Lee Van Cleef

Lee Van Cleef Movies and TV Shows

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[peacock term] overshadowing his acting skills. After suffering serious injuries in a car crash, Van Cleef began to lose interest in his apparently waning[peacock term] 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. fter 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.[7] 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. The play was Mister Roberts.[citation needed] 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,[citation needed][peacock term] 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,[14] Van Cleef continued to work in films until his death on December 16, 1989, at age 64.[15] He collapsed in his home in Oxnard, California, from a heart attack.[16] Throat cancer was listed as a secondary cause of death.[17] 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". CLR Description above from the Wikipedia article Lee Van Cleef, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.

Personal info

  • Gender: Male
  • Date of birth: 1925-01-09 (99 years old)
  • Place of birth: Somerville, New Jersey, USA
  • nationality: American
  • height: 1.88 m
  • Net worth: $2,000,000
Year
Genre
IMDB
TMDB
Available on the following streaming services in Canada
¡Mucha Lucha!
IMDB 5.8
TMDB 83%
role:
Jack Colby
2002

Animation

Comedy

5.8
83%
Escape from New York
IMDB 7.1
TMDB 71%
role:
Police Commissioner Bob Hauk
1981

Action

Sci-Fi & Fantasy

7.1
71%
The Octagon
IMDB 5.1
TMDB 51%
role:
McCarn
1980

Action

Adventure

Thriller

5.1
51%
The Grand Duel
IMDB 6.4
TMDB 58%
role:
Sheriff Clayton
1972

Western

6.4
58%
Sabata
IMDB 6.7
TMDB 60%
role:
Sabata
1969

Action

Western

6.7
60%
Commandos
IMDB 5.4
TMDB 59%
role:
MSgt. Sullivan
1968

Action

War & Politics

5.4
59%
1967

Western

7.0
70%
The Good, the Bad and the Ugly
IMDB 8.8
TMDB 85%
role:
Sentenza / Angel Eyes
1966

Western

8.8
85%
The Big Gundown
IMDB 7.4
TMDB 72%
role:
Jonathan Corbett
1966

Western

7.4
72%
For a Few Dollars More
IMDB 8.2
TMDB 80%
role:
Col. Douglas Mortimer
1965

Western

8.2
80%
How the West Was Won
IMDB 7.1
TMDB 71%
role:
River Pirate
1962

Western

7.1
71%
1962

Western

8.1
78%
1959

Action

Western

7.1
66%
The Bravados
IMDB 7.0
TMDB 64%
role:
Alfonso Parral
1958

Action

Drama

Western

7.0
64%
The Young Lions
IMDB 7.1
TMDB 68%
role:
1st Sgt. Rickett
1958

Action

Drama

War & Politics

7.1
68%
The Tin Star
IMDB 7.3
TMDB 71%
role:
Ed McGaffey
1957

Romance

Western

7.3
71%
1957

Western

7.1
70%
1955

Action

Crime

Drama

Mystery

Thriller

7.3
71%
1953

Adventure

Horror

Sci-Fi & Fantasy

6.6
66%
1952

Crime

Drama

Thriller

7.3
71%

FAQs

Some movies or TV shows available in Canada starring or involving Lee Van Cleef are, for example, Escape from New York, The Octagon and The Grand Duel.
The streaming services with the largest selection are Prime Video, Amazon and iTunes.
The best StreamFat ratings are The Good, the Bad and the Ugly (8.7), For a Few Dollars More (8.1) and The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance (8.0).