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
- The Master as John Peter McAllister
- Killing Machine as Julot
- Master Ninja as John Peter McAllister
- Master Ninja II as John Peter McAllister
- Code Name: Wild Geese as Archie 'China' Travers
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
- Nowhere to Hide as Ike Scanlon
- The Perfect Killer as Harry Chapman
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
- Return of Sabata as Sabata / Major
- Bad Man's River as Roy King
- Captain Apache as Capt. Apache
1969
- Sabata as Sabata
1968
- Beyond the Law as Billy Joe Cudlip
- Commandos as MSgt. Sullivan
1967
- Death Rides a Horse as Ryan
- Day of Anger as Frank Talby
- The Big Gundown as Jonathan Corbett
1966
- The Good, the Bad and the Ugly as Sentenza / Angel Eyes
1965
- Laredo
- For a Few Dollars More as Col. Douglas Mortimer
- Branded
- My Mother the Car
1963
1962
- The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance as Reese
- How the West Was Won as River Pirate
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
- Riverboat as Luke Cragg
- Black Saddle as Frank Sandoe
- The DuPont Show with June Allyson as Peak
- Mr. Lucky as Kruger
- The Deputy as Cherokee Kid
- The Alaskans
- Law of the Plainsman as Tracey
- Ride Lonesome as Frank
- Guns Girls and Gangsters as Mike Bennett
1958
- The Rifleman
- Lawman
- Wanted: Dead or Alive as Jumbo Kane
- 77 Sunset Strip
- Bronco
- Yancy Derringer as Ike Milton
- The Young Lions as 1st Sgt. Rickett
- The Bravados as Alfonso Parral
- Day of the Badman as Jake Hayes
- Machete as Miguel
1957
- Perry Mason as Edward Doyle
- Maverick
- Wagon Train as Rufe Beal
- Have Gun, Will Travel as Golias
- Zorro
- Richard Diamond, Private Detective as Ed Murdock
- Trackdown as Ben Fraser
- Tombstone Territory as Sam Carver
- Casey Jones as Mort Clio
- Gunfight at the O.K. Corral as Ed Bailey
- The Tin Star as Ed McGaffey
- The Lonely Man as Faro
- China Gate as Maj. Cham
- The Quiet Gun as Doug Sadler
- Joe Dakota as Adam Grant
- Raiders of Old California as Damon Pardee
- Gun Battle at Monterey as Kirby
- Last Stagecoach West as Steve Margolies
- The Badge of Marshal Brennan as Shad Donaphin
1956
- State Trooper as Frank Parnessa
- Wire Service as Al Sanders
- The Conqueror as Chepei
- Pardners as Gus
- It Conquered the World as Dr. Tom Anderson
- Tribute to a Bad Man as Fat Jones
- Accused of Murder as Police Sgt. Emmett Lackey
1955
- Cheyenne as Braden
- Gunsmoke as Rad
- Buffalo Bill Jr.
- The Adventures of Champion as Frank
- The Big Combo as Fante
- A Man Alone as Clanton
- Ten Wanted Men as Al Drucker
- The Vanishing American as Jay Lord
- The Naked Street as Harry Goldish (uncredited)
- The Road to Denver as Pecos Larry
- I Cover the Underworld as Flash Logan
- Treasure of Ruby Hills as Frank Emmett
1954
- Studio 57
- Annie Oakley as Amos Belcher
- Stories of the Century as Jesse James
- Dawn at Socorro as Earl Ferris
- Princess of the Nile as Hakar (uncredited)
- Arrow In The Dust as Tillotson Henchman
- The Yellow Tomahawk as Fire Knife
- Rails Into Laramie as Ace Winton
- Gypsy Colt as Hank
- The Desperado as Paul Clayton/Buck Clayton
1953
- City Detective
- General Electric Theater as Dave Rudabaugh
- The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms as Corp. Stone
- Vice Squad as Pete Monty
- Tumbleweed as Marv
- Arena as Smitty
- The Bandits of Corsica as Nerva
- The Nebraskan as Pvt. Reno Benton
- White Lightning as Brutus Allen
- Jack Slade as Bolt Mackay
1952
- Four Star Playhouse as Bob Wheeler aka Sonora Kid
- The Ford Television Theatre
- Cavalcade of America
- High Noon as Jack Colby
- Kansas City Confidential as Tony Romano
- The Lawless Breed as Dirk Hanley
- Untamed Frontier as Dave Chittun
1951
- Boston Blackie as Captain Jansen
- The Adventures of Kit Carson
- Schlitz Playhouse of Stars as Dallas Clancy
1950
- The Gene Autry Show as Hod - Henchman
1949
- The Lone Ranger as Bull Harper