Lee Van Cleef

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  • group Other Names:
    Clarence Leroy Van Cleef Jr., 李·范克里夫, 리 밴 클리프

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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.

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  • wc Gender: Male
  • calendar_month Birth Date: 1925-01-09
  • event Death Date 1989-12-16
  • school Known for: Acting
  • star Popularity: 20.7
  • info Birth Place Somerville, New Jersey, USA
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smart_display Movies and TV shows by Lee Van Cleef

7.7

High Noon

1952-06-09

8

For a Few Dollars More

1965-12-18

7.1

Escape from New York

1981-05-23

7

The Tin Star

1957-10-23

7

Kansas City Confidential

1952-11-11

7

Gunfight at the O.K. Corral

1957-05-30

7

The Big Combo

1955-02-13

6.6

Pardners

1956-08-01

5

The Octagon

1980-08-14

6.3

Barquero

1970-07-29

4.5

Speed Zone

1989-04-21

4.8

It Conquered the World

1956-07-14

6.6

Ride Lonesome

1959-02-01

5.5

Beyond the Law

1968-04-10

6.8

The Young Lions

1958-04-02

6.6

The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms

1953-06-13

5.3

The Stranger and the Gunfighter

1974-01-01

0

Peter Baumgartner, Filmkameramann

2014-01-01

6

The Lonely Man

1957-06-21

4.5

Accused of Murder

1956-12-21

5.4

The Magnificent Seven Ride!

1972-08-01

6.5

The Bravados

1958-06-25

6

The Grand Duel

1972-12-29

5.3

Take a Hard Ride

1975-10-29

5.8

Ten Wanted Men

1955-02-01

7.3

The Big Gundown

1967-03-03

5.1

Armed Response

1986-10-01

3

Thieves of Fortune

1990-05-31

7

Death Rides a Horse

1967-08-31

6.2

Sabata

1969-09-16

6

Return of Sabata

1971-09-03

5

Mean Frank and Crazy Tony

1973-11-23

0

When the West Was Fun: A Western Reunion

1979-06-05

7

Tribute to a Bad Man

1956-03-30

5.9

Machete

1958-12-01

7

Day of Anger

1967-12-19

5.9

Vice Squad

1953-07-31

5.6

El Condor

1970-06-19

6

China Gate

1957-05-22

5.3

Kid Vengeance

1976-12-01

4.6

Killing Machine

1984-05-10

5.1

God's Gun

1976-02-01

5

Jungle Raiders

1985-08-01

4.4

Bad Man's River

1971-12-03

5.7

Commandos

1968-11-19

6.6

The Lawless Breed

1952-12-28

4.4

Captain Apache

1971-10-27

5.8

The Bandits of Corsica

1953-02-27

4.7

Arena

1953-06-24

6.3

Gypsy Colt

1954-04-02

5.6

The Hard Way

1980-02-19

4.7

Raiders of Old California

1957-11-01

5.5

The Commander

1988-04-28

5.9

Arrow In The Dust

1954-04-25

5.2

Code Name: Wild Geese

1984-10-05

7.2

Dawn at Socorro

1954-09-01

7.1

Princess of the Nile

1954-07-01

2

The Perfect Killer

1977-11-30

7.2

Untamed Frontier

1952-07-23

6

The Yellow Tomahawk

1954-05-01

5.5

Joe Dakota

1957-10-27

4

Treasure of Ruby Hills

1955-01-23

4

The Vanishing American

1955-11-17

6

The Badge of Marshal Brennan

1957-04-14

6.4

The Quiet Gun

1957-07-18

3

The Nebraskan

1953-12-02

4

Gun Battle at Monterey

1957-10-27

6.3

Rails Into Laramie

1954-04-14

6.4

Jack Slade

1953-11-08

4.3

Last Stagecoach West

1957-07-16

5.2

The Squeeze

1978-10-25

2

The Slowest Gun in the West

1960-05-07

7.8

The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance

1962-04-13

0

Octagon : le combat des maîtres

2003-01-01

6.1

Tumbleweed

1953-12-01

6.1

Posse from Hell

1961-03-01

8.5

The Good, the Bad and the Ugly

1966-12-22

5.6

A Man Alone

1955-10-17

0

Klaus Kinski: I'm not an actor

2000-05-21

7

How the West Was Won

1962-11-02

3.5

The Conqueror

1956-03-28

10

The Master Ninja 5

1985-01-01

6

I Cover the Underworld

1955-05-19

8.8

The Best of the Martial Arts Films

1990-01-01

6.6

The Desperado

1954-06-20

6

The Road to Denver

1955-06-15

4.7

Master Ninja

1984-03-08

5

Nowhere to Hide

1977-06-05

7

Master Ninja II

1984-01-20

6.5

Day of the Badman

1958-01-29

6

White Lightning

1953-03-08

5.9

Guns, Girls and Gangsters

1959-01-01

6

The Naked Street

1955-08-01

7.6

The Andy Griffith Show

1960-10-03

6.7

77 Sunset Strip

1958-10-10

7

Mr. Lucky

1959-10-24

6.5

Gunsmoke

1955-09-10

7.6

Perry Mason

1957-09-21

5.5

General Electric Theater

1953-02-01

5

Hawaiian Eye

1959-10-07

7.5

Zorro

1957-10-10

8.5

The Twilight Zone

1959-10-02

6.4

Laredo

1965-09-16

5.3

The Adventures of Champion

1955-09-23

7

Rawhide

1959-01-09

7.4

Have Gun, Will Travel

1957-09-14

3.6

My Mother the Car

1965-09-14

6

Yancy Derringer

1958-10-02

6.5

Schlitz Playhouse of Stars

1951-10-05

6.2

Richard Diamond, Private Detective

1957-07-01

4.8

Bronco

1958-09-23

5.5

The Alaskans

1959-10-04

5.7

Black Saddle

1959-01-10

6.4

Branded

1965-01-24

6.9

Wanted: Dead or Alive

1958-09-06

7

The Rifleman

1958-09-30

5.7

The Dakotas

1963-01-07

5.4

Lawman

1958-10-05

6

Law of the Plainsman

1959-10-01

6.2

Riverboat

1959-09-13

0

Wire Service

1956-10-04

5

Buffalo Bill Jr.

1955-03-01

3.5

Cavalcade of America

1952-10-01

4.9

The Master

1984-01-20

0

City Detective

1953-09-07

5.3

The Adventures of Kit Carson

1951-08-11

6.3

The DuPont Show with June Allyson

1959-09-21

6

The Ford Television Theatre

1952-10-02

4

The Adventures of Boston Blackie

1951-09-08

0

Studio 57

1954-09-21

6.8

Maverick

1957-09-22

6.8

The Lone Ranger

1949-09-15

6.2

The Deputy

1959-09-12

5.4

Lawman

1958-10-05

5.5

Casey Jones

1957-10-08

7.8

The Untouchables

1959-10-15

7

Rawhide

1959-01-09

6.4

Trackdown

1957-10-04

5.8

Cheyenne

1955-09-20

6.5

Gunsmoke

1955-09-10

6.5

Gunsmoke

1955-09-10

3.5

Cavalcade of America

1952-10-01

6.5

Schlitz Playhouse of Stars

1951-10-05

6.5

Schlitz Playhouse of Stars

1951-10-05

6.5

Schlitz Playhouse of Stars

1951-10-05

6.5

Schlitz Playhouse of Stars

1951-10-05

5.7

Four Star Playhouse

1952-09-25

6.8

The Lone Ranger

1949-09-15

6

The Ford Television Theatre

1952-10-02

7.5

Bonanza

1959-09-12

6.3

Tombstone Territory

1957-10-16

7.4

Have Gun, Will Travel

1957-09-14

6.7

77 Sunset Strip

1958-10-10

5.8

Cheyenne

1955-09-20

5

State Trooper

1956-09-25

6.4

Wagon Train

1957-09-18

4.8

The Gene Autry Show

1950-07-23

4.8

The Gene Autry Show

1950-07-23

5.6

Annie Oakley

1954-01-09

0

Studio 57

1954-09-21

5.6

Annie Oakley

1954-01-09

5.7

Stories of the Century

1954-01-23

6

Stagecoach West

1960-10-04