Lee Van Cleef
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".
145 acting credits
Acting · 145
Perry Mason
1957
Bonanza
1959
The Andy Griffith Show
1960
Maverick
1957
Wagon Train
1957
The Rifleman
1958
The Twilight Zone
1959
Have Gun, Will Travel
1957
Cheyenne
1955
Four Star Playhouse
1952
Rawhide
1959
The Untouchables
1959
Lawman
1958
Zorro
1957
The Good, the Bad and the Ugly
1966
Wanted: Dead or Alive
1958
Hawaiian Eye
1959
Gunsmoke
1955
77 Sunset Strip
1958
The Lone Ranger
1949
Studio 57
1954
Laredo
1965
Richard Diamond, Private Detective
1957
Black Saddle
1959
Trackdown
1957
Branded
1965
The Ford Television Theatre
1952
Cavalcade of America
1952
Bronco
1958
The Deputy
1959
The Gene Autry Show
1950
Riverboat
1959
For a Few Dollars More
1965
State Trooper
1956
Tombstone Territory
1957
Annie Oakley
1954
Mr. Lucky
1959
The DuPont Show with June Allyson
1959
Stagecoach West
1960
Law of the Plainsman
1959
Yancy Derringer
1958
The Alaskans
1959
Boston Blackie
1951
The Dakotas
1963
Wire Service
1956
Escape from New York
1981
The Adventures of Kit Carson
1951
City Detective
1953
High Noon
1952
The Master
1984
Buffalo Bill Jr.
1955
The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance
1962
Gunfight at the O.K. Corral
1957
How the West Was Won
1962
Casey Jones
1957
The Big Gundown
1967
Death Rides a Horse
1967
My Mother the Car
1965
General Electric Theater
1953
Sabata
1969
Schlitz Playhouse of Stars
1951
Stories of the Century
1954
Return of Sabata
1971
The Magnificent Seven Ride!
1972
The Adventures of Champion
1955
The Conqueror
1956
The Tin Star
1957
The Bravados
1958
The Octagon
1980
The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms
1953
Ride Lonesome
1959
The Young Lions
1958
Mean Frank and Crazy Tony
1973
The Big Combo
1955
Speed Zone
1989
The Grand Duel
1972
Commandos
1968
Day of Anger
1967
Vice Squad
1953
Posse from Hell
1961
El Condor
1970
Master Ninja II
1984
Beyond the Law
1968
Klaus Kinski: I'm not an actor
2000
Tribute to a Bad Man
1956
Pardners
1956
China Gate
1957
When the West Was Fun: A Western Reunion
1979
Take a Hard Ride
1975
Joe Dakota
1957
Killing Machine
1984
Armed Response
1986
The Lonely Man
1957
Master Ninja
1984
Bad Man's River
1971
Barquero
1970
The Naked Street
1955
Kansas City Confidential
1952
Code Name: Wild Geese
1984
Tumbleweed
1953
Captain Apache
1971
The Lawless Breed
1952
Ten Wanted Men
1955
A Man Alone
1955
The Commander
1988
Kid Vengeance
1976
God's Gun
1976
Princess of the Nile
1954
Arena
1953
The Nebraskan
1953
The Stranger and the Gunfighter
1974
Rails Into Laramie
1954
Untamed Frontier
1952
Day of the Badman
1958
It Conquered the World
1956
Dawn at Socorro
1954
Treasure of Ruby Hills
1955
The Road to Denver
1955
Last Stagecoach West
1957
Accused of Murder
1956
The Squeeze
1978
The Vanishing American
1955
The Yellow Tomahawk
1954
The Desperado
1954
The Hard Way
1980
Arrow In The Dust
1954
Nowhere to Hide
1977
I Cover the Underworld
1955
Gun Battle at Monterey
1957
Gypsy Colt
1954
Raiders of Old California
1957
The Quiet Gun
1957
Thieves of Fortune
1990
The Master Ninja 5
1985
The Perfect Killer
1977
Machete
1958
The Slowest Gun in the West
1960
Guns Girls and Gangsters
1959
The Conqueror: Hollywood Fallout
2024
The Bandits of Corsica
1953
White Lightning
1953
Jungle Raiders
1985
The Badge of Marshal Brennan
1957
Jack Slade
1953
Peter Baumgartner, Filmkameramann
2014