Lee Van Cleef
Born: 1925-01-09 in Somerville, New Jersey, USA
Died: 1989-12-16
Known For: Acting
Biography
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
2024
- The Conqueror: Hollywood Fallout as Self (archive footage)
2014
- Peter Baumgartner, Filmkameramann as (archive footage)
2000
- Klaus Kinski: I'm not an actor as Col. Douglas Mortimer (archive footage)
1990
- Thieves of Fortune as Sergio Danielo Christophero
1989
- Speed Zone as Grandfather
1988
- The Commander as Col. Mazzarini
1986
- Armed Response as Burt Roth
1985
- Jungle Raiders as Warren
- The Master Ninja 5 as John Peter McAllister
1984
- Killing Machine as Julot
- Master Ninja as John Peter McAllister
- Code Name: Wild Geese as Archie 'China' Travers
- The Master as John Peter McAllister
- Master Ninja II as John Peter McAllister
1981
- Escape from New York as Police Commissioner Bob Hauk
1980
- The Octagon as McCarn
- The Hard Way as McNeal
1979
1978
- The Squeeze as Chris Gretchko / Ray Sloan
1977
- The Perfect Killer as Harry Chapman
- Nowhere to Hide as Ike Scanlon
1976
- God's Gun as Father John / Lewis
- Kid Vengeance as McClain
1975
- Take a Hard Ride as Kiefer
1974
- The Stranger and the Gunfighter as Dakota
1973
- Mean Frank and Crazy Tony as Frankie
1972
- The Magnificent Seven Ride! as Marshal Chris Adams
- The Grand Duel as Sheriff Clayton
1971
- Captain Apache as Capt. Apache
- Bad Man's River as Roy King
- Return of Sabata as Sabata / Major
1969
- Sabata as Sabata
1968
- Commandos as MSgt. Sullivan
- Beyond the Law as Billy Joe Cudlip
1967
- Day of Anger as Frank Talby
- The Big Gundown as Jonathan Corbett
- Death Rides a Horse as Ryan
1966
- The Good, the Bad and the Ugly as Sentenza / Angel Eyes
1965
- For a Few Dollars More as Col. Douglas Mortimer
- Laredo
- Branded
- My Mother the Car
1963
1962
- The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance as Reese
- How the West Was Won as River Pirate (uncredited)
1961
- Posse from Hell as Leo
1960
- The Andy Griffith Show as Skip
- Stagecoach West as Lin Hyatt
- The Slowest Gun in the West as Sam Bass
1959
- Bonanza as Appling
- The Twilight Zone as Steinhart
- The Untouchables as Frank Diamond
- Rawhide as Fred Grant
- Hawaiian Eye
- Law of the Plainsman as Tracey
- Mr. Lucky as Kruger
- The Deputy as Cherokee Kid
- Black Saddle as Frank Sandoe
- Riverboat as Luke Cragg
- The DuPont Show with June Allyson as Peak
- The Alaskans
- Ride Lonesome as Frank
- Guns, Girls and Gangsters as Mike Bennett
1958
- The Rifleman
- Wanted: Dead or Alive as Jumbo Kane
- Lawman
- 77 Sunset Strip
- Bronco
- Yancy Derringer as Ike Milton
- The Young Lions as 1st Sgt. Rickett
- Machete as Miguel
- Day of the Badman as Jake Hayes
- The Bravados as Alfonso Parral
1957
- Perry Mason as Edward Doyle
- Wagon Train as Rufe Beal
- Have Gun, Will Travel as Golias
- Maverick
- Zorro
- Tombstone Territory as Sam Carver
- Joe Dakota as Adam Grant
- Richard Diamond, Private Detective as Ed Murdock
- Trackdown as Ben Fraser
- The Tin Star as Ed McGaffey
- China Gate as Maj. Cham
- Gunfight at the O.K. Corral as Ed Bailey
- The Lonely Man as Faro
- The Quiet Gun as Doug Sadler
- Gun Battle at Monterey as Kirby
- Last Stagecoach West as Steve Margolies
- Casey Jones as Mort Clio
- Raiders of Old California as Damon Pardee
- The Badge of Marshal Brennan as Shad Donaphin
1956
- State Trooper as Frank Parnessa
- The Conqueror as Chepei
- Pardners as Gus
- It Conquered the World as Dr. Tom Anderson
- Accused of Murder as Police Sgt. Emmett Lackey
- Tribute to a Bad Man as Fat Jones
- Wire Service as Al Sanders
1955
- Cheyenne as Braden
- Gunsmoke as Rad
- The Big Combo as Fante
- Ten Wanted Men as Al Drucker
- The Road to Denver as Pecos Larry
- A Man Alone as Clanton
- Buffalo Bill Jr.
- The Vanishing American as Jay Lord
- The Naked Street as Harry Goldish (uncredited)
- The Adventures of Champion as Frank
- I Cover the Underworld as Flash Logan
- Treasure of Ruby Hills as Frank Emmett
1954
- Studio 57
- Gypsy Colt as Hank
- Annie Oakley as Amos Belcher
- Dawn at Socorro as Earl Ferris
- Arrow In The Dust as Tillotson Henchman
- Princess of the Nile as Hakar (uncredited)
- Rails Into Laramie as Ace Winton
- The Yellow Tomahawk as Fire Knife
- Stories of the Century as Jesse James
- The Desperado as Paul Clayton/Buck Clayton
1953
- Tumbleweed as Marv
- Jack Slade as Bolt Mackay
- Vice Squad as Pete Monty
- The Nebraskan as Pvt. Reno Benton
- White Lightning as Brutus Allen
- The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms as Corp. Stone
- City Detective
- General Electric Theater as Dave Rudabaugh
- Arena as Smitty
- The Bandits of Corsica as Nerva
1952
- Four Star Playhouse as Bob Wheeler aka Sonora Kid
- High Noon as Jack Colby
- Cavalcade of America
- The Ford Television Theatre
- Untamed Frontier as Dave Chittun
- The Lawless Breed as Dirk Hanley
- Kansas City Confidential as Tony Romano
1951
- The Adventures of Kit Carson
- Boston Blackie as Captain Jansen
- Schlitz Playhouse of Stars as Dallas Clancy
1950
- The Gene Autry Show as Hod - Henchman
1949
- The Lone Ranger as Bull Harper