Lee Van Cleef

Acting Jan 9, 1925 Dec 16, 1989 (aged 64) Somerville, New Jersey, USA

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".

165 Acting Credits

Lee Van Cleef

Acting

The Good, the Bad and the Ugly

For a Few Dollars More

Escape from New York

High Noon

The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance

The Twilight Zone

How the West Was Won

Bonanza

Gunfight at the O.K. Corral

Death Rides a Horse

The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms

Zorro

The Big Gundown

The Big Combo

The Andy Griffith Show

Ride Lonesome

Return of Sabata

Day of Anger

The Octagon

The Young Lions

The Bravados

Kansas City Confidential

The Tin Star

Perry Mason