Actor
· Acting
Lee Van Cleef
Born 1925-01-09
Died 1989-12-16
📍 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".
Filmography 160
The Conqueror: Hollywood Fallout
as Self (archive footage)
2024
Thieves of Fortune
as Sergio Danielo Christophero
1990
Speed Zone
as Grandfather
1989
The Commander
as Col. Mazzarini
1988
Armed Response
as Burt Roth
1986
Jungle Raiders
as Warren
1985
The Master Ninja 5
as John Peter McAllister
1985
Code Name: Wild Geese
as Archie 'China' Travers
1984
Killing Machine
as Julot
1984
Master Ninja
as John Peter McAllister
1984
Master Ninja II
as John Peter McAllister
1984
The Master
as John Peter McAllister
1984
Escape from New York
as Police Commissioner Bob Hauk
1981
The Octagon
as McCarn
1980
The Hard Way
as McNeal
1980
When the West Was Fun: A Western Reunion
as Self
1979
The Squeeze
as Chris Gretchko / Ray Sloan
1978
The Perfect Killer
as Harry Chapman
1977
Nowhere to Hide
as Ike Scanlon
1977
Kid Vengeance
as McClain
1976
God's Gun
as Father John / Lewis
1976
Take a Hard Ride
as Kiefer
1975
The Stranger and the Gunfighter
as Dakota
1974
Mean Frank and Crazy Tony
as Frankie
1973
The Grand Duel
as Sheriff Clayton
1972
The Magnificent Seven Ride!
as Marshal Chris Adams
1972
Captain Apache
as Capt. Apache
1971
Bad Man's River
as Roy King
1971
Return of Sabata
as Sabata / Major
1971
Barquero
as Travis
1970
El Condor
as Jaroo
1970
Sabata
as Sabata
1969
Commandos
as MSgt. Sullivan
1968
Beyond the Law
as Billy Joe Cudlip
1968
Day of Anger
as Frank Talby
1967
Death Rides a Horse
as Ryan
1967
The Big Gundown
as Jonathan Corbett
1967
The Good, the Bad and the Ugly
as Sentenza / Angel Eyes
1966
For a Few Dollars More
as Col. Douglas Mortimer
1965
Laredo
1965
My Mother the Car
1965
Branded
1965
The Dakotas
1963
How the West Was Won
as River Pirate
1962
The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance
as Reese
1962
Posse from Hell
as Leo
1961
Stagecoach West
as Lin Hyatt
1960
The Andy Griffith Show
as Skip
1960
The Slowest Gun in the West
as Sam Bass
1960
Mr. Lucky
as Kruger
1959
The Untouchables
as Frank Diamond
1959
Hawaiian Eye
1959
The Alaskans
1959
The Twilight Zone
as Steinhart
1959
Law of the Plainsman
as Tracey
1959
The DuPont Show with June Allyson
as Peak
1959
Riverboat
as Luke Cragg
1959
The Deputy
as Cherokee Kid
1959
Bonanza
as Appling
1959
Ride Lonesome
as Frank
1959
Black Saddle
as Frank Sandoe
1959
Rawhide
as Fred Grant
1959
Rawhide
as Deck Sommers
1959
Guns Girls and Gangsters
as Mike Bennett
1959
Machete
as Miguel
1958
77 Sunset Strip
1958
77 Sunset Strip
as Majeski
1958
Lawman
1958
Lawman
as Deputy Clyde Wilson
1958
Yancy Derringer
as Ike Milton
1958
The Rifleman
1958
Bronco
1958
Bronco
as Shanghai Williams
1958
Wanted: Dead or Alive
as Jumbo Kane
1958
The Bravados
as Alfonso Parral
1958
The Young Lions
as 1st Sgt. Rickett
1958
Day of the Badman
as Jake Hayes
1958
The Tin Star
as Ed McGaffey
1957
Raiders of Old California
as Damon Pardee
1957
Joe Dakota
as Adam Grant
1957
Gun Battle at Monterey
as Kirby
1957
Tombstone Territory
as Sam Carver
1957
Zorro
1957
Casey Jones
as Mort Clio
1957
Trackdown
as Ben Fraser
1957
Maverick
1957
Perry Mason
as Edward Doyle
1957
Wagon Train
as Rufe Beal
1957
Have Gun, Will Travel
as Golias
1957
Have Gun, Will Travel
as Corbin
1957
The Quiet Gun
as Doug Sadler
1957
Last Stagecoach West
as Steve Margolies
1957
Richard Diamond, Private Detective
as Ed Murdock
1957
The Lonely Man
as Faro
1957
Gunfight at the O.K. Corral
as Ed Bailey
1957
China Gate
as Maj. Cham
1957
The Badge of Marshal Brennan
as Shad Donaphin
1957
Accused of Murder
as Police Sgt. Emmett Lackey
1956
Wire Service
as Al Sanders
1956
Pardners
as Gus
1956
It Conquered the World
as Dr. Tom Anderson
1956
Tribute to a Bad Man
as Fat Jones
1956
The Conqueror
as Chepei
1956
The Vanishing American
as Jay Lord
1955
A Man Alone
as Clanton
1955
The Adventures of Champion
as Frank
1955
Cheyenne
as Braden
1955
Cheyenne
as Harry Bittercreek Bartender
1955
Gunsmoke
as Rad
1955
Gunsmoke
as John Hooker
1955
Gunsmoke
as Ike Jeffords
1955
The Naked Street
as Harry Goldish (uncredited)
1955
The Road to Denver
as Pecos Larry
1955
I Cover the Underworld
as Flash Logan
1955
Buffalo Bill Jr.
1955
The Big Combo
as Fante
1955
Ten Wanted Men
as Al Drucker
1955
Treasure of Ruby Hills
as Frank Emmett
1955
Studio 57
1954
Studio 57
as Tommy
1954
Dawn at Socorro
as Earl Ferris
1954
Princess of the Nile
as Hakar (uncredited)
1954
The Desperado
as Paul Clayton/Buck Clayton
1954
The Yellow Tomahawk
as Fire Knife
1954
Arrow In The Dust
as Tillotson Henchman
1954
Rails Into Laramie
as Ace Winton
1954
Gypsy Colt
as Hank
1954
Stories of the Century
as Jesse James
1954
Annie Oakley
as Amos Belcher
1954
Annie Oakley
as Tim Brennan
1954
The Nebraskan
as Pvt. Reno Benton
1953
Tumbleweed
as Marv
1953
Jack Slade
as Bolt Mackay
1953
City Detective
1953
Vice Squad
as Pete Monty
1953
Arena
as Smitty
1953
The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms
as Corp. Stone
1953
White Lightning
as Brutus Allen
1953
The Bandits of Corsica
as Nerva
1953
General Electric Theater
as Dave Rudabaugh
1953
The Lawless Breed
as Dirk Hanley
1952
Kansas City Confidential
as Tony Romano
1952
The Ford Television Theatre
1952
The Ford Television Theatre
as Stanley Perrin
1952
Cavalcade of America
1952
Cavalcade of America
as 1st Mate Hawl Finch
1952
Untamed Frontier
as Dave Chittun
1952
High Noon
as Jack Colby
1952
Schlitz Playhouse of Stars
as Dallas Clancy
1951
Schlitz Playhouse of Stars
as Sheriff
1951
Schlitz Playhouse of Stars
as Larkin
1951
Schlitz Playhouse of Stars
as Wink
1951
Schlitz Playhouse of Stars
as Cowboy
1951
Boston Blackie
as Captain Jansen
1951
Boston Blackie
as Lou
1951
The Adventures of Kit Carson
1951
The Gene Autry Show
as Hod - Henchman
1950
The Gene Autry Show
as Henchman Ray
1950
The Lone Ranger
as Bull Harper
1949
The Lone Ranger
as Jango
1949