Lee Van Cleef
Photoplayd Industry Rating
Not enough rated films yet to compute a weighted score.
Roles are weighted by involvement: director 1.0, screenwriter 0.7, lead 0.8, supporting 0.4, crew 0.1.
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
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
The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance (1962)
as Reese
Gunfight at the O.K. Corral (1957)
as Ed Bailey
The Young Lions (1958)
as 1st Sgt. Rickett
Speed Zone (1989)
as Grandfather
The Octagon (1980)
as McCarn
The Tin Star (1957)
as Ed McGaffey
Death Rides a Horse (1967)
as Ryan
The Bravados (1958)
as Alfonso Parral
Ride Lonesome (1959)
as Frank
Sabata (1969)
as Sabata
El Condor (1970)
as Jaroo
A Man Alone (1955)
as Clanton
The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms (1953)
as Corp. Stone
The Magnificent Seven Ride! (1972)
as Marshal Chris Adams
Master Ninja II (1984)
as John Peter McAllister
The Big Gundown (1967)
as Jonathan Corbett
Barquero (1970)
as Travis
Ten Wanted Men (1955)
as Al Drucker
Vice Squad (1953)
as Pete Monty
Posse from Hell (1961)
as Leo
The Conqueror (1956)
as Chepei
Return of Sabata (1971)
as Sabata / Major
The Naked Street (1955)
as Harry Goldish (uncredited)
The Big Combo (1955)
as Fante
Master Ninja (1984)
as John Peter McAllister
Kid Vengeance (1976)
as McClain
Day of Anger (1967)
as Frank Talby
China Gate (1957)
as Maj. Cham
God's Gun (1976)
as Father John / Lewis
Princess of the Nile (1954)
as Hakar (uncredited)
Beyond the Law (1968)
as Billy Joe Cudlip
The Lawless Breed (1952)
as Dirk Hanley
Kansas City Confidential (1952)
as Tony Romano
Machete (1958)
as Miguel
Day of the Badman (1958)
as Jake Hayes
Pardners (1956)
as Gus
Killing Machine (1984)
as Julot
Take a Hard Ride (1975)
as Kiefer
Joe Dakota (1957)
as Adam Grant
The Grand Duel (1972)
as Sheriff Clayton
Captain Apache (1971)
as Capt. Apache
The Road to Denver (1955)
as Pecos Larry
The Lonely Man (1957)
as Faro
Armed Response (1986)
as Burt Roth
Bad Man's River (1971)
as Roy King
The Stranger and the Gunfighter (1974)
as Dakota
Commandos (1968)
as MSgt. Sullivan
Tumbleweed (1953)
as Marv
Rails Into Laramie (1954)
as Ace Winton
Untamed Frontier (1952)
as Dave Chittun
Code Name: Wild Geese (1984)
as Archie 'China' Travers
The Squeeze (1978)
as Chris Gretchko / Ray Sloan
The Yellow Tomahawk (1954)
as Fire Knife
It Conquered the World (1956)
as Dr. Tom Anderson
The Nebraskan (1953)
as Pvt. Reno Benton
The Quiet Gun (1957)
as Doug Sadler
Mean Frank and Crazy Tony (1973)
as Frankie
The Vanishing American (1955)
as Jay Lord
Tribute to a Bad Man (1956)
as Fat Jones
The Commander (1988)
as Col. Mazzarini
The Desperado (1954)
as Paul Clayton/Buck Clayton
When the West Was Fun: A Western Reunion (1979)
as Self
The Hard Way (1980)
as McNeal
Dawn at Socorro (1954)
as Earl Ferris
Arrow In The Dust (1954)
as Tillotson Henchman
Last Stagecoach West (1957)
as Steve Margolies
The Perfect Killer (1977)
as Harry Chapman
The Bandits of Corsica (1953)
as Nerva
Thieves of Fortune (1990)
as Sergio Danielo Christophero
Arena (1953)
as Smitty
Klaus Kinski: I'm not an actor (2000)
as Col. Douglas Mortimer (archive footage)
Raiders of Old California (1957)
as Damon Pardee
Jungle Raiders (1985)
as Warren
The Conqueror: Hollywood Fallout (2024)
as Self (archive footage)
The Slowest Gun in the West (1960)
as Sam Bass
Jack Slade (1953)
as Bolt Mackay
Accused of Murder (1956)
as Police Sgt. Emmett Lackey
Gypsy Colt (1954)
as Hank
Treasure of Ruby Hills (1955)
as Frank Emmett
The Master Ninja 5 (1985)
as John Peter McAllister
Guns Girls and Gangsters (1959)
as Mike Bennett
I Cover the Underworld (1955)
as Flash Logan
Gun Battle at Monterey (1957)
as Kirby
The Badge of Marshal Brennan (1957)
as Shad Donaphin
White Lightning (1953)
as Brutus Allen
Nowhere to Hide (1977)
as Ike Scanlon
Peter Baumgartner, Filmkameramann (2014)
as (archive footage)