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