1 week Ago By [email protected] (Hayley Anderson)
Cobra Kai season six, part two, has landed but who is Chad McQueen, the man that the action-packed drama paid tribute to? It’s been months since the Karate Kid spin-off had been seen on Netflix and finally, it's returned to the small screen, picking up from that cliffhanger which saw Tory (played by Peyton List) switch allegiances to Cobra Kai following the tragic death of her mum. One of the most memorable moments of note, however, came just before the credits began to run in season six, episode six, with a title card to Chad McQueen. The caption simply read: “1960-2024 Cobra Kai never died” and now subscribers are eager to know all there is about who he was and why he was important to the show.
Who was Chad McQueen? Chad McQueen was an actor, film producer, martial artist and race car driver who was behind the character Dutch in the Karate Kid film, as well as its sequel in the 1980s. Dutch was an antagonist in the franchise as a student of the Cobra Kai dojo, a member of Johnny Lawrence’s (William Zabka) gang and a criminal sent to prison when he was older. The 63-year-old was also the last living child of The Great Escape star Steve McQueen until he died from organ failure at his Californian ranch in September 2024.
Apart from Karate Kid, McQueen had starred in Firepower, Indecent Behaviour II, Papertrail and Fall: The Price of Silence, just to name some of his work. He went on to pursue a career as a race car driver and suffered a serious crash in 2006 while practicing for the 24 Hours of Daytona race at the Daytona International Speedway. McQueen suffered a broken leg, two fractured vertebrae, multiple rib fractures and was in a coma for a few weeks.
While the star survived the horrific ordeal, the incident ultimately ended his racing career and he subsequently founded McQueen Racing in 2010 which develops high-performance cars and motorbikes. He also suffered a fall in 2020 and, according to his close friend Arthur Barens, he never fully recovered from an injury he sustained. Following his death, Jon Hurwitz, one of the creators of Cobra Kai, said that Mcqueen was “unable to join us when it came time to shoot” the latest series.
He continued: “At the end of the day, it wasn’t meant to be. But Dutch will always be remembered as a bada**’ bada** in the Miyagiverse. He kicked a**.
“The fandom mourns a Karate Kid legend today. I’m so grateful I had the honour of spending an afternoon with him. “Sending much love and strength to his wonderful family.
May Chad rest in peace.” Cobra Kai is available to watch on Netflix..
