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