Lee Van Cleef

  • Name: Lee Van Cleef
  • Date of Birth: January 09, 1925
  • Place of Birth: Somerville, New Jersey, USA
Mini-bio: One of the great movie villains, Lee Van Cleef started out as an accountant. He served in the U.S. Navy aboard minesweepers and subchasers during World War II. After the war he worked as an office adm...( read more)inistrator, becoming involved in amateur theatrics in his spare time. An audition for a professional role led to a touring company job in "Mr. Roberts". His performance was seen by Stanley Kramer, who cast him as henchman Jack Colby in High Noon (1952), a role that brought him great recognition despite the fact that he had no dialogue. For the next decade he played a string of memorably villainous characters, primarily in westerns but also in crime dramas such as The Big Combo (1955). His hawk nose and steely, slit eyes seemed destined to keep him always in the realm of heavies, but in the mid-'60s Sergio Leone cast him as the tough but decent Col. Mortimer opposite Clint Eastwood in Per qualche dollaro in pių (1965). A new career as a western hero (or at least anti-hero) opened up, and Van Cleef became an international star, though in films of decreasing quality. In the 1980s he moved easily into action and martial-arts movies, and starred in "The Master" (1984), a TV series featuring almost non-stop martial arts action. He died of a heart attack in December 1989, and was buried at Forest Lawn in the Hollywood Hills.
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Lee Van Cleef (January 9, 1925 – December 16, 1989) was an American film actor who appeared mostly in Western and action pictures. His sharp features and piercing eyes led to his casting as a villain in scores of films, though in later years he was often a film's protagonist, such as with his co-lead role as a bounty hunter in For a Few Dollars More.
Replace this image with an actor photoLee Van Cleef bio:

Early life

Van Cleef was born Clarence LeRoy Van Cleef, Jr. in Somerville, New Jersey, the son of Marion Levinia (née Van Fleet) and Clarence LeRoy Van Cleef, Sr.[1][2] Van Cleef served in the United States Navy during World War II and became an actor after a brief career as an accountant. His first acting experiences were on stage, including a small role in the original Broadway production of Mister Roberts. His first film was the classic Western High Noon, in which he played a villain. He also had a bit part as the sharpshooter in the climax of The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms around the same time. In 1956 he co-starred with Peter Graves in the B-grade Sci-Fi movie It Conquered the World.

Career

Van Cleef played different minor characters on four episodes of the TV series The Rifleman between 1959 and 1962. He appeared as minor villains and henchmen in various Westerns, including The Tin Star and Gunfight at the OK Corral. He also played one of Lee Marvin's villainous henchmen in the 1962 John Ford classic The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance, with James Stewart and John Wayne. He had a small, uncredited role as one of the river pirates in 1962's How the West Was Won. In 1962, Van Cleef was involved in a serious car accident and was forced temporarily to retire from acting. Between 1962 and 1965 Van Cleef worked as a freelance painter and carpenter,[citation needed] after which the actor appeared in several spaghetti Westerns, including For a Few Dollars More and The Good, the Bad and the Ugly (both co-starring Clint Eastwood), as well as The Big Gundown and The Sabata Trilogy. Van Cleef also had a supporting role in John Carpenter's cult hit Escape from New York. He also appeared as a villainous swindler in the Bonanza episode, The Bloodline (December 31, 1960), along with 90 movie roles and 109 other television appearances over a 38-year span. In the early 1980s he played John Peter McCallister, the "first Occidental to become a ninja" in NBC's The Master. His last television appearance was in 1984 when he left the show The Master.[3] Episodes of the show were later remarketed as made-for-TV movies (by editing two episodes together), two of which were featured on Mystery Science Theater 3000.

Personal life

Van Cleef lost the tip of his middle finger on his right hand while building a playhouse for his daughter. This can be seen in the close-up shots of his hand during the gunfights in The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly and in an early scene of The Grand Duel. He died from a heart attack in Oxnard, California and was interred in Forest Lawn - Hollywood Hills Cemetery in Los Angeles. His gravestone reads "Lee Van Cleef Jan 9, 1925 - Dec 16, 1989 'Best of the Bad' Love and Light".

VITAL STATS

Clarence LeRoy Van Cleef, Jr.:
Eye color: Brown
Height: 6' 2" (1.88 m)
Nickname(s): Lee Van Cleef
Notable feature(s): Piercing Eyes
Personal interests/hobbies: Freelance painter and carpenter



Last update: Aug 24 2008, 6:59 AM EDT by ocsalev (content history | content tools) (help)
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  • josephclancy2
    josephclancy2
    I know he was usually a villan, until fror a few dollars more.
    posted 91 days ago
  • lizzywilliam23
    lizzywilliam23
    Intrested in you,
    My name is Miss lizzy, i saw your profile today and became intrested in you,i will also like to know more about you ,and i want you to send me an email to my email address so i can give you my picture for you to know whom i am.Here is my email address) lizzy.william@yahoo.com )i believe we can move from here.I am waiting for your mail to my email address above. Remeber the distance or colour does not matter but love matters alot in life.
    Yours Love
    Miss lizzy.lizzy.william*at*y*a*h*o*o*.c*o*m
    posted 506 days ago
  • madcat612
    madcat612
    My favorite is " For a Few Dollars More"
    posted 522 days ago
  • lilianedwin2
    lilianedwin2
    Hello
    jessy11me@yahoo.com
    complements of the season! How are you doing over there.Hope fine, i am Miss jessy I am a young single pretty girl, never married, I am a member of this site, i saw your profile here and i carefully read your personal data. and became interested in you, I really need to speak with you for an important matters, please reply urgently to my direct Email address ( jessy11me@yahoo.com) for further communications. ok
    Am waiting to receiving your quick reply.
    Yours Sincerely.
    Miss jessy P. 11me
    posted 725 days ago
  • PirateLordCaptainJackSparrow
    PirateLordCaptainJackSparrow
    First time l saw this guy was in The Good the Bad and the Ugly l loved that movie, l now like most of the westerns he is in, like The Mignificant 7 Ride, and The Good the Bad and the Ugle
    posted 732 days ago
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