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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
For a Few Dollars More
The Bravados
Escape from New York
as Police Commissioner Bob Hauk
The Master
as John Peter McAllister
High Noon
as Jack Colby
Captain Apache
as Capt. Apache
Pardners
as Gus
The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance
Gunfight at the O.K. Corral
The Young Lions
as 1st Sgt. Rickett
Death Rides a Horse
Day of Anger
as Frank Talby
The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms
as Corp. Stone
The Magnificent Seven Ride!
as Marshal Chris Adams
The Tin Star
as Ed McGaffey
Bad Man's River
as Roy King
The Big Gundown
as Jonathan Corbett
Ride Lonesome
as Frank
Sabata
as Sabata
The Grand Duel
Kansas City Confidential
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
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
Joe Dakota
as Adam Grant
Return of Sabata
as Sabata / Major
Machete
as Miguel
The Lonely Man
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
The Lawless Breed
as Dirk Hanley
The Yellow Tomahawk
Raiders of Old California
as Damon Pardee
Commandos
Jungle Raiders
as Warren
The Conqueror: Hollywood Fallout
as Self (archive footage)
Dawn at Socorro
as Earl Ferris
The Squeeze
as Chris Gretchko / Ray Sloan
The Perfect Killer
The Slowest Gun in the West
as Sam Bass
The Bandits of Corsica
as Nerva
Guns Girls and Gangsters
Kid Vengeance
Accused of Murder
as Police Sgt. Emmett Lackey
Vice Squad
Treasure of Ruby Hills
as Frank Emmett
The Hard Way
as McNeal
Tumbleweed
as Marv