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".
92 movies · 53 shows
The Conqueror: Hollywood Fallout
2024·5.3
Peter Baumgartner, Filmkameramann
2014·0.0
Klaus Kinski: I'm not an actor
2000·0.0
Thieves of Fortune
1990·3.8
Speed Zone
1989·4.6
The Commander
1988·5.6
Armed Response
1986·5.2
Jungle Raiders
1985·4.4
The Master Ninja 5
1985·10.0
Code Name: Wild Geese
1984·5.3
Killing Machine
1984·4.7
Master Ninja
1984·4.4
Master Ninja II
1984·7.2
Escape from New York
1981·7.0
The Octagon
1980·5.1
The Hard Way
1980·6.1
When the West Was Fun: A Western Reunion
1979·0.0
The Squeeze
1978·5.9
The Perfect Killer
1977·4.3
Nowhere to Hide
1977·7.5
Kid Vengeance
1976·5.4
God's Gun
1976·5.1
Take a Hard Ride
1975·5.3
The Stranger and the Gunfighter
1974·5.4
Mean Frank and Crazy Tony
1973·4.6
The Grand Duel
1972·6.0
The Magnificent Seven Ride!
1972·5.6
Captain Apache
1971·4.7
Bad Man's River
1971·4.8
Return of Sabata
1971·5.9
Barquero
1970·6.2
El Condor
1970·5.4
Sabata
1969·6.3
Commandos
1968·5.7
Beyond the Law
1968·5.8
Day of Anger
1967·7.1
Death Rides a Horse
1967·7.0
The Big Gundown
1967·7.3
The Good, the Bad and the Ugly
1966·8.5
For a Few Dollars More
1965·8.0
How the West Was Won
1962·7.0
The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance
1962·7.8
Posse from Hell
1961·6.2
The Slowest Gun in the West
1960·4.5
Ride Lonesome
1959·6.7
Guns Girls and Gangsters
1959·5.9
Machete
1958·6.7
The Bravados
1958·6.6
The Young Lions
1958·6.8
Day of the Badman
1958·6.9
The Tin Star
1957·7.0
Raiders of Old California
1957·5.4
Joe Dakota
1957·6.7
Gun Battle at Monterey
1957·5.2
The Quiet Gun
1957·6.6
Last Stagecoach West
1957·5.5
The Lonely Man
1957·6.1
Gunfight at the O.K. Corral
1957·7.0
China Gate
1957·6.2
The Badge of Marshal Brennan
1957·6.5
Accused of Murder
1956·4.8
Pardners
1956·6.7
It Conquered the World
1956·4.9
Tribute to a Bad Man
1956·7.0
The Conqueror
1956·3.6
The Vanishing American
1955·6.7
A Man Alone
1955·5.8
The Naked Street
1955·6.2
The Road to Denver
1955·7.0
I Cover the Underworld
1955·6.5
The Big Combo
1955·7.0
Ten Wanted Men
1955·5.9
Treasure of Ruby Hills
1955·5.0
Dawn at Socorro
1954·7.2
Princess of the Nile
1954·7.3
The Desperado
1954·7.2
The Yellow Tomahawk
1954·6.6
Arrow In The Dust
1954·6.3
Rails Into Laramie
1954·6.5
Gypsy Colt
1954·7.2
The Nebraskan
1953·3.8
Tumbleweed
1953·6.3
Jack Slade
1953·7.0
Vice Squad
1953·6.1
Arena
1953·5.0
The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms
1953·6.6
White Lightning
1953·7.5
The Bandits of Corsica
1953·6.4
The Lawless Breed
1952·6.7
Kansas City Confidential
1952·7.1
Untamed Frontier
1952·7.3
High Noon
1952·7.7