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 former colonel in For a Few Dollars More.
Biography
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.
Career
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.
In addition to Westerns and the science fiction films, two of his early major roles were in noir films, Kansas City Confidential of 1952 and The Big Combo of 1955. Both have attained a status as classic noir films of the 1950s and Van Cleef's roles, though as secondary characters and villains, were prominent and complex.
Van Cleef appeared six times between 1951 and 1955 as Burt Tanner on the children's western The Adventures of Kit Carson, starring Bill Williams. In 1954, he appeared as Jesse James in the Jim Davis's syndicated series Stories of the Century. He played different minor characters on four episodes of ABC's The Rifleman between 1959 and 1962 and twice on ABC's Tombstone Territory. He appeared with Chuck Connors and Pippa Scott in the 1960 episode "Trial by Fear" of CBS's The DuPont Show with June Allyson.
He guest starred on the NBC western series 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 series Sheriff of Cochise. Van Cleef starred as minor villains and henchmen in various westerns, including The Tin Star and Gunfight at the OK Corral.
In 1958, Van Cleef was involved in a serious car accident and was forced temporarily to retire from acting. It took his career some time to recover from this blow and in contrast to his earlier major roles, he for some years had only occasional small parts. He 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 also had a small, uncredited role as one of the river pirates in 1962's How the West Was Won.
Between 1962 and 1965 Van Cleef worked as a painter,[3] after which his career took a new turn when he appeared in numerous Spaghetti Westerns. This career revival began when Sergio Leone wanted to cast Van Cleef, whose career was still in the doldrums that began with his car accident, against type as one of the two protagonists, alongside Clint Eastwood, in Leone's second Western, For a Few Dollars More. Leone then chose Van Cleef to appear with Clint Eastwood again, this time as the primary villain in the classic The Good, the Bad and the Ugly. With his roles in Leone's films, Van Cleef became a major star of Spaghetti Westerns, playing central roles in films such as Death Rides a Horse, Day of Anger, 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.
Death
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 January 9, 1925 - December 16, 1989 'Best of the Bad' Love and Light".
Filmography
References
- ^ Lee Van Cleef Biography (1925-1989)
- ^ "Lee Van Cleef, Actor, Dies at 64; Played Villains in Many Westerns", The New York Times, December 17, 1989. Accessed November 25, 2007. "Lee Van Cleef was born in Somerville, N.J., on January 9, 1925. His first job was as a farm worker in his home state. He then worked as an accountant in Somerville before beginning in his movie career in 1950."
- ^ George-Warren, Holly (September 2003). "The Man with No Name". American Cowboy (Active Interest Media) 10 (3): 75. http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=VeoCAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA75&dq=%22lee+van+cleef%22+painter+accident&lr=. Retrieved 2008-01-04.
External links
