# Lee Van Cleef

Clarence LeRoy Van Cleef Jr. (January 9, 1925 – December 16, 1989) was an American actor. He appeared in over 170 film and television roles in a career spanning nearly 40 years, but is best known as a star of spaghetti Westerns, particularly the Sergio Leone-directed Dollars Trilogy films, For a Few Dollars More (1965) and The Good, the Bad and the Ugly (1966). In 1983, he received a Golden Boot Award for his contribution to the Western film and television genre.
Van Cleef served in the United States Navy during World War II aboard a minesweeper, earning a Bronze Star for his actions. After acting on stage in regional theatre, he made his film debut in the Oscar-winning Western High Noon (1952) in a non-speaking outlaw cast role. With distinctive, angular features and a taciturn screen persona, Van Cleef was typecast as minor villain and supporting player in Westerns and crime dramas. After suffering serious injuries in a car crash, Van Cleef's acting career started to decline. He achieved stardom when Leone offered him the co-leading role in For a Few Dollars More.
Van Cleef appeared in films such as The Good, the Bad and the Ugly (1966), The Big Gundown (1967), Death Rides a Horse (1967), Day of Anger (1967), Beyond the Law (1968), Commandos (also 1968), Sabata (1969) and its sequel Return of Sabata (1971), Barquero (1970), El Condor (also 1970), Captain Apache (1971),The Magnificent Seven Ride! (1972), The Grand Duel (also 1972), Mean Frank and Crazy Tony (1973), The Stranger and the Gunfighter (1974), Take a Hard Ride (1975), God's Gun (1976), The Rip-Off (1978), television film The Hard Way (1979), The Octagon (1980), Escape from New York (1981), Code Name: Wild Geese (1984), and Armed Response (1986). He played the lead role of John Peter McAllister on the martial-arts television series The Master (1984).

## Early life

Lee Van Cleef was born on January 9, 1925, in Somerville, New Jersey, to Marion Lavinia Van Fleet and Clarence LeRoy Van Cleef. His father was a pharmacist and his mother a concert pianist, both of Dutch descent. Lee graduated from Somerville High School and enlisted in the United States Navy in September 1942.

## Military service

After completing his military training, Van Cleef was assigned to a submarine chaser and then to a minesweeper called the USS Incredible, on which he worked as a sonarman.
The ship initially patrolled the Caribbean, then moved to the Mediterranean, participating in the landings in southern France. In January 1945, Incredible moved to the Black Sea, and performed sweeping duties out of the Soviet Navy base at Sevastopol, Crimea. Afterwards, the ship performed air-sea rescue patrols in the Black Sea before returning to Palermo, Sicily.
By the time of his discharge in March 1946, he had achieved the rank of sonarman first class (SO1) and had earned his mine sweeper patch. He also had been awarded the Bronze Star and the Good Conduct Medal. By virtue of his deployments, Van Cleef also qualified for the European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign Medal, Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal, the American Campaign Medal, and the World War II Victory Medal. He was discharged from the navy in 1946.
* Bronze Star
* Good Conduct Medal
* European–African–Middle Eastern Campaign Medal
* Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal
* American Campaign Medal
* World War II Victory Medal

## Acting career

After leaving the navy, Van Cleef returned home to Somerset. He played in an amateur dance band. Van Cleef received his first acting role as George in the play Our Town at the Little Theater Group in Clinton, New Jersey. His next role was that of the boxer, Joe Pendleton, in the play Heaven Can Wait. A talent scout took him to New York City talent agent Maynard Morris of the MCA agency, who sent him to the Alvin Theater, where he won a role in Mister Roberts.
Van Cleef's screen debut came in High Noon. During a performance of Mister Roberts in Los Angeles, he was noticed by film producer Stanley Kramer, who offered Van Cleef a role in his upcoming film. Kramer wanted Van Cleef for the role of the deputy Harvey Pell, but wanted Van Cleef to have his nose fixed. Van Cleef declined the role in favor of the part of the silent gunslinger Jack Colby. He was cast in Kansas City Confidential (1952), Vice Squad (1953), The Big Combo (1955), and The Good, the Bad and the Ugly (1966).
In 1952, he made his television debut when he was cast in the episode "Formula for Fear" of the Western aviation series Sky King. Van Cleef appeared six times between 1953 and 1955 on the children's syndicated Western series The Adventures of Kit Carson. He was cast three times in syndicated Western series, The Range Rider. He appeared in episode 82 of the television series The Lone Ranger in 1952. In 1954, he appeared as Jesse James in the syndicated series Stories of the Century.
In 1955, he was cast twice on the syndicated Western series, Annie Oakley and guest-starred on the CBS Western series Brave Eagle. Van Cleef played a villain in an episode of The Adventures of Champion the Wonder Horse in 1955. He played Cherokee Bob in the NBC Western series Tales of Wells Fargo in 1957. In 1958, he was cast as Ed Murdock, a rodeo performer trying to reclaim the title in the event at Madison Square Garden in New York City, on Richard Diamond, Private Detective.
Van Cleef played different characters on four episodes of ABC's The Rifleman, with Chuck Connors, between 1959 and 1962 (as Stinger in S2 E31 "The Prodigal" 1960), and twice on ABC's Tombstone Territory. In 1958, he was cast as Deputy Sid Carver in the episode "The Great Stagecoach Robbery" of another syndicated Western series, Frontier Doctor, starring Rex Allen. In 1959, Van Cleef appeared as Luke Clagg in the episode "Strange Request" of the NBC Western series Riverboat, as Jumbo Kane in the episode "The Hostage" on the CBS Western series "Wanted Dead or Alive", and in an episode of Maverick titled "Red Dog" in 1961.
Van Cleef played a sentry on an episode of the ABC sitcom The Real McCoys. Van Cleef was cast with Pippa Scott and again with Chuck Connors in the 1960 episode "Trial by Fear" of the CBS anthology series The DuPont Show with June Allyson. A young Van Cleef also made an appearance on The Andy Griffith Show and as Frank Diamond in The Untouchables, in an episode entitled "The Unhired Assassin". He also appeared in an episode of the ABC/Warner Brothers Western series The Alaskans.
Van Cleef guest-starred on the CBS Western series Have Gun – Will Travel, on the ABC/Warner Bros. series Colt .45, on the NBC Western series Cimarron City and Laramie, and on Rod Cameron's syndicated crime dramas City Detective and State Trooper. He guest-starred in an episode of John Bromfield's syndicated crime drama Sheriff of Cochise. Van Cleef starred as minor villains and henchmen in various Westerns, including The Tin Star and Gunfight at the O.K. Corral.
In 1960, he appeared as a villainous swindler in the Bonanza episode, "The Bloodline" (December 31, 1960), and also made an appearance on Gunsmoke. In 1961, he played a role on episode seven ("The Grave") of the third season of The Twilight Zone starring Lee Marvin. He played a villainous henchman of Lee Marvin's titular character in the 1962 John Ford movie The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance starring John Wayne and James Stewart. In 1963, he appeared on Perry Mason (episode: "The Case of the Golden Oranges"). That same year, he appeared in "The Day of the Misfits" on The Travels of Jaimie McPheeters.

### Stardom

In 1965, Leone cast Van Cleef, whose career had yet to take off, as a main protagonist alongside Clint Eastwood in For a Few Dollars More. Leone then chose Van Cleef to appear again with Eastwood, this time as the primary antagonist, Angel Eyes, in the now seminal Western The Good, the Bad and the Ugly (1966).
With his roles in Leone's films, Van Cleef became a major star of spaghetti Westerns, playing central, and often surprisingly heroic, roles in films such as The Big Gundown (1966), Death Rides a Horse (1967), Day of Anger (1967), and The Grand Duel (1972). He played the title role in Sabata (1969) and Return of Sabata (1971), and co-starred with Jim Brown in an Italian-American co-production, Take a Hard Ride (1975). In two of his final Westerns, he co-starred with Leif Garrett in God's Gun (1976) and Kid Vengeance (1977), both of which were filmed mainly in Israel. During the 1970s, Van Cleef also had leading roles in American Westerns,, such as Barquero (1970), El Condor (1970) and The Magnificent Seven Ride! (1972).
Van Cleef starred alongside Chuck Norris in the martial-arts film The Octagon (1980). Van Cleef later had a supporting role in John Carpenter's cult film Escape from New York (1981). He slipped out of the limelight in his later years. In 1984, he was cast as a ninja master in the NBC adventure series The Master, but it was canceled after 13 episodes. Van Cleef also appeared alongside David Carradine in Armed Response (1986). In all, Van Cleef is credited with 90 movie roles and 109 television appearances over a 38-year span.

## Personal life

Van Cleef married Patsy Ruth Kahle in 1943 and the couple had three children before divorcing in 1958. In 1960, he married Joan Marjorie Drane, from whom he was divorced in 1974. He married Barbara Havelone in 1976, who survived him upon his death in 1989.
He lost the last joint of his right-hand middle finger while building a playhouse for his daughter.

## Death

Despite suffering from heart disease from the 1970s and having a pacemaker installed in the 1980s, Van Cleef continued to work in films until his death on December 16, 1989. He collapsed from a heart attack in his home in Oxnard, California. Throat cancer was listed as a secondary cause of death.
He was buried at Forest Lawn Memorial Park Cemetery, Hollywood Hills, California, with an inscription on his grave marker reading "BEST OF THE BAD", referring to his many notable acting performances as a villain.

## Filmography
### Film

| Year | Title | Role | Director | Notes |
| 1952 | High Noon | Jack Colby | Fred Zinnemann | |
| 1952 | Untamed Frontier | Dave Chittun | Hugo Fregonese | |
| 1952 | Kansas City Confidential | Tony Romano | Phil Karlson | |
| 1953 | The Lawless Breed | Dirk Hanley | Raoul Walsh | |
| 1953 | The Bandits of Corsica | Nerva | Ray Nazarro | |
| 1953 | White Lightning | Brutus Allen | Edward Bernds | |
| 1953 | The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms | Corporal Stone | Eugène Louriéby | |
| 1953 | Arena | "Smitty" Smith | Richard Fleischer | |
| 1953 | Vice Squad | Pete Monte | Arnold Laven | |
| 1953 | Jack Slade | "Bolt" Mackay | Harold D. Schuster | |
| 1953 | Tumbleweed | Marvin "Marv" | Nathan Juran | |
| 1953 | The Nebraskan | Private Reno Benton | Fred F. Sears | |
| 1954 | Gypsy Colt | Hank | Andrew Marton | |
| 1954 | Rails Into Laramie | "Ace" Winton | Jesse Hibbs | |
| 1954 | Arrow in the Dust | Tilotson Henchman | Lesley Selander | |
| 1954 | The Yellow Tomahawk | Fire Knife | Lesley Selander | |
| 1954 | Princess of the Nile | Hakar | Harmon Jones | Uncredited |
| 1954 | The Desperado | Paul Crayton / 'Buck' Crayton | Thomas Carr | |
| 1954 | Dawn at Socorro | Earl Ferris | George Sherman | |
| 1955 | Treasure of Ruby Hills | Frank Emmett | Frank McDonald | |
| 1955 | Ten Wanted Men | Al Drucker | H. Bruce Humberstone | |
| 1955 | The Big Combo | Fante | Joseph H. Lewis | |
| 1955 | I Cover the Underworld | "Flash" Logan | R. G. Springsteen | |
| 1955 | The Road to Denver | Larry "Pecos Larry" | Joseph Kane | |
| 1955 | The Naked Street | Harry Goldish | Maxwell Shane | Uncredited |
| 1955 | A Man Alone | Clanton | Ray Milland | |
| 1955 | The Vanishing American | Jay Lord | Joseph Kane | |
| 1956 | The Conqueror | Chepei | Dick Powell | |
| 1956 | Tribute to a Bad Man | "Fat" Jones | Robert Wise | |
| 1956 | It Conquered the World | Dr. Tom Anderson | Roger Corman | |
| 1956 | Pardners | Gus | Norman Taurog | |
| 1956 | Accused of Murder | Sergeant Emmett Lackey | Joseph Kane | |
| 1957 | The Quiet Gun | Doug Sadler | William F. Claxton | |
| 1957 | The Badge of Marshal Brennan | "Shad" Donaphin | Albert C. Gannaway | |
| 1957 | China Gate | Major Cham | Samuel Fuller | |
| 1957 | Gunfight at the O.K. Corral | Ed Bailey | John Sturges | |
| 1957 | The Lonely Man | Faro | Henry Levin | |
| 1957 | The Last Stagecoach West | Steve Margolies | Joseph Kane | |
| 1957 | Joe Dakota | Adam Grant | Richard Bartlett | |
| 1957 | The Tin Star | Ed McGaffey | Anthony Mann | |
| 1957 | Gun Battle at Monterey | Kirby | Sidney Franklin Jr. Carl K. Hittleman | |
| 1957 | Raiders of Old California | Sergeant Damon Pardee | Albert C. Gannaway | |
| 1958 | Day of the Bad Man | Jake Hayes | Harry Keller | |
| 1958 | The Young Lions | 1st Sergeant Rickett | Edward Dmytryk | |
| 1958 | The Bravados | Alfonso Parral | Henry King | |
| 1958 | Guns, Girls, and Gangsters | Mike Benett | Edward L. Cahn | |
| 1958 | Machete | Miguel | Kurt Neumann | |
| 1959 | Ride Lonesome | Frank | Budd Boetticher | |
| 1961 | Posse from Hell | Leo | Herbert Coleman | |
| 1962 | The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance | Reese | John Ford | |
| 1962 | How the West Was Won | River Pirate | John Ford Henry Hathaway George Marshall | Uncredited |
| 1965 | For a Few Dollars More | Colonel Douglas Mortimer | Sergio Leone | Nominated - Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actor Nominated - Laurel Award for Male Supporting Performance |
| 1966 | The Good, the Bad and the Ugly | "Angel Eyes" / "The Bad" | Sergio Leone | |
| 1967 | The Big Gundown | Jonathan Corbett | Sergio Sollima | |
| 1967 | Death Rides a Horse | Ryan | Giulio Petroni | |
| 1967 | Day of Anger | Frank Talby | Tonino Valerii | |
| 1968 | Beyond the Law | Billy Joe Cudlip | Giorgio Stegani | |
| 1968 | Commandos | Master Sergeant Sullivan | Armando Crispino | |
| 1969 | Sabata | Sabata | Gianfranco Parolini | |
| 1970 | Barquero | Travis | Gordon Douglas | |
| 1970 | El Condor | Jaroo | John Guillermin | |
| 1971 | Captain Apache | Captain Apache | Alexander Singer | Also Performer Captain Apache and Morning April Sung by him |
| 1971 | Return of Sabata | Sabata | Gianfranco Parolini | |
| 1971 | Bad Man's River | Roy King | Eugenio Martín | |
| 1972 | The Magnificent Seven Ride! | Chris Adams | George McCowan | |
| 1972 | The Grand Duel | Sheriff Clayton | Giancarlo Santi | |
| 1973 | Mean Frank and Crazy Tony | Frankie Diomede | Michele Lupo | |
| 1974 | The Stranger and the Gunfighter | Dakota | Antonio Margheriti | Also Performer Rye Whiskey Sung by him |
| 1975 | Take a Hard Ride | Kiefer | Antonio Margheriti | |
| 1976 | God's Gun | Father John / Lewis | Gianfranco Parolini | |
| 1977 | Kid Vengeance [it] | McClain | Joe Manduke | |
| 1977 | The Perfect Killer [it] | Harry Chapman | Mario Siciliano | |
| 1978 | The Rip-Off | Chris Gretchko / Ray Sloan | Antonio Margheriti | Also known as The Squeeze |
| 1980 | The Octagon | McCarn | Eric Karson | |
| 1981 | Escape from New York | Police Commissioner Bob Hauk | John Carpenter | |
| 1984 | Goma-2 | Julot | José Antonio de la Loma | |
| 1984 | Code Name: Wild Geese | "China" | Antonio Margheriti | |
| 1985 | Jungle Raiders | Warren | Antonio Margheriti | |
| 1986 | Armed Response | Burt Roth | Fred Olen Ray | |
| 1988 | The Commander [de] | Colonel Mazzarini | Antonio Margheriti | |
| 1989 | Speed Zone | Rock-Skipping Grandfather | Jim Drake | |
| 1990 | Thieves of Fortune | Sergio Danielo Christophero | Michael MacCarthy | Posthumous release and Final film role |

### Television

| Year | Title | Role(s) | Episode(s) | Network(s) |
| 1952 | Sky King | Mark | "Formula for Fear" | NBC-TV, ABC-TC |
| 1952 | Boston Blackie | Lou / Captain Jansen | Inside Crime; Deep Six | |
| 1952–53 | The Range Rider | 'El Latigo' / Joe 'Utah Joe' / Rocky Hatch | "Treasure of Santa Dolores"; "Outlaw's Double"; "Greed Rides the Range" | |
| 1952–53 | The Lone Ranger | Joe Singer / 'Bull' Harper / Henchman Jango | "Desperado at Large"; "The Brown Pony"; "Stage to Estacado" | |
| 1954–62 | Death Valley Days | Unknown / Brogger | "Snowshoe Thompson"; "The Hat That Won the West" |
| 1954 | The Adventures of Rin Tin Tin | Ed McCleod | "Rin Tin Tin and The Ranging River" | |
| 1955 | The Man Behind the Badge | Floyd | "The Case of the Desperate Moment" | CBS |
| 1955 | Champion the Wonder Horse | Frank | "Crossroad Trail" | CBS |
| 1957 | Tales of Wells Fargo | Cherokee Bob | Alder Gulch | NBC |
| 1957 | Trackdown | Ben | "The Town" | |
| 1958 | Wagon Train | 'Rufe' Beal | "The Jesse Cowan Story" | |
| 1958 | Zorro | Antonio Castillo | "Welcome to Monterey" | |
| 1958 | Richard Diamond, Private Detective | Ed Murdock | "Rodeo" | |
| 1959 | Mr. Lucky | | "Dangerous Lady" | |
| 1959 | Yancy Derringer | Ike Milton / Frank James | "Outlaw at Liberty" | |
| 1959 | Wanted: Dead or Alive | 'Jumbo' Kane | "The Hostage" | |
| 1959 | The Real McCoys | 1st Sentry | "Grandpa Fights the Air Force" | |
| 1959–62 | The Rifleman | Dan Maury / 'Stinger' / Wicks / Johnny Drako | "The Deadly Wait"; "The Prodigal"; "The Clarence Bibs Story"; "Death Never Rides Alone" | ABC-TV |
| 1960 | The Slowest Gun in the West | Sam Bass | TV movie | |
| 1960 | 77 Sunset Strip | Deek | "Attic" | Warner Bros. |
| 1960 | Bonanza | Appling | "The Blood Line" | NBC-TV |
| 1960–63 | Laramie | Wes Torrey / Dawson / 'Mac' Morgan / Caleb | ".45 Calibre"; "Killer Odds"; "Vengeance"; "The Stranger" | |
| 1960–66 | Gunsmoke | Rad Meadows / Johnny Hooker / Ike Jeffords | "Old Flame"/"The Pariah"/"My Father, My Son" | |
| 1961 | Maverick | 'Wolf' McManus | "Red Dog" | |
| 1961–62 | Cheyenne | Braden / Larry Jackson / Harry | "Trouble Street"; "A Man Called Ragen"; "Man Alone" | |
| 1961 | The Twilight Zone | Steinhart | "The Grave" | CBS-TV |
| 1961 | Stagecoach West | Lin Hyatt | "Never Walk Alone" | |
| 1963 | The Joey Bishop Show | Charlie | "Double Exposure" | |
| 1963 | The Dakotas | Slade Tucker | "Thunder in Pleasant Valley" | ABC-TV |
| 1963 | Perry Mason | Edward Doyle | "The Case of the Golden Oranges" | |
| 1962–63 | Have Gun – Will Travel | Corbin / Golias | "The Treasure"; "Face of a Shadow" | |
| 1962–63 | Ripcord | Henry Kane / Jack Martin | "Thoroughbred"; "The Money Mine" | |
| 1964 | Rawhide | Fred Grant / Deck Sommers | "The Enormous Fist"; "Piney" | CBS-TV |
| 1965 | The Andy Griffith Show | Purse Thief | "Banjo-Playing Deputy" | CBS-TV |
| 1965 | My Mother the Car | Nick Fitch | "Burned at the Steak" | |
| 1965–66 | Branded | | "The Richest Man in Boot Hill", "Call to Glory" | NBC-TV |
| 1966 | Laredo | Mike 'Big Mike' Kelly | "Quarter Past Eleven" | |
| 1977 | No Where to Hide | Ike Scanlon | TV movie | |
| 1980 | The Hard Way | McNeal | | ITV (UK) |
| 1984 | The Master | John Peter McAllister / The Master | All episodes; starring role | NBC-TV |

## Awards and nominations
### Golden Boot Awards

* Winner Golden Boot (1983)

## In popular culture

* Lee Van Cleef's characters in the Sergio Leone movies inspired the creation of the characters Elliot Belt of the Lucky Luke comic album The Bounty Hunter, and Cad Bane of the Star Wars franchise.
* The band Primus has a song about Lee Van Cleef on their album Green Naugahyde.
* Guitarist and ex-Guns N' Roses member Ron Thal recorded an instrumental piece titled "The Legend of Van Cleef".
* The Warcraft universe features the villain Edwin Van Cleef, inspired by Lee Van Cleef.
* The Black Library magazine Inferno! featured several short stories, within the Necromunda setting, starring a bounty hunter named Nathan Creed, who was written as a homage to Lee Van Cleef; writer Jonathan Green described the character as "Lee Van Cleef, Clint Eastwood, The Man With No Name and John Wayne all rolled into one", and illustrations in the magazine clearly showed Creed as physically nearly identical to Van Cleef.
* Philip Pullman, author of the bestselling trilogy His Dark Materials, stated that the first name of his fictional American explorer, airman, and crack marksman Lee Scoresby was a reference to Van Cleef, with the character's surname as an homage to the famous Arctic explorer William Scoresby.
* Van Cleef was parodied in GLC: The Carnage Continues..., a short British comedy film of the late 1980s that humorously joined British politics with Hollywood action stars. Van Cleef is portrayed by the film's director Peter Richardson, though it rather suggests Van Cleef the personage is unrealistically playing Tony Benn, a British member of Parliament.
* Van Cleef served as visual inspiration for the characters of Revolver Ocelot and Old Snake in the Metal Gear Solid video game series as well as inspiring the gunslinger personality of the former.
* Hungarian musician Tamás Cseh wrote the song "Lee van Cleef".
* British singers Paul Heaton and Jacqui Abbott mention Lee and Clint Eastwood in the song, "When I Get Back to Blighty".
* The Fugees song "The Score" includes the line, "I'm more magnificent than Lee Van Cleef".
* Stargate SG-1 has references to Lee Van Cleef in Season 4, Episode 20 "Entity". The 'Entity' is searching through personnel files on a projected computer screen, with the first listed name that shows up as Lee Van Cleef, with team designation "SG-1" and a rank of "Master". His name appears several more times with pictures of different people.
* In the 2000 comedy-western film Shanghai Noon, actor Xander Berkeley portrays an antagonistic character named Marshal Nathan Van Cleef.