Lee Van Cleef
Born January 09, 1925 (Age: 101)
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Somerville, New Jersey, USA
Biography
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".
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".
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Filmography
Speed Zone
1989
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as Grandfather
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Age: 64
Armed Response
1986
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as Burt Roth
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Age: 61
Code Name: Wild Geese
1984
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as Archie 'China' Travers
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Age: 59
Escape from New York
1981
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as Police Commissioner Bob Hauk
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Age: 56
The Octagon
1980
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as McCarn
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Age: 55
El Condor
1970
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as Jaroo
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Age: 45
The Good, the Bad and the Ugly
1966
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as Sentenza / Angel Eyes
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Age: 41
For a Few Dollars More
1965
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as Col. Douglas Mortimer
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Age: 40
How the West Was Won
1962
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as River Pirate (uncredited)
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Age: 37
The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance
1962
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as Reese
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Age: 37
Ride Lonesome
1959
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as Frank
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Age: 34
Guns, Girls and Gangsters
1959
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as Mike Bennett
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Age: 33
Day of the Badman
1958
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as Jake Hayes
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Age: 33
I Cover the Underworld
1955
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as Flash Logan
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Age: 30
The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms
1953
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as Corp. Stone
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Age: 28