1925-01-09 Somerville, New Jersey, USA
Clarence LeRoy "Lee" Van Cleef Jr. 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. Military service: After basic training and further training at the Naval Fleet Sound School, Van Cleef was assigned to a submarine chaser and then to a minesweeper, USS Incredible, on which he worked as a sonarman. After leaving the Navy, Van Cleef read for a part in Our Town at the Little Theater Group in Clinton, New Jersey and received his first stage role. From there, he continued to meet with the group and audition for parts. The next biggest part was that of the boxer, Joe Pendleton, in the play Heaven Can Wait. During this time, he was observed by visiting talent scouts, who were impressed by Van Cleef's stage presence and delivery. One of these scouts later took him to New York City talent agent Maynard Morris of the MCA agency, who then sent him to the Alvin Theater for an audition. Van Cleef's screen debut came in High Noon. During a performance of Mister Roberts in Los Angeles, he was noticed by film director Stanley Kramer, who offered Van Cleef a role in his upcoming film. Kramer originally wanted Van Cleef for the role of the deputy Harvey Pell, but as he wanted Van Cleef to have his "distinctive nose" fixed, Van Cleef declined the role in favor of the part of the silent gunslinger Jack Colby. He was then cast mostly in villainous roles, due to his sharp cheeks and chin, piercing eyes, and hawk-like nose, from the part of Tony Romano in Kansas City Confidential (1952), culminating 14 years later in Sergio Leone's The Good, the Bad and the Ugly (1966) 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". Description above from the Wikipedia article Lee Van Cleef, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.
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The Conqueror: Hollywood Fallout | Self (archive footage) | 2024-06-28 |
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Peter Baumgartner, Filmkameramann | (archive footage) | 2014-01-01 |
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Octagon : le combat des maîtres | 2003-01-01 | |
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Klaus Kinski - Ich bin kein Schauspieler | Col. Douglas Mortimer (archive footage) | 2000-05-21 |
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The Best of the Martial Arts Films | Self (archive footage) | 1990-01-01 |
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Thieves of Fortune | Sergio Danielo Christophero | 1990-05-31 |
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Speed Zone | Grandfather | 1989-04-21 |
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Der Commander | Col. Mazzarini | 1988-04-28 |
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Armed Response | Burt Roth | 1986-10-01 |
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La leggenda del rubino malese | Warren | 1985-08-01 |
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The Master Ninja 5 | John Peter McAllister | 1985-01-01 |
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Goma-2 | Julot | 1984-05-10 |
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Code Name: Wild Geese | Archie 'China' Travers | 1984-10-05 |
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Master Ninja II | John Peter McAllister | 1984-01-20 |
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Master Ninja | John Peter McAllister | 1984-03-08 |
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Escape from New York | Police Commissioner Bob Hauk | 1981-05-23 |
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The Octagon | McCarn | 1980-08-14 |
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The Hard Way | McNeal | 1980-02-19 |
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When the West Was Fun: A Western Reunion | Self | 1979-06-05 |
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The Squeeze | Chris Gretchko / Ray Sloan | 1978-10-25 |
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Quel pomeriggio maledetto | Harry Chapman | 1977-11-30 |
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Nowhere to Hide | Ike Scanlon | 1977-06-05 |
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Diamante Lobo | Father John / Lewis | 1976-02-01 |
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Kid Vengeance | McClain | 1976-12-01 |
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Take a Hard Ride | Kiefer | 1975-10-29 |
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El Kárate, el Colt y el Impostor | Dakota | 1974-01-01 |
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Dio, sei proprio un padreterno! | Frankie | 1973-11-23 |
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Il grande duello | Sheriff Clayton | 1972-12-29 |
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The Magnificent Seven Ride! | Marshal Chris Adams | 1972-08-01 |
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Bad Man's River | Roy King | 1971-12-03 |
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Captain Apache | Capt. Apache | 1971-10-27 |
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È tornato Sabata... hai chiuso un'altra volta! | Sabata / Major | 1971-09-03 |
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Barquero | Travis | 1970-07-29 |
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El Condor | Jaroo | 1970-06-19 |
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Ehi amico... c'è Sabata. Hai chiuso! | Sabata | 1969-09-16 |
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Commandos | MSgt. Sullivan | 1968-11-19 |
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Al di là della legge | Billy Joe Cudlip | 1968-04-10 |
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La resa dei conti | Jonathan Corbett | 1967-03-03 |
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I giorni dell'ira | Frank Talby | 1967-12-19 |
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Da uomo a uomo | Ryan | 1967-08-31 |
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Il buono, il brutto, il cattivo | Sentenza / Angel Eyes | 1966-12-22 |
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Per qualche dollaro in più | Col. Douglas Mortimer | 1965-12-18 |
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The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance | Reese | 1962-04-13 |
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How the West Was Won | River Pirate (uncredited) | 1962-11-02 |
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Posse from Hell | Leo | 1961-03-01 |
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The Slowest Gun in the West | Sam Bass | 1960-05-07 |
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Ride Lonesome | Frank | 1959-02-01 |
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Guns Girls and Gangsters | Mike Bennett | 1959-01-01 |
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The Young Lions | 1st Sgt. Rickett | 1958-04-02 |
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The Bravados | Alfonso Parral | 1958-06-25 |
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Machete | Miguel | 1958-12-01 |
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Day of the Badman | Jake Hayes | 1958-01-29 |
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Joe Dakota | Adam Grant | 1957-10-27 |
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The Badge of Marshal Brennan | Shad Donaphin | 1957-04-14 |
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Gun Battle at Monterey | Kirby | 1957-10-27 |
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The Quiet Gun | Doug Sadler | 1957-07-18 |
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Last Stagecoach West | Steve Margolies | 1957-07-16 |
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Raiders of Old California | Damon Pardee | 1957-11-01 |
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China Gate | Maj. Cham | 1957-05-22 |
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The Lonely Man | Faro | 1957-06-21 |
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Gunfight at the O.K. Corral | Ed Bailey | 1957-05-30 |
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The Tin Star | Ed McGaffey | 1957-10-23 |
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The Conqueror | Chepei | 1956-03-28 |
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It Conquered the World | Dr. Tom Anderson | 1956-07-14 |
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Pardners | Gus | 1956-08-01 |
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Tribute to a Bad Man | Fat Jones | 1956-03-30 |
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Accused of Murder | Police Sgt. Emmett Lackey | 1956-12-21 |
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The Naked Street | Harry Goldish (uncredited) | 1955-08-01 |
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The Road to Denver | Pecos Larry | 1955-06-15 |
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I Cover the Underworld | Flash Logan | 1955-05-19 |
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A Man Alone | Clanton | 1955-10-17 |
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The Big Combo | Fante | 1955-02-13 |
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The Vanishing American | Jay Lord | 1955-11-17 |
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Ten Wanted Men | Al Drucker | 1955-02-01 |
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Treasure of Ruby Hills | Frank Emmett | 1955-01-23 |
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Princess of the Nile | Hakar (uncredited) | 1954-07-01 |
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Dawn at Socorro | Earl Ferris | 1954-09-01 |
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Arrow In The Dust | Tillotson Henchman | 1954-04-25 |
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The Desperado | Paul Clayton/Buck Clayton | 1954-06-20 |
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The Yellow Tomahawk | Fire Knife | 1954-05-01 |
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Rails Into Laramie | Ace Winton | 1954-04-14 |
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Gypsy Colt | Hank | 1954-04-02 |
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The Bandits of Corsica | Nerva | 1953-02-27 |
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White Lightning | Brutus Allen | 1953-03-08 |
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Vice Squad | Pete Monty | 1953-07-31 |
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Arena | Smitty | 1953-06-24 |
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The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms | Corp. Stone | 1953-06-13 |
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The Nebraskan | Pvt. Reno Benton | 1953-12-02 |
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Tumbleweed | Marv | 1953-12-01 |
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Jack Slade | Bolt Mackay | 1953-11-08 |
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The Lawless Breed | Dirk Hanley | 1952-12-28 |
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Untamed Frontier | Dave Chittun | 1952-07-23 |
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High Noon | Jack Colby | 1952-06-09 |
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Kansas City Confidential | Tony Romano | 1952-11-11 |
