- Home
- Lee Van Cleef
Lee Van Cleef
Known for: ActingClarence 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".
Filmography 62
The Good, the Bad and the Ugly
+2
as Sentenza / Angel Eyes 
For a Few Dollars More
+2
as Col. Douglas Mortimer 
The Bravados
+1
as Alfonso Parral 
Escape from New York
+1
as Police Commissioner Bob Hauk 
The Master
as John Peter McAllister 
High Noon
as Jack Colby 
Captain Apache
+1
as Capt. Apache 
Pardners
as Gus 
The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance
+2
as Reese 
Gunfight at the O.K. Corral
+1
as Ed Bailey 
The Young Lions
as 1st Sgt. Rickett 
Death Rides a Horse
+4
as Ryan 
Day of Anger
as Frank Talby 
The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms
+1
as Corp. Stone 
The Magnificent Seven Ride!
+1
as Marshal Chris Adams 
The Tin Star
+1
as Ed McGaffey 
Bad Man's River
+2
as Roy King 
The Big Gundown
as Jonathan Corbett 
Ride Lonesome
+3
as Frank 
Sabata
+4
as Sabata 
The Grand Duel
+2
as Sheriff Clayton 
Kansas City Confidential
+7
as Tony Romano 
The Conqueror
as Chepei 
God's Gun
as Father John / Lewis 
Ten Wanted Men
as Al Drucker 
The Octagon
as McCarn 
Mean Frank and Crazy Tony
as Frankie 
Posse from Hell
as Leo 
The Big Combo
+5
as Fante 
Tribute to a Bad Man
as Fat Jones 
Take a Hard Ride
as Kiefer 
Beyond the Law
as Billy Joe Cudlip 
Day of the Badman
as Jake Hayes 
Barquero
as Travis 
Joe Dakota
as Adam Grant 
Return of Sabata
as Sabata / Major 
Machete
as Miguel 
The Lonely Man
+1
as Faro 
El Condor
as Jaroo 
A Man Alone
as Clanton 
China Gate
as Maj. Cham 
Code Name: Wild Geese
as Archie 'China' Travers 
The Stranger and the Gunfighter
as Dakota 
The Naked Street
as Harry Goldish (uncredited) 
The Lawless Breed
as Dirk Hanley 
The Yellow Tomahawk
as Fire Knife 
Raiders of Old California
as Damon Pardee 
Commandos
+1
as MSgt. Sullivan 
Jungle Raiders
as Warren 
The Conqueror: Hollywood Fallout
+5
as Self (archive footage) 
Dawn at Socorro
as Earl Ferris 
The Squeeze
as Chris Gretchko / Ray Sloan 
The Perfect Killer
as Harry Chapman 
The Slowest Gun in the West
as Sam Bass 
The Bandits of Corsica
as Nerva 
Guns Girls and Gangsters
as Mike Bennett 
Kid Vengeance
+1
as McClain 
Accused of Murder
as Police Sgt. Emmett Lackey 
Vice Squad
as Pete Monty 
Treasure of Ruby Hills
as Frank Emmett 
The Hard Way
as McNeal 
Tumbleweed
as Marv