chairman,
Didn't you rub shoulders with Sir Richard Attenborough too? He won an Oscar for his performance in The Sand Pebbles and was later knighted. How about Candice Bergen?
Gabriel
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Tom Patterson <[email protected]> 於 2020年10月20日 02:41
Gabriel,
Are you kidding ???? Ambrose dated Candice Bergen back in 1966. Just another “behind the curtain, I mean behind the scene” story of The Sand Pebbles.
Tom
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Dear Gabriel,
I did speak to Richard Attenborough a couple times when he came on board of "San Pablo", the gun boat for his role filming while my team and I were working on the boat. He was a very soft spoken, nice and kind gentleman.
I did see Candice Bergen a few times when she was on set in different shooting locations but I never had a chance to speak to her. I remember she was only 19 years old then, very beautiful and sweet. I also remember one day she sunbathed in Bikini on the deck of San Pablo (not for filming). Everybody on board tried to find all kinds of excuses to take a peek at her from distance! ( I did too)
Ambrose
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Awwww…..now we find the real reason (Candice Bergen) Ambrose was involved with The San Pebbles !!!!!!!!!!!!!
Tom
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
David Cook <[email protected]> 於 2020年10月20日 08:36 ：
Dear Ambrose,
You do not need to disclose what you saw (Candace B) to the Directors of IBF. I know you were more interested in the design of the boat.
I am jealous. You have had so many memorable experiences.
As Tom says write a book or write a list of memoirs.
Good health to all.
Dave
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
By the way!
When Candice Bergen had her sunbath on the deck of San Pablo, the boat was anchored on Dan Suei River where I can see from my living room window now.
What a karma!
Ambrose
《聖保羅炮艇》（英語：The Sand Pebbles）是1966年美國電影，描述1920年代美國海軍砲艇聖保羅（USS San Pablo）在中華民國大陸時期長江的故事，改編自李察·麥金納的同名小說。
由於當時 (1966年) 東西方正處於冷戰時期，美國政府與中華人民共和國政府關係緊張，西方人無法進入中國大陸，因此片商尋求中華民國政府協助。本片大部分在台灣北部拍攝，長江沿岸場景分別在基隆港、淡水河、艋舺龍山寺等地取景。後來在英屬香港的西貢區和東涌取景。
本片在第39屆奧斯卡金像獎提名8個獎項，皆未得獎。在第24屆金球獎提名8個獎項，李察·艾登堡祿獲得最佳男配角獎。
取自 维基百科
The Sand Pebbles Trailer 1966.flv
"If you would," we replied,
With his jeep, Mr. McQueen roped our limo out of the muddy sinkhole!
What was most striking was what he said to me after the incident. "Ambrose, now you may tell your friends Steve McQueen saved you." To this day his words are etched deeply in my memory.
There is another story that has stayed fresh in my recollection:
Steve McQueen's wife Neile Adames was terrified that snakes might crawl into their yard. She asked me if there was any way to prevent that from happening. After some lengthy discussion, my carpenters told me "No can do." Because the dirt ground was uneven, if we added a beam to the bottom of the yard gate, it would be difficult to open and close the gate. Seeing the anxiety in Mr. McQueen's face, I didn't say it was impossible. I only told her that we would think about it.
On our ride back to the office, we had more discussions but the answer from the carpenters was always "no can do."
Getting out of the car, I glanced at the tire of the limo and had an eureka moment. I immediately told the driver to take us to a tire shop.
"Why are we going to a tire shop?" The carpenters wanted to know.
" I have found a savior," I told them.
The next day we brought several strips of shredded truck tires with us. We measured and cut out two pieces of rubber stripes that matched the width of the two gates. We affixed the rubber strip to the underside of the gate so that they brushed the ground slightly, just enough to prevent any snakes from slithering in, but did not obstruct the movement of the gates.
Mrs. McQueen was very happy with the solution.
"Ambrose, you're a genius," she said.
I never heard of any complaints about snake invasion during their stay. Obviously my solution not only gave Mrs. McQueen peace of mind but also actually worked.
Note :
1. My official title was interpreter, but my function was that of a full-fledged Production Assistant (PA).
2. 20th Century Fox Film Corporation commandeered 20 black limos, or almost all the large black sedans in Taipei. Every car had a number. #1 belonged to the director Robert Wise. Other numbers were assigned according to the user's title and function. My boss was rated #5.
__________________________________________________________________________________
Here is another story about Steve McQueen in Taipei in addition to my encounters with him;
While Steve McQueen was in Taiwan during the filming of the movie, Sand Pebble, most of the time, he preferred to driving a jeep himself, rather than riding in a sedan with a driver which the company provided.
One day, while driving in Shi Men Ding (old west part of Taipei city) he was stopped by a traffic policeman for violating a traffic rule which he was not familiar with. The policeman didn’t understand English. He stopped the jeep but, of course, had difficulty to explain in English to the driver what rules he had broken. (The cop didn’t know the driver was the famous movie star, Steve McQueen.) Anyway, he let McQueen go without giving him a ticket. Before McQueen drove away he asked the cop for his name and address.
Surprisingly, several months later the policeman received a letter from Steve McQueen, thanking him for not giving him the traffic ticket!
The policeman’s name was Dong Fu-Chuang, who happened to be a classmate and very close friend of mine! It was forty some years later when Dong told me the story. I immediately asked if he still had the letter he received from Steve McQueen. He said he found out the jeep driver he stopped was Steve McQueen only after he received the letter and he did keep the letter for many years but lost it when he moved his apartment from one place to another and he moved several times during the half decade.
What a pity! (Dong passed away two years ago.)
____________________________________________________________________________
Conversation around Steve McQueen stories:
Subject: Re: Another Steve McQueen story
Dear Chairman,
Didn't you rub shoulders with Sir Richard Attenborough too? He won an Oscar for his performance in The Sand Pebbles and was later knighted. How about Candice Bergen?
Gabriel
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Tom Patterson <[email protected]> 於 2020年10月20日 02:41
Gabriel,
Are you kidding ???? Ambrose dated Candice Bergen back in 1966. Just another “behind the curtain, I mean behind the scene” story of The Sand Pebbles.
Tom
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Dear Gabriel,
I did speak to Richard Attenborough a couple times when he came on board of "San Pablo", the gun boat for his role filming while my team and I were working on the boat. He was a very soft spoken, nice and kind gentleman.
I did see Candice Bergen a few times when she was on set in different shooting locations but I never had a chance to speak to her. I remember she was only 19 years old then, very beautiful and sweet. I also remember one day she sunbathed in Bikini on the deck of San Pablo (not for filming). Everybody on board tried to find all kinds of excuses to take a peek at her from distance! ( I did too)
Ambrose
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Awwww…..now we find the real reason (Candice Bergen) Ambrose was involved with The San Pebbles !!!!!!!!!!!!!
Tom
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
David Cook <[email protected]> 於 2020年10月20日 08:36 ：
Dear Ambrose,
You do not need to disclose what you saw (Candace B) to the Directors of IBF. I know you were more interested in the design of the boat.
I am jealous. You have had so many memorable experiences.
As Tom says write a book or write a list of memoirs.
Good health to all.
Dave
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
By the way!
When Candice Bergen had her sunbath on the deck of San Pablo, the boat was anchored on Dan Suei River where I can see from my living room window now.
What a karma!
Ambrose
《聖保羅炮艇》（英語：The Sand Pebbles）是1966年美國電影，描述1920年代美國海軍砲艇聖保羅（USS San Pablo）在中華民國大陸時期長江的故事，改編自李察·麥金納的同名小說。
由於當時 (1966年) 東西方正處於冷戰時期，美國政府與中華人民共和國政府關係緊張，西方人無法進入中國大陸，因此片商尋求中華民國政府協助。本片大部分在台灣北部拍攝，長江沿岸場景分別在基隆港、淡水河、艋舺龍山寺等地取景。後來在英屬香港的西貢區和東涌取景。
本片在第39屆奧斯卡金像獎提名8個獎項，皆未得獎。在第24屆金球獎提名8個獎項，李察·艾登堡祿獲得最佳男配角獎。
取自 维基百科
The Sand Pebbles Trailer 1966.flv
