Lee Van Cleef
Birthday: 1925-01-09 | Place of Birth: Somerville, New Jersey, USAClarence 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".
Known For
Acting
Role
as Sergio Danielo Christophero
as Col. Mazzarini
as Archie 'China' Travers
as Burt Roth
as John Peter McAllister
as John Peter McAllister
as Warren
as John Peter McAllister
as John Peter McAllister
as Julot
as Police Commissioner Bob Hauk
as McCarn
as McNeal
as Chris Gretchko / Ray Sloan
as Father John / Lewis
as Harry Chapman
as Ike Scanlon
as McClain
as Dakota
as Billy Joe Cudlip
as Frankie
as Kiefer
as Roy King
as Sheriff Clayton
as Marshal Chris Adams
as Capt. Apache
as Sabata / Major
