Lee Van Cleef
Acting
- Born:
- 1925-01-09
- Died:
- 1989-12-16
- Place of birth:
- Somerville, New Jersey, USA
Biography
Clarence LeRoy "Lee" Van Cleef Jr. (January 9, 1925 – December 16, 1989) was an American actor best known for his roles in Spaghetti Westerns such as For A Few Dollars More and The Good, the Bad and the Ugly. Hatchet-faced with piercing eyes, he had declined to have his nose altered to play a sympathetic character in his film debut, High Noon, and was relegated to a non-speaking outlaw as a result. For a decade he was typecast as a minor villain, his sinister features overshadowing his acting skills. After suffering serious injuries in a car crash, Van Cleef began to lose interest in his apparently waning career by the time Sergio Leone gave him a major role in For a Few Dollars More. The film made him a box-office draw, especially in Europe. Despite suffering from heart disease from the late 1970s and having a pacemaker installed in the early 1980s, Van Cleef continued to work in films until his death on December 16, 1989, at age 64. He was buried at Forest Lawn Memorial Park Cemetery, Hollywood Hills, California, with an inscription on his grave marker referring to his many acting performances as a villain: "BEST OF THE BAD".
Known For
Filmography
The Conqueror: Hollywood Fallout
Peter Baumgartner, Filmkameramann
Klaus Kinski: I'm not an actor
Thieves of Fortune
The Best of the Martial Arts Films
Speed Zone
The Commander
Armed Response
Jungle Raiders
The Master Ninja 5
Code Name: Wild Geese
Killing Machine
Master Ninja
Master Ninja II
The Master
Escape from New York
The Octagon
The Hard Way
When the West Was Fun: A Western Reunion
The Squeeze
The Perfect Killer
Nowhere to Hide
Kid Vengeance
God's Gun
Take a Hard Ride
The Stranger and the Gunfighter
Mean Frank and Crazy Tony
The Grand Duel
The Magnificent Seven Ride!
Captain Apache
Bad Man's River
Return of Sabata
Barquero
El Condor
Sabata
Commandos
Beyond the Law
Day of Anger
Death Rides a Horse
The Big Gundown
The Good, the Bad and the Ugly
For a Few Dollars More
Laredo
My Mother the Car
Branded
The Dakotas
How the West Was Won
The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance
Posse from Hell
Stagecoach West
The Andy Griffith Show
The Slowest Gun in the West
Mr. Lucky
The Untouchables
Hawaiian Eye
The Alaskans
The Twilight Zone
Law of the Plainsman
The DuPont Show with June Allyson
Riverboat
The Deputy
Bonanza
Ride Lonesome
Black Saddle
Rawhide
Guns Girls and Gangsters
Machete
77 Sunset Strip
Lawman
Yancy Derringer
The Rifleman
Bronco
Wanted: Dead or Alive
The Bravados
The Young Lions
Day of the Badman
The Tin Star
Raiders of Old California
Joe Dakota
Gun Battle at Monterey
Tombstone Territory
Zorro
Casey Jones
Trackdown
Maverick
Perry Mason
Wagon Train
Have Gun, Will Travel
The Quiet Gun
Last Stagecoach West
Richard Diamond, Private Detective
The Lonely Man
Gunfight at the O.K. Corral
China Gate
The Badge of Marshal Brennan
Accused of Murder
Wire Service
State Trooper
Pardners
It Conquered the World
Tribute to a Bad Man
The Conqueror
The Vanishing American
A Man Alone
The Adventures of Champion
Cheyenne
Gunsmoke
The Naked Street
The Road to Denver
I Cover the Underworld
Buffalo Bill Jr.
The Big Combo
Ten Wanted Men
Treasure of Ruby Hills
Studio 57
Dawn at Socorro
Princess of the Nile
The Desperado
The Yellow Tomahawk
Arrow In The Dust
Rails Into Laramie
Gypsy Colt
Stories of the Century
Annie Oakley
The Nebraskan
Tumbleweed
Jack Slade
City Detective
Vice Squad
Arena
The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms
White Lightning
The Bandits of Corsica
General Electric Theater
The Lawless Breed
Kansas City Confidential
The Ford Television Theatre
Cavalcade of America
Four Star Playhouse
Untamed Frontier
High Noon
Schlitz Playhouse of Stars
Boston Blackie
The Adventures of Kit Carson
Space Patrol
The Gene Autry Show
The Lone Ranger