Photo of Lee Van Cleef
Acting

Lee Van Cleef

Profession
Acting
Born
January 9, 1925 · Somerville, New Jersey, USA
Died
December 16, 1989

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".

Known for

The Good, the Bad and the Ugly poster
The Good, the Bad and the Ugly
Film · 1966 · ★ 8.5
For a Few Dollars More poster
For a Few Dollars More
Film · 1965 · ★ 8.0
Escape from New York poster
Escape from New York
Film · 1981 · ★ 7.0
High Noon poster
High Noon
Film · 1952 · ★ 7.7
The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance poster
The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance
Film · 1962 · ★ 7.8
The Twilight Zone poster
The Twilight Zone
Series · 1959 · ★ 8.5
How the West Was Won poster
How the West Was Won
Film · 1962 · ★ 7.0
Bonanza poster
Bonanza
Series · 1959 · ★ 7.5
Gunfight at the O.K. Corral poster
Gunfight at the O.K. Corral
Film · 1957 · ★ 7.0
Death Rides a Horse poster
Death Rides a Horse
Film · 1967 · ★ 7.0
Zorro poster
Zorro
Series · 1957 · ★ 7.6
The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms poster
The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms
Film · 1953 · ★ 6.6

Filmography