Clarence Leroy "Lee" Van Cleef, Jr. (January 9, 1925 – December 16, 1989), was an American film actor who appeared mostly in Westerns and action pictures. His sharp features and piercing eyes led to his being cast as a villain in scores of films, such as Kansas City Confidential, High Noon, The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance, and The Good, the Bad and the Ugly. After his success in the last of these, he played the hero in many of his later movies.
January 9, 1925, Somerville, New Jersey, United States
Died
December 16, 1989, Oxnard, California, United States
Place Of Birth
Somerville, New Jersey, USA
Height
6' 2" (1.88 m)
Profession
Actor, Soundtrack
Children
Deborah Van Cleef, Alan Van Cleef, David Van Cleef, Denise Van Cleef
Music Groups
Mountain Heart
Star Sign
Capricorn
#
Trademark
1
When starring in westerns, his characters frequently use customized firearms, such as rifles and pistols with increased precision, fire rate, ammo magazine and additional muzzles.
2
Low Authorative voice
3
Sardonic, menacing characters
4
Beady eyes that frequently squinted in the Western sun
[6/12/81 interview in The Cleveland Plain Dealer, on his pierced left ear] I started wearing it when I was a kid in the Navy. I sailed all over the world, and somewhere along I started wearing an earring as a symbol of respect for all of the different cultures and people. I've worn it, off and on, ever since. Lately, when directors and producers see the bloody thing, they ask me to wear it on camera.
2
Bad guys have always been my bag . . . I look mean without even trying. Audiences just naturally hate me on screen. I could play a role in a tuxedo and people would think I was rotten. You can do much more with a villain part. Movies are full of leading men, most of whom aren't working. It's much harder to find a good villain.
3
Being born with a pair of beady eyes was the best thing that ever happened to me.
#
Fact
1
His death certificate gave throat cancer as a secondary cause of death.
2
When still working as an accountant, Van Cleef was offered an acting job "starting on Monday." He protested that he needed to give his employer two weeks' notice, only to be told that he started on Monday or didn't start at all. When Van Cleef's employer heard this, he promptly fired him, removing the need for any notice period.
He was involved in a car accident in 1959 in which he lost his left kneecap. Doctors told him he would never be able to ride a horse again because of the injury. Within six months he was back in the saddle.
Interviewed in "Bad at the Bijou" by William R. Horner (McFarland, 1982).
8
Was portrayed as a bounty hunter in the Lucky Luke comic book "The Bounty Hunter".
9
Son of Clarence Leroy Van Cleef and Maria Lavinia Van Fleet, both mostly of Dutch ancestry. He also had distant French, Swedish, Belgian (Flemish), English, and German, roots.
10
During one summer in the early 1950s he was a camp counselor in NYC for Marc Furstenberg.
11
Was the inspiration for the character Revolver Ocelot in the "Metal Gear" series of games.
12
According to the book "Weird NJ" (Sceurman, Mark and Mark Moran, Barnes and Noble Books, 2004 ISBN 0-7607-3979-X) he was a descendant of the Morris County Van Cleefs who were infamous in the area for their strange living and "procreational" efforts. In fact, one trait that Lee had was that he had one green eye and one blue eye. According to the book, "this telltale characteristic was corrected in the movies with colored contact lenses".
13
He had almost given up his acting career in the mid-'60s and turned to painting when he was cast by Sergio Leone in For a Few Dollars More (1965). It made him a superstar in Europe and restarted his career in the US, making him again a recognizable and bankable name.
14
One episode of his short-lived TV series, The Master (1984), was titled "The Good, The Bad and the Priceless".
15
He had three children from his first marriage: Alan (B. 1947), Deborah (B. 1948), and David. In 1960, when Lee married his second wife Joan Miller. They adopted a daughter, Denise.
16
He was missing the last joint of his middle finger, a disfigurement prominently featured in the climactic gunfight of The Good, the Bad and the Ugly (1966). He actually lost it while building a playhouse for his daughter, although there were rumors that it happened in a road accident or a bar fight.
$6 Million
