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Lee Van Cleef

Lee Van Cleef

Clarence LeRoy "Lee" Van Cleef Jr. 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. Military service: After basic training and further training at the Naval Fleet Sound School, Van Cleef was assigned to a submarine chaser and then to a minesweeper, USS Incredible, on which he worked as a sonarman. After leaving the Navy, Van Cleef read for a part in Our Town at the Little Theater Group in Clinton, New Jersey and received his first stage role. From there, he continued to meet with the group and audition for parts. The next biggest part was that of the boxer, Joe Pendleton, in the play Heaven Can Wait. During this time, he was observed by visiting talent scouts, who were impressed by Van Cleef's stage presence and delivery. One of these scouts later took him to New York City talent agent Maynard Morris of the MCA agency, who then sent him to the Alvin Theater for an audition. Van Cleef's screen debut came in High Noon. During a performance of Mister Roberts in Los Angeles, he was noticed by film director Stanley Kramer, who offered Van Cleef a role in his upcoming film. Kramer originally wanted Van Cleef for the role of the deputy Harvey Pell, but as he wanted Van Cleef to have his "distinctive nose" fixed, Van Cleef declined the role in favor of the part of the silent gunslinger Jack Colby. He was then cast mostly in villainous roles, due to his sharp cheeks and chin, piercing eyes, and hawk-like nose, from the part of Tony Romano in Kansas City Confidential (1952), culminating 14 years later in Sergio Leone's The Good, the Bad and the Ugly (1966) 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". Description above from the Wikipedia article Lee Van Cleef, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.

Personal information

Birthday

1925-01-09

Birth Place

Somerville, New Jersey, USA

Movies and TV shows :

poster

77 Sunset Strip

1958

6.7

TV
A Man Alone

A Man Alone

1955

5.6

Movie
Accused of Murder

Accused of Murder

1956

4.5

Movie
poster

Annie Oakley

1954

5.6

TV
Arena

Arena

1953

4.7

Movie
Armed Response

Armed Response

1986

5.1

Movie
Arrow In The Dust

Arrow In The Dust

1954

5.9

Movie
Bad Man's River

Bad Man's River

1971

4.4

Movie
Barquero

Barquero

1970

6.3

Movie
Beyond the Law

Beyond the Law

1968

5.5

Movie
poster

Black Saddle

1959

6.0

TV
poster

Bonanza

1959

7.5

TV
poster

Branded

1965

6.4

TV
poster

Bronco

1958

4.8

TV
poster

Buffalo Bill Jr.

1955

5.0

TV
Captain Apache

Captain Apache

1971

4.3

Movie
poster

Casey Jones

1957

5.5

TV
poster

Cavalcade of America

1952

3.5

TV
poster

Cheyenne

1955

5.8

TV
China Gate

China Gate

1957

6.0

Movie
poster

City Detective

1953

0.0

TV
Code Name: Wild Geese

Code Name: Wild Geese

1984

5.2

Movie
Commandos

Commandos

1968

5.7

Movie
Dawn at Socorro

Dawn at Socorro

1954

7.2

Movie
Day of Anger

Day of Anger

1967

7.0

Movie
Day of the Badman

Day of the Badman

1958

6.5

Movie
Death Rides a Horse

Death Rides a Horse

1967

7.0

Movie
El Condor

El Condor

1970

5.6

Movie
Escape from New York

Escape from New York

1981

7.1

Movie
For a Few Dollars More

For a Few Dollars More

1965

8.0

Movie
poster

Four Star Playhouse

1952

6.1

TV
poster

General Electric Theater

1953

6.0

TV
God's Gun

God's Gun

1976

5.1

Movie
Gun Battle at Monterey

Gun Battle at Monterey

1957

4.0

Movie
Gunfight at the O.K. Corral

Gunfight at the O.K. Corral

1957

7.0

Movie
Guns, Girls and Gangsters

Guns, Girls and Gangsters

1959

5.9

Movie
poster

Gunsmoke

1955

6.5

TV
Gypsy Colt

Gypsy Colt

1954

6.3

Movie
poster

Have Gun, Will Travel

1957

7.4

TV
poster

Hawaiian Eye

1959

5.2

TV
High Noon

High Noon

1952

7.7

Movie
How the West Was Won

How the West Was Won

1962

7.0

Movie
I Cover the Underworld

I Cover the Underworld

1955

6.0

Movie
It Conquered the World

It Conquered the World

1956

4.8

Movie
Jack Slade

Jack Slade

1953

6.4

Movie
Joe Dakota

Joe Dakota

1957

5.5

Movie
Jungle Raiders

Jungle Raiders

1985

5.0

Movie
Kansas City Confidential

Kansas City Confidential

1952

7.1

Movie
Kid Vengeance

Kid Vengeance

1976

5.3

Movie
Killing Machine

Killing Machine

1984

4.6

Movie
Klaus Kinski: I'm not an actor

Klaus Kinski: I'm not an actor

2000

0.0

Movie
poster

Laredo

1965

6.3

TV
Last Stagecoach West

Last Stagecoach West

1957

4.3

Movie
poster

Law of the Plainsman

1959

6.0

TV
poster

Lawman

1958

5.4

TV
Machete

Machete

1958

5.9

Movie
Master Ninja

Master Ninja

1984

4.7

Movie
Master Ninja II

Master Ninja II

1984

7.0

Movie
poster

Maverick

1957

6.8

TV
Mean Frank and Crazy Tony

Mean Frank and Crazy Tony

1973

5.0

Movie
poster

Mr. Lucky

1959

7.0

TV
poster

My Mother the Car

1965

3.6

TV
Nowhere to Hide

Nowhere to Hide

1977

5.0

Movie
Octagon : le combat des maîtres

Octagon : le combat des maîtres

2003

0.0

Movie
Pardners

Pardners

1956

6.6

Movie
poster

Perry Mason

1957

7.7

TV
Peter Baumgartner, Filmkameramann

Peter Baumgartner, Filmkameramann

2014

0.0

Movie
Posse from Hell

Posse from Hell

1961

6.2

Movie
Princess of the Nile

Princess of the Nile

1954

7.1

Movie
Raiders of Old California

Raiders of Old California

1957

4.7

Movie
Rails Into Laramie

Rails Into Laramie

1954

6.3

Movie
poster

Rawhide

1959

7.1

TV
Return of Sabata

Return of Sabata

1971

6.0

Movie
poster

Richard Diamond, Private Detective

1957

6.2

TV
Ride Lonesome

Ride Lonesome

1959

6.6

Movie
poster

Riverboat

1959

6.2

TV
Sabata

Sabata

1969

6.2

Movie
poster

Schlitz Playhouse of Stars

1951

7.0

TV
Speed Zone

Speed Zone

1989

4.5

Movie
poster

Stagecoach West

1960

6.0

TV
poster

State Trooper

1956

5.0

TV
poster

Stories of the Century

1954

5.7

TV
poster

Studio 57

1954

0.0

TV
Take a Hard Ride

Take a Hard Ride

1975

5.3

Movie
Ten Wanted Men

Ten Wanted Men

1955

5.8

Movie
poster

The Adventures of Boston Blackie

1951

4.0

TV
poster

The Adventures of Champion

1955

5.3

TV
poster

The Adventures of Kit Carson

1951

5.3

TV
poster

The Alaskans

1959

5.5

TV
poster

The Andy Griffith Show

1960

7.6

TV
The Badge of Marshal Brennan

The Badge of Marshal Brennan

1957

6.0

Movie
The Bandits of Corsica

The Bandits of Corsica

1953

5.8

Movie
The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms

The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms

1953

6.5

Movie
The Best of the Martial Arts Films

The Best of the Martial Arts Films

1990

8.8

Movie
The Big Combo

The Big Combo

1955

7.0

Movie
The Big Gundown

The Big Gundown

1967

7.3

Movie
The Bravados

The Bravados

1958

6.5

Movie
The Commander

The Commander

1988

5.5

Movie
The Conqueror

The Conqueror

1956

3.5

Movie
poster

The Dakotas

1963

5.7

TV
poster

The Deputy

1959

6.2

TV
The Desperado

The Desperado

1954

6.6

Movie
poster

The DuPont Show with June Allyson

1959

6.3

TV
poster

The Ford Television Theatre

1952

7.0

TV
poster

The Gene Autry Show

1950

4.8

TV
The Good, the Bad and the Ugly

The Good, the Bad and the Ugly

1966

8.5

Movie
The Grand Duel

The Grand Duel

1972

6.0

Movie
The Hard Way

The Hard Way

1980

5.6

Movie
The Lawless Breed

The Lawless Breed

1952

6.6

Movie
poster

The Lone Ranger

1949

6.8

TV
The Lonely Man

The Lonely Man

1957

6.0

Movie
The Magnificent Seven Ride!

The Magnificent Seven Ride!

1972

5.4

Movie
The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance

The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance

1962

7.8

Movie
poster

The Master

1984

4.9

TV
The Master Ninja 5

The Master Ninja 5

1985

10.0

Movie
The Naked Street

The Naked Street

1955

6.0

Movie
The Nebraskan

The Nebraskan

1953

3.0

Movie
The Octagon

The Octagon

1980

5.0

Movie
The Perfect Killer

The Perfect Killer

1977

2.0

Movie
The Quiet Gun

The Quiet Gun

1957

6.4

Movie
poster

The Rifleman

1958

7.0

TV
The Road to Denver

The Road to Denver

1955

6.0

Movie
The Slowest Gun in the West

The Slowest Gun in the West

1960

2.0

Movie
The Squeeze

The Squeeze

1978

5.2

Movie
The Stranger and the Gunfighter

The Stranger and the Gunfighter

1974

5.3

Movie
The Tin Star

The Tin Star

1957

7.0

Movie
poster

The Twilight Zone

1959

8.4

TV
poster

The Untouchables

1959

7.9

TV
The Vanishing American

The Vanishing American

1955

4.0

Movie
The Yellow Tomahawk

The Yellow Tomahawk

1954

6.0

Movie
The Young Lions

The Young Lions

1958

6.8

Movie
Thieves of Fortune

Thieves of Fortune

1990

3.0

Movie
poster

Tombstone Territory

1957

6.3

TV
poster

Trackdown

1957

6.4

TV
Treasure of Ruby Hills

Treasure of Ruby Hills

1955

4.0

Movie
Tribute to a Bad Man

Tribute to a Bad Man

1956

7.0

Movie
Tumbleweed

Tumbleweed

1953

6.1

Movie
Untamed Frontier

Untamed Frontier

1952

7.2

Movie
Vice Squad

Vice Squad

1953

5.9

Movie
poster

Wagon Train

1957

6.4

TV
poster

Wanted: Dead or Alive

1958

6.9

TV
When the West Was Fun: A Western Reunion

When the West Was Fun: A Western Reunion

1979

0.0

Movie
White Lightning

White Lightning

1953

6.0

Movie
poster

Wire Service

1956

0.0

TV
poster

Yancy Derringer

1958

6.0

TV
poster

Zorro

1957

7.5

TV