Lee Van Cleef
Acting
1925-01-09 · Somerville, New Jersey, USA
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".
Filmography
The Conqueror: Hollywood Fallout
2024 · Movie
Peter Baumgartner, Filmkameramann
2014 · Movie
Klaus Kinski: I'm not an actor
2000 · Movie
Thieves of Fortune
1990 · Movie
The Best of the Martial Arts Films
1990 · Movie
Speed Zone
1989 · Movie
The Commander
1988 · Movie
Armed Response
1986 · Movie
Jungle Raiders
1985 · Movie
The Master Ninja 5
1985 · Movie
Code Name: Wild Geese
1984 · Movie
Killing Machine
1984 · Movie
The Master
1984 · Series
Master Ninja
1984 · Movie
Master Ninja II
1984 · Movie
Escape from New York
1981 · Movie
The Octagon
1980 · Movie
The Hard Way
1980 · Movie
When the West Was Fun: A Western Reunion
1979 · Movie
The Squeeze
1978 · Movie
The Perfect Killer
1977 · Movie
Nowhere to Hide
1977 · Movie
Kid Vengeance
1976 · Movie
God's Gun
1976 · Movie
Take a Hard Ride
1975 · Movie
The Stranger and the Gunfighter
1974 · Movie
Mean Frank and Crazy Tony
1973 · Movie
The Grand Duel
1972 · Movie
The Magnificent Seven Ride!
1972 · Movie
Captain Apache
1971 · Movie
Bad Man's River
1971 · Movie
Return of Sabata
1971 · Movie
Barquero
1970 · Movie
El Condor
1970 · Movie
Sabata
1969 · Movie
Commandos
1968 · Movie
Beyond the Law
1968 · Movie
Day of Anger
1967 · Movie
Death Rides a Horse
1967 · Movie
The Big Gundown
1967 · Movie
The Good, the Bad and the Ugly
1966 · Movie
For a Few Dollars More
1965 · Movie
Laredo
1965 · Series
My Mother the Car
1965 · Series
Branded
1965 · Series
The Dakotas
1963 · Series
How the West Was Won
1962 · Movie
The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance
1962 · Movie
Posse from Hell
1961 · Movie
Stagecoach West
1960 · Series
The Andy Griffith Show
1960 · Series
The Slowest Gun in the West
1960 · Movie
Mr. Lucky
1959 · Series
The Untouchables
1959 · Series
Hawaiian Eye
1959 · Series
The Alaskans
1959 · Series
The Twilight Zone
1959 · Series
Law of the Plainsman
1959 · Series
The DuPont Show with June Allyson
1959 · Series
Riverboat
1959 · Series
Bonanza
1959 · Series
The Deputy
1959 · Series
Ride Lonesome
1959 · Movie
Black Saddle
1959 · Series
Rawhide
1959 · Series
Guns Girls and Gangsters
1959 · Movie
Machete
1958 · Movie
77 Sunset Strip
1958 · Series
Lawman
1958 · Series
Yancy Derringer
1958 · Series
The Rifleman
1958 · Series
Bronco
1958 · Series
Wanted: Dead or Alive
1958 · Series
The Bravados
1958 · Movie
The Young Lions
1958 · Movie
Day of the Badman
1958 · Movie
The Tin Star
1957 · Movie
Raiders of Old California
1957 · Movie
Joe Dakota
1957 · Movie
Gun Battle at Monterey
1957 · Movie
Tombstone Territory
1957 · Series
Zorro
1957 · Series
Casey Jones
1957 · Series
Trackdown
1957 · Series
Maverick
1957 · Series
Perry Mason
1957 · Series
Wagon Train
1957 · Series
Have Gun, Will Travel
1957 · Series
The Quiet Gun
1957 · Movie
Last Stagecoach West
1957 · Movie
Richard Diamond, Private Detective
1957 · Series
The Lonely Man
1957 · Movie
Gunfight at the O.K. Corral
1957 · Movie
China Gate
1957 · Movie
The Badge of Marshal Brennan
1957 · Movie
Accused of Murder
1956 · Movie
Wire Service
1956 · Series
State Trooper
1956 · Series
Pardners
1956 · Movie
It Conquered the World
1956 · Movie
Tribute to a Bad Man
1956 · Movie
The Conqueror
1956 · Movie
The Vanishing American
1955 · Movie
A Man Alone
1955 · Movie
The Adventures of Champion
1955 · Series
Cheyenne
1955 · Series
Gunsmoke
1955 · Series
The Naked Street
1955 · Movie
The Road to Denver
1955 · Movie
I Cover the Underworld
1955 · Movie
Buffalo Bill Jr.
1955 · Series
The Big Combo
1955 · Movie
Ten Wanted Men
1955 · Movie
Treasure of Ruby Hills
1955 · Movie
Studio 57
1954 · Series
Dawn at Socorro
1954 · Movie
Princess of the Nile
1954 · Movie
The Desperado
1954 · Movie
The Yellow Tomahawk
1954 · Movie
Arrow In The Dust
1954 · Movie
Rails Into Laramie
1954 · Movie
Gypsy Colt
1954 · Movie
Stories of the Century
1954 · Series
Annie Oakley
1954 · Series
The Nebraskan
1953 · Movie
Tumbleweed
1953 · Movie
Jack Slade
1953 · Movie
City Detective
1953 · Series
Vice Squad
1953 · Movie
Arena
1953 · Movie
The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms
1953 · Movie
White Lightning
1953 · Movie
The Bandits of Corsica
1953 · Movie
General Electric Theater
1953 · Series
The Lawless Breed
1952 · Movie
Kansas City Confidential
1952 · Movie
The Ford Television Theatre
1952 · Series
Cavalcade of America
1952 · Series
Four Star Playhouse
1952 · Series
Untamed Frontier
1952 · Movie
High Noon
1952 · Movie
Schlitz Playhouse of Stars
1951 · Series
Boston Blackie
1951 · Series
The Adventures of Kit Carson
1951 · Series
The Gene Autry Show
1950 · Series
The Lone Ranger
1949 · Series