Acting
Lee Van Cleef
Born Jan 9, 1925 · Somerville, New Jersey, USA · Died Dec 16, 1989
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".
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Acting
The Conqueror: Hollywood Fallout
2024
Documentary · History
Klaus Kinski: I'm not an actor
2000
Documentary
Thieves of Fortune
1990
Action
The Best of the Martial Arts Films
1990
Documentary · Action
Speed Zone
1989
Comedy · Action
The Commander
1988
Action · War
Armed Response
1986
Action · Thriller
Jungle Raiders
1985
Adventure · Action
The Master Ninja 5
1985
Action · TV Movie
Code Name: Wild Geese
1984
Action · War · Thriller
Killing Machine
1984
Drama · Action · Thriller
Master Ninja
1984
Action · Drama · TV Movie
Master Ninja II
1984
Action · TV Movie
The Master
1984
Action & Adventure
Escape from New York
1981
Action · Thriller · Science Fiction
The Octagon
1980
Adventure · Action · Thriller
The Hard Way
1980
Drama · Thriller · TV Movie
When the West Was Fun: A Western Reunion
1979
Documentary · Western · TV Movie
The Squeeze
1978
Action
The Perfect Killer
1977
Action · Crime
Nowhere to Hide
1977
Crime · TV Movie
Kid Vengeance
1976
Western
God's Gun
1976
Action · Western
Take a Hard Ride
1975
Action · Western
The Stranger and the Gunfighter
1974
Action · Western · Comedy
Mean Frank and Crazy Tony
1973
Comedy · Crime
The Grand Duel
1972
Western
The Magnificent Seven Ride!
1972
Western · Action · Drama
Captain Apache
1971
Western
Bad Man's River
1971
Western
Return of Sabata
1971
Western
Barquero
1970
Western
El Condor
1970
Western · Action
Sabata
1969
Western
Commandos
1968
Action · War
Beyond the Law
1968
Western
Day of Anger
1967
Western
Death Rides a Horse
1967
Western
The Big Gundown
1967
Western
The Good, the Bad and the Ugly
1966
Western
For a Few Dollars More
1965
Western
Laredo
1965
Western
My Mother the Car
1965
Comedy · Sci-Fi & Fantasy
Branded
1965
Western
The Dakotas
1963
Western
How the West Was Won
1962
Western
The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance
1962
Western
Posse from Hell
1961
Western
Stagecoach West
1960
Western · Crime
The Andy Griffith Show
1960
Comedy · Family
The Slowest Gun in the West
1960
Western · Comedy · TV Movie
Mr. Lucky
1959
Drama
The Untouchables
1959
Drama · Crime
Hawaiian Eye
1959
Crime · Drama
The Alaskans
1959
Western · Drama
The Twilight Zone
1959
Sci-Fi & Fantasy · Mystery · Drama
Law of the Plainsman
1959
Western
The DuPont Show with June Allyson
1959
Drama
Riverboat
1959
Western
The Deputy
1959
Western
Bonanza
1959
Western · Action & Adventure · Drama
Ride Lonesome
1959
Western
Black Saddle
1959
Western · Drama
Rawhide
1959
Western · Drama
Guns Girls and Gangsters
1959
Crime · Drama · Thriller
Machete
1958
Drama
77 Sunset Strip
1958
Crime · Drama · Mystery
Lawman
1958
Western
Yancy Derringer
1958
Western · Action & Adventure
The Rifleman
1958
Action & Adventure · Western · Family
Bronco
1958
Western
Wanted: Dead or Alive
1958
Western · Action & Adventure · Drama
The Bravados
1958
Western
The Young Lions
1958
War · Drama
Day of the Badman
1958
Western
The Tin Star
1957
Western
Raiders of Old California
1957
Drama · Western · History
Joe Dakota
1957
Western
Gun Battle at Monterey
1957
Romance · Western
Tombstone Territory
1957
Western
Zorro
1957
Western · Action & Adventure
Casey Jones
1957
Western
Trackdown
1957
Western · Action & Adventure
Maverick
1957
Comedy · Western
Perry Mason
1957
Mystery · Drama · Crime
Wagon Train
1957
Western · Drama · Family
Have Gun, Will Travel
1957
Western · Action & Adventure · Drama
The Quiet Gun
1957
Western
Last Stagecoach West
1957
Action · Adventure · Western
Richard Diamond, Private Detective
1957
Crime · Drama · Action & Adventure
The Lonely Man
1957
Western
Gunfight at the O.K. Corral
1957
Western
China Gate
1957
Action · War · Drama
The Badge of Marshal Brennan
1957
Western
Accused of Murder
1956
Action · Thriller
Wire Service
1956
Drama
State Trooper
1956
Action & Adventure · Drama · Western
Pardners
1956
Comedy · Western
It Conquered the World
1956
Science Fiction · Thriller · Horror
Tribute to a Bad Man
1956
Western
The Conqueror
1956
Adventure · Romance · History
The Vanishing American
1955
Adventure · Drama · Western
A Man Alone
1955
Western · Romance
The Adventures of Champion
1955
Family · Western
Cheyenne
1955
Western · Drama
Gunsmoke
1955
Western · Action & Adventure · Drama
The Naked Street
1955
Thriller · Drama · Crime
The Road to Denver
1955
Western
I Cover the Underworld
1955
Crime · Drama
Buffalo Bill Jr.
1955
Western
The Big Combo
1955
Drama · Crime
Ten Wanted Men
1955
Western
Treasure of Ruby Hills
1955
Western
Studio 57
1954
Drama · Family
Dawn at Socorro
1954
Western
Princess of the Nile
1954
Romance · Adventure · Fantasy
The Desperado
1954
Western
The Yellow Tomahawk
1954
Western
Arrow In The Dust
1954
Western
Rails Into Laramie
1954
Western
Gypsy Colt
1954
Drama · Family · Adventure
Stories of the Century
1954
Western
Annie Oakley
1954
Western · Drama
The Nebraskan
1953
Western
Tumbleweed
1953
Western
Jack Slade
1953
Western
City Detective
1953
Drama · Crime
Vice Squad
1953
Crime · Drama
Arena
1953
Western · Drama
The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms
1953
Drama · Horror · Science Fiction
White Lightning
1953
Drama
The Bandits of Corsica
1953
Drama · Action
General Electric Theater
1953
Comedy · Drama
The Lawless Breed
1952
Western
Kansas City Confidential
1952
Crime
The Ford Television Theatre
1952
Drama
Cavalcade of America
1952
Drama
Four Star Playhouse
1952
Drama · Comedy
Untamed Frontier
1952
Western
High Noon
1952
Western
Schlitz Playhouse of Stars
1951
Drama · Comedy
Boston Blackie
1951
Crime · Drama
The Adventures of Kit Carson
1951
Western · Crime
Space Patrol
1950
The Gene Autry Show
1950
Western · Comedy
The Lone Ranger
1949
Western · Action & Adventure