Lee Van Cleef
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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
Credits
The Good, the Bad and the Ugly (1966)
as Sentenza / Angel Eyes
For a Few Dollars More (1965)
as Col. Douglas Mortimer
The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance (1962)
as Reese
High Noon (1952)
as Jack Colby
Escape from New York (1981)
as Police Commissioner Bob Hauk
How the West Was Won (1962)
as River Pirate
Gunfight at the O.K. Corral (1957)
as Ed Bailey
The Bravados (1958)
as Alfonso Parral
The Magnificent Seven Ride! (1972)
as Marshal Chris Adams
Last Stagecoach West (1957)
as Steve Margolies
Death Rides a Horse (1967)
as Ryan
Sabata (1969)
as Sabata
Machete (1958)
as Miguel
Day of Anger (1967)
as Frank Talby
The Young Lions (1958)
as 1st Sgt. Rickett
Kansas City Confidential (1952)
as Tony Romano
Ride Lonesome (1959)
as Frank
The Tin Star (1957)
as Ed McGaffey
Speed Zone (1989)
as Grandfather
It Conquered the World (1956)
as Dr. Tom Anderson
Treasure of Ruby Hills (1955)
as Frank Emmett
The Grand Duel (1972)
as Sheriff Clayton
Princess of the Nile (1954)
as Hakar (uncredited)
Bad Man's River (1971)
as Roy King
The Lawless Breed (1952)
as Dirk Hanley
Barquero (1970)
as Travis
El Condor (1970)
as Jaroo
The Big Gundown (1967)
as Jonathan Corbett
China Gate (1957)
as Maj. Cham
Return of Sabata (1971)
as Sabata / Major
The Yellow Tomahawk (1954)
as Fire Knife
The Big Combo (1955)
as Fante
The Naked Street (1955)
as Harry Goldish (uncredited)
Ten Wanted Men (1955)
as Al Drucker
Captain Apache (1971)
as Capt. Apache
The Conqueror (1956)
as Chepei
Guns Girls and Gangsters (1959)
as Mike Bennett
Dawn at Socorro (1954)
as Earl Ferris
Beyond the Law (1968)
as Billy Joe Cudlip
Master Ninja II (1984)
as John Peter McAllister
Code Name: Wild Geese (1984)
as Archie 'China' Travers
A Man Alone (1955)
as Clanton
God's Gun (1976)
as Father John / Lewis
Tribute to a Bad Man (1956)
as Fat Jones
Commandos (1968)
as MSgt. Sullivan
Armed Response (1986)
as Burt Roth
Posse from Hell (1961)
as Leo
The Bandits of Corsica (1953)
as Nerva
Take a Hard Ride (1975)
as Kiefer
Kid Vengeance (1976)
as McClain
Vice Squad (1953)
as Pete Monty
Mean Frank and Crazy Tony (1973)
as Frankie
The Octagon (1980)
as McCarn
Pardners (1956)
as Gus
Arrow In The Dust (1954)
as Tillotson Henchman
Killing Machine (1984)
as Julot
Master Ninja (1984)
as John Peter McAllister
Untamed Frontier (1952)
as Dave Chittun
Day of the Badman (1958)
as Jake Hayes
Arena (1953)
as Smitty
The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms (1953)
as Corp. Stone
The Badge of Marshal Brennan (1957)
as Shad Donaphin
The Commander (1988)
as Col. Mazzarini
Jungle Raiders (1985)
as Warren
The Road to Denver (1955)
as Pecos Larry
Gypsy Colt (1954)
as Hank
Joe Dakota (1957)
as Adam Grant
The Vanishing American (1955)
as Jay Lord
White Lightning (1953)
as Brutus Allen
Rails Into Laramie (1954)
as Ace Winton
The Nebraskan (1953)
as Pvt. Reno Benton
The Slowest Gun in the West (1960)
as Sam Bass
Accused of Murder (1956)
as Police Sgt. Emmett Lackey
Thieves of Fortune (1990)
as Sergio Danielo Christophero
The Quiet Gun (1957)
as Doug Sadler
The Hard Way (1980)
as McNeal
Tumbleweed (1953)
as Marv
I Cover the Underworld (1955)
as Flash Logan
The Desperado (1954)
as Paul Clayton/Buck Clayton
Jack Slade (1953)
as Bolt Mackay
The Stranger and the Gunfighter (1974)
as Dakota
Raiders of Old California (1957)
as Damon Pardee
Gun Battle at Monterey (1957)
as Kirby
When the West Was Fun: A Western Reunion (1979)
as Self
Nowhere to Hide (1977)
as Ike Scanlon
The Squeeze (1978)
as Chris Gretchko / Ray Sloan
The Lonely Man (1957)
as Faro
Peter Baumgartner, Filmkameramann (2014)
as (archive footage)
The Conqueror: Hollywood Fallout (2024)
as Self (archive footage)
The Master Ninja 5 (1985)
as John Peter McAllister
The Perfect Killer (1977)
as Harry Chapman
Klaus Kinski: I'm not an actor (2000)
as Col. Douglas Mortimer (archive footage)