Forty years ago, Nov. 7, 1980, actor Steve McQueen died of heart failure at a Juárez clinic while recovering from surgery to remove cancerous tumors of the neck and stomach.
El Paso Times reporter Ramon Renteria reported from Juarez:
Dr. Cesar Santos Vargas felt sympathetic toward the ailing man who called himself Sam Sheppard.
“He was a man sure of himself and very sincere,” Santos said.
Santos, a Juarez surgeon and kidney specialist, earned a medical reputation years ago in Juarez for treating injured bullfighters.
He gained national attention when the man called Sheppard suddenly died in his Juarez clinic at 2:50 a.m. Friday.
