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|
| Lee Van Cleef | |
|---|---|
 Van Cleef in Kansas City Confidential (1952) | |
| Born | Clarence LeRoy Van Cleef Jr. January 9, 1925 Somerville, New Jersey, U.S. |
| Died | December 16, 1989 (aged 64) Oxnard, California, U.S. |
| Resting place | Forest Lawn Memorial Park (Hollywood Hills) |
| Occupation | Actor |
| Years active | 1952–1989 |
| Spouse(s) | Patsy Ruth Kahle (m. 1943; div. 1958)Joan Marjorie Drane (m. 1960; div. 1974)Barbara Havelone (m. 1976) |
| Children | 3 |
| Military career | |
| Allegiance |  United States |
| Service/branch |  United States Navy |
| Years of service | 1942–1946 |
| Rank |  Sonarman First Class |
| Unit | USS Incredible (AM-249) |
| Battles/wars | World War II |
| Awards |  Bronze Star Good Conduct Medal American Campaign Medal European–African–Middle Eastern Campaign Medal Asiatic–Pacific Campaign Medal World War II Victory Medal |
Clarence 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. He 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 had begun to lose interest in his declining 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.
Youth[edit]
Van Cleef, born of partial Dutch, English and German ancestry on January 9, 1925, in Somerville, New Jersey,[1][self-published source?] was the son of Marion Lavinia Van Fleet and Clarence LeRoy Van Cleef. At age 17, he obtained his high school diploma early in his senior year at Somerville High School[2] in order to enlist in the United States Navy in September 1942.[3]
Military service[edit]
After basic training and further training at the Naval Fleet Sound School, Van Cleef was assigned to a submarine chaser and then to a minesweeper, 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.[4] He was discharged from the Navy in 1946.[5]
Early acting career[edit]
After leaving the Navy, Van Cleef read for a part in Our Town at the Little Theater Group in Clinton, New Jersey and received his first stage role.[6] From there, he continued to meet with the group and audition for parts. The next biggest part was that of the boxer, Joe Pendleton, in the play Heaven Can Wait. During this time, he was observed by visiting talent scouts, who were impressed by Van Cleef's stage presence and delivery. One of these scouts later took him to New York City talent agent Maynard Morris of the MCA agency, who then sent him to the Alvin Theater for an audition. The play was Mister Roberts.[7]
Van Cleef's screen debut came in High Noon.[1] During a performance of Mister Roberts in Los Angeles, he was noticed by film director Stanley Kramer, who offered Van Cleef a role in his upcoming film. Kramer originally wanted Van Cleef for the role of the deputy Harvey Pell, but as he wanted Van Cleef to have his "distinctive nose" fixed, Van Cleef declined the role in favor of the part of the silent gunslinger Jack Colby. He was then cast mostly in villainous roles, due to his sharp cheeks and chin, piercing eyes, and hawk-like nose,[6] from the part of Tony Romano in Kansas City Confidential (1952),[8] culminating 14 years later in Sergio Leone's The Good, the Bad and the Ugly (1966).[9]
Aside from Westerns and the science fiction films, three of his early major roles were in noir films, Kansas City Confidential (1952), Vice Squad (1953) and The Big Combo (1955). Van Cleef appeared six times between 1951 and 1955 on the children's syndicated Western series The Adventures of Kit Carson, starring Bill Williams. He was cast three times, including the role of Rocky Hatch in the episode "Greed Rides the Range" (1952), of another syndicated Western series, The Range Rider. In 1952, he was cast in the episode "Formula for Fear" of the Western aviation series Sky King. He appeared in episode 82 of the TV series The Lone Ranger in 1952.[10] In 1954, Van Cleef appeared as Jesse James in the syndicated series Stories of the Century.[11]
In 1955, he was cast twice on another syndicated Western series, Annie Oakley. That same year, he guest-starred on the CBS Western series, Brave Eagle. In 1955, he played one of the two villains in an episode of The Adventures of Champion the Wonder Horse. 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.[12]
Van Cleef played different characters on four episodes of ABC's The Rifleman, with Chuck Connors, between 1959 and 1962, 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 starring Darren McGavin, as Jumbo Kane in the episode "The Hostage" on the CBS Western series "Wanted Dead or Alive" starring Steve McQueen, and in an episode of Maverick titled "Red Dog" in 1960 starring Roger Moore and John Carradine.
Van Cleef played a sentry on an episode of the ABC sitcom The Real McCoys, with Walter Brennan. 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.[13]
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.[14] His film characters died in many of his Westerns and gangster portrayals.
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 7 ("The Grave") of the third season of The Twilight Zone. He played a villainous henchman of Lee Marvin's title character in the 1962 John Ford movie The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance. 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[edit]
In 1965, Sergio Leone cast Van Cleef, whose career had yet to take off, as a main protagonist alongside Clint Eastwood in For a Few Dollars More.[15] 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 his final two westerns he co-starred with Leif Garrett in God's Gun (1976) and Kid Vengeance (1977), both of which were filmed mainly in Israel.
Van Cleef later had a supporting role in John Carpenter's cult film Escape from New York (1981).[16] In 1984, he was cast as a ninja master in the NBC adventure series The Master, but it was canceled after thirteen episodes. In all, Van Cleef is credited with 90 movie roles and 109 television appearances over a 38-year span.
Personal life[edit]
Van Cleef was married three times. His first marriage was to Patsy Ruth Kahle, in 1943. They had three children, Alan, Deborah and David, and divorced in 1958.[17] His second marriage was to Joan Marjorie Drane, from 1960 to 1974.[18] His final marriage was to Barbara Havelone in 1976, who survived him.[19]
He lost the last joint of the middle finger of his right hand while building a playhouse for his daughter.[20]
In 1958, a severe car crash nearly cost Van Cleef his life and career. A resulting knee injury made his physicians think that he would never ride a horse again. This injury plagued Van Cleef for the rest of his life and caused him great pain. His recovery was long and difficult and halted his acting for a time. He then began a business in interior decoration with second wife Joan, as well as pursuing his talent for painting, primarily of sea and landscapes.[21][self-published source?]
Death[edit]
Despite suffering from heart disease from the late 1970s and having a pacemaker installed in the early 1980s,[22] Van Cleef continued to work in films until his death on December 16, 1989, at age 64.[23] He collapsed in his home in Oxnard, California, from a heart attack.[24] Throat cancer was listed as a secondary cause of death.[25] 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".[26]
Filmography[edit]
Film[edit]
| Year | Title | Role | Director | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1952 | High Noon | Jack Colby | Fred Zinnemann | (no-dialog role) with Gary Cooper and Grace Kelly |
| Untamed Frontier | Dave Chittun | Hugo Fregonese | with Joseph Cotten and Shelley Winters | |
| Kansas City Confidential | Tony Romano | Phil Karlson | with John Payne and Coleen Gray | |
| 1953 | The Lawless Breed | Dirk Hanley | Raoul Walsh | with Rock Hudson |
| The Bandits of Corsica | Nerva | Ray Nazarro | ||
| White Lightning | Brutus Allen | Edward Bernds | ||
| The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms | Corporal Stone | Eugène Lourié | ||
| Arena | "Smitty" Smith | Richard Fleischer | ||
| Vice Squad | Pete Monte | Arnold Laven | with Edward G. Robinson | |
| Jack Slade | "Bolt" Mackay | Harold D. Schuster | ||
| Tumbleweed | Marvin "Marv" | Nathan Juran | with Audie Murphy | |
| The Nebraskan | Private Reno Benton | Fred F. Sears | ||
| 1954 | Gypsy Colt | Hank | Andrew Marton | |
| Rails Into Laramie | "Ace" Winton | Jesse Hibbs | ||
| Arrow in the Dust | Tilotson Henchman | Lesley Selander | with Sterling Hayden | |
| The Yellow Tomahawk | Fire Knife | Lesley Selander | ||
| Princess of the Nile | Hakar | Harmon Jones | Uncredited bit part | |
| The Desperado | Paul Crayton / 'Buck' Crayton | Thomas Carr | ||
| Dawn at Socorro | Earl Ferris | George Sherman | ||
| 1955 | Treasure of Ruby Hills | Frank Emmett | Frank McDonald | |
| Ten Wanted Men | Al Drucker | H. Bruce Humberstone | with Randolph Scott | |
| The Big Combo | Fante | Joseph H. Lewis | with Cornel Wilde | |
| I Cover the Underworld | "Flash" Logan | R. G. Springsteen | ||
| The Road to Denver | Larry "Pecos Larry" | Joseph Kane | ||
| The Naked Street | Harry Goldish | Maxwell Shane | with Anthony Quinn and Anne Bancroft; Uncredited | |
| A Man Alone | Clanton | Ray Milland | with Ray Milland | |
| The Vanishing American | Jay Lord | Joseph Kane | ||
| 1956 | The Conqueror | Chepei | Dick Powell | with John Wayne and Susan Hayward |
| Tribute to a Bad Man | "Fat" Jones | Robert Wise | with James Cagney | |
| It Conquered the World | Dr. Tom Anderson | Roger Corman | with Peter Graves | |
| Pardners | Gus | Norman Taurog | with Jerry Lewis and Dean Martin | |
| Accused of Murder | Sergeant Emmett Lackey | Joseph Kane | ||
| 1957 | The Quiet Gun | Doug Sadler | William F. Claxton | |
| The Badge of Marshal Brennan | "Shad" Donaphin | Albert C. Gannaway | ||
| China Gate | Major Cham | Samuel Fuller | with Nat King Cole | |
| Gunfight at the O.K. Corral | Ed Bailey | John Sturges | with Kirk Douglas and Burt Lancaster | |
| The Lonely Man | Faro | Henry Levin | with Jack Palance and Anthony Perkins | |
| The Last Stagecoach West | Steve Margolies | Joseph Kane | ||
| Joe Dakota | Adam Grant | Richard Bartlett | ||
| The Tin Star | Ed McGaffey | Anthony Mann | with Henry Fonda and Anthony Perkins | |
| Gun Battle at Monterey | Kirby | Sidney Franklin Jr. Carl K. Hittleman | with Sterling Hayden | |
| Raiders of Old California | Sergeant Damon Pardee | Albert C. Gannaway | ||
| 1958 | Day of the Bad Man | Jake Hayes | Harry Keller | with Fred MacMurray |
| The Young Lions | 1st Sergeant Rickett | Edward Dmytryk | with Marlon Brando, Montgomery Clift and Dean Martin | |
| The Bravados | Alfonso Parral | Henry King | with Gregory Peck | |
| Guns, Girls, and Gangsters | Mike Benett | Edward L. Cahn | with Mamie Van Doren | |
| Machete | Miguel | Kurt Neumann | ||
| Ride Lonesome | Frank | Budd Boetticher | with Randolph Scott | |
| 1961 | Posse from Hell | Leo | Herbert Coleman | with Audie Murphy |
| 1962 | The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance | Reese | John Ford | with James Stewart, John Wayne and Lee Marvin |
| How the West Was Won | River Pirate | John Ford Henry Hathaway George Marshall | with James Stewart, Carroll Baker, John Wayne and Eli Wallach; Uncredited | |
| 1965 | For a Few Dollars More | Colonel Douglas Mortimer | Sergio Leone | with Clint Eastwood and Gian Maria Volonté |
| 1966 | The Big Gundown | Jonathan Corbett | Sergio Sollima | with Tomas Milian |
| The Good, the Bad and the Ugly | "Angel Eyes" / "The Bad" | Sergio Leone | with Clint Eastwood and Eli Wallach | |
| 1967 | Death Rides a Horse | Ryan | Giulio Petroni | with John Phillip Law |
| Day of Anger | Frank Talby | Tonino Valerii | with Giuliano Gemma | |
| 1968 | Beyond the Law | Billy Joe Cudlip | Giorgio Stegani | |
| Commandos | Master Sergeant Sullivan | Armando Crispino | ||
| 1969 | Sabata | Sabata | Gianfranco Parolini | |
| 1970 | Barquero | Travis | Gordon Douglas | with Warren Oates |
| El Condor | Jaroo | John Guillermin | with Jim Brown | |
| 1971 | Captain Apache | Captain Apache | Alexander Singer | with Carroll Baker and Stuart Whitman |
| Return of Sabata | Sabata | Gianfranco Parolini | ||
| Bad Man's River | Roy King | Eugenio Martín | with Gina Lollobrigida and James Mason | |
| 1972 | The Magnificent Seven Ride | Chris Adams | George McCowan | |
| The Grand Duel | Sheriff Clayton | Giancarlo Santi | Aka The Big Showdown and Storm Rider | |
| 1973 | Mean Frank and Crazy Tony | Frankie Diomede | Michele Lupo | with Jean Rochefort |
| 1974 | The Stranger and the Gunfighter | Dakota | Antonio Margheriti | Aka Blood Money |
| 1975 | Take a Hard Ride | Kiefer | Antonio Margheriti | with Jim Brown |
| 1976 | God's Gun | Father John / Lewis | Gianfranco Parolini | with Leif Garrett and Jack Palance |
| 1977 | Kid Vengeance | McClain | Joe Manduke | with Leif Garrett and Jim Brown |
| Quel pomeriggio maledetto | Harry Chapman | Mario Siciliano | ||
| 1978 | The Rip-Off | Chris Gretchko / Ray Sloan | Antonio Margheriti | Aka The Squeeze |
| 1980 | The Octagon | McCarn | Eric Karson | with Chuck Norris |
| 1981 | Escape from New York | Police Commissioner Bob Hauk | John Carpenter | with Kurt Russell, Donald Pleasence and Ernest Borgnine |
| 1984 | Goma-2 | Julot | José Antonio de la Loma | |
| Code Name: Wild Geese | "China" | Antonio Margheriti | with Klaus Kinski and Ernest Borgnine | |
| 1985 | Jungle Raiders | Warren | Antonio Margheriti | |
| 1986 | Armed Response | Burt Roth | Fred Olen Ray | with David Carradine |
| 1987 | Der Commander | Colonel Mazzarini | Antonio Margheriti | with Donald Pleasence |
| 1989 | Speed Zone, a.k.a. Cannonball Fever | Rock-Skipping Grandfather | Jim Drake | with John Candy, Brooke Shields and Peter Boyle |
| 1990 | Thieves of Fortune | Sergio Danielo Christophero | Michael MacCarthy | final film role, posthumous release |
Television[edit]
| 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 | |
| 1952–1953 | The Range Rider | 'El Latigo' / Joe 'Utah Joe' / Rocky Hatch | "Treasure of Santa Dolores"; "Outlaw's Double"; "Greed Rides the Range" | |
| 1952–1953 | The Lone Ranger | Joe Singer / 'Bull' Harper / Henchman Jango | "Desperado at Large"; "The Brown Pony"; "Stage to Estacado" | |
| 1954–1962 | Death Valley Days | Unknown / Brogger | "Snowshoe Thompson"; "The Hat That Won the West" | |
| 1955 | The Man Behind the Badge | Floyd | "The Case of the Desperate Moment" | CBS |
| 1955 | Champion the Wonder Horse | Frank | "Crossroad Trail" | CBS |
| 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" | |
| 1959–1962 | 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. |
| 1960–1966 | Gunsmoke | Rad Meadows / Johnny Hooker / Ike Jeffords | "Old Flame"/"The Pariah"/"My Father, My Son" | |
| 1960–1963 | Laramie | Wes Torrey / Dawson / 'Mac' Morgan / Caleb | ".45 Calibre"; "Killer Odds"; "Vengeance"; "The Stranger" | |
| 1960 | Bonanza | Appling | "The Blood Line" | NBC-TV |
| 1961 | Maverick | 'Wolf' McManus | "Red Dog" | |
| 1961–1962 | 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" | |
| 1962–1963 | Have Gun – Will Travel | Corbin / Golias | "The Treasure"; "Face of a Shadow" | |
| 1962–1963 | 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" | |
| 1965–1966 | Branded | "The Richest Man in Boot Hill", "Call to Glory" | NBC-TV | |
| 1966 | Laredo | Mike 'Big Mike' Kelly | "Quarter Past Eleven" | |
| 1977 | Nowhere to Hide | |||
| 1979 | The Hard Way | |||
| 1984 | The Master | John Peter McAllister | All episodes; starring role | NBC-TV |
In popular culture[edit]
| This article appears to contain trivial, minor, or unrelated references to popular culture. (May 2018) |
- 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,[27] and Cad Bane of the Star Wars franchise.[28]
- The band Primus has a song about Lee Van Cleef on their album Green Naugahyde.[29]
- 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",[30] and illustrations in the magazine clearly showed Creed as physically near 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".[31][32]
- British singers Paul Heaton and Jacqui Abbott mention Lee and Clint Eastwood in the song "When I Get Back to Blighty" the lyrics are:
"The real Clint Eastwood, The real Lee Van Cleef, Ended up in a bar in Hull, Minus all of their teeth"
References[edit]
- ^ a b Rowan, Terry (2013). The American Western A Complete Film Guide. Lulu.com. ISBN 978-1-300-41858-0. Retrieved June 30, 2017.[self-published source]
- ^ Hatala, Greg. "Glimpse of History: 'Being born with a pair of beady eyes was the best thing that ever happened to me' – Lee Van Cleef", The Star-Ledger, August 26, 2013. Accessed November 4, 2017. "Looking at this photo of Clarence Leroy Van Cleef Jr. from the 1943 Somerville High School yearbook, it's hard to imagine him acquiring the sobriquet 'ugly.' Yet he was tagged just that 23 years later when he starred with Clint Eastwood and Eli Wallach in Sergio Leone's classic western The Good, the Bad and the Ugly."
- ^ Blazeski, Goran (December 6, 2017). "Lee Van Cleef, the "Bad" in Leone's classic Western, was a decorated sonarman on a WWII minesweeper". The Vintage News. Retrieved May 16, 2018.
- ^ Malloy, Mike (1998). Lee Van Cleef: A Biographical, Film and Television Reference. McFarland & Company, Inc. p. 5. ISBN 0-7864-0437-X.
- ^ "PO1 Clarence Leroy Van Cleef, Jr". TogetherWeServed. 2015. Retrieved May 25, 2015.
- ^ a b "Actor Lee Van Cleef, Villain in Hundreds of Westerns". Apnews.com. December 26, 1989. Retrieved February 26, 2019.
- ^ Horner, William R. (2000). Bad at the Bijou. McFarland. p. 48. ISBN 078640938X.
- ^ Kansas City Confidential
- ^ The Good, the Bad and the Ugly
- ^ "'The Lone Ranger' on DVD: Hi-yo, Silver!". NJ.com. June 20, 2013. Retrieved September 8, 2020.
- ^ Boggs, Johnny D. (2011). Jesse James and the movies. McFarland & Co., Publishers. p. 239. ISBN 978-0-7864-8496-6.
- ^ The Nickel Pop Gazette
- ^ "The Alaskans". TV Guide. Retrieved September 8, 2020.
- ^ "Gunfight at the O.K. Corral (1957)". Internet Movie Database. IMDB. Retrieved July 26, 2020.
- ^ Robinson, Larry (December 12, 2019). "Lee Van Cleef was an iconic presence in the veteran villain category of film". Poughkeepsie Journal. Retrieved September 8, 2020.
- ^ Garner, Jack (May 27, 2015). "Jack's Plan B: 'Escape from New York'". Rochester Democrat and Chronicle. Gannett. Retrieved August 20, 2018.
- ^ Woods, Mark. "Mark Woods: His dad was 'The Bad'". The Florida Times-Union.
- ^ "Clarence Leroy (Lee) Van Cleef". www.newnetherlandinstitute.org.
- ^ "Lee Van Cleef, Actor, Dies at 64; Played Villains in Many Westerns". The New York Times. December 17, 1989.
- ^ Marshall Trimble (March 31, 2015). "In The Good, the Bad and the Ugly, Lee Van Cleef (the Bad) is missing part of a finger. What happened to it? Also, did Eli Wallach play the Ugly? I have been told Van Cleef did". True West Magazine. Retrieved May 16, 2018.
- ^ Prickette, James (January 20, 2012). Actors of the Spaghetti Westerns. Xlibris Corporation. ISBN 978-1-4691-4429-0.[self-published source]
- ^ "Actor Lee Van Cleef, Villain in Hundreds of Westerns". AP News. Oxford, Calif. December 17, 1989. Retrieved August 19, 2018.
- ^ AP (December 17, 1989). "Lee Van Cleef, Actor, Dies at 64; Played Villains in Many Westerns". NY Times. The New York Times Company. Retrieved August 20, 2018.
- ^ "Western Archivillain Lee Van Cleef Dies". Deseret News. Deseret News Publishing Company. December 17, 1989. Retrieved August 20, 2018.
- ^ Magers, Boyd. "Lee Van Cleef". Western Clippings. Retrieved January 18, 2014.
- ^ Hughes, Howard (2006). Once Upon A Time in the Italian West: The Filmgoers' Guide to Spaghetti Westerns. I.B. Tauris. p. 158. ISBN 978-0-85773-045-9.
- ^ Lombard, Philippe (September 6, 2017). Goscinny-scope: D'Astérix au Viager, tout le cinéma du maître de la BD (in French). Dunod. p. 40. ISBN 9782100771110.
- ^ "The Cinema Behind Star Wars: The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly". StarWars.com. Lucasfilm Ltd. December 17, 2012. Retrieved June 16, 2018.
- ^ "Primus – Lee Van Cleef (Official Music Video)" – via www.youtube.com.
- ^ Green, Jonathan (April 16, 2011). "Jonathan Green, Author: N is for Nathan Creed". Jonathan Green, Author. Retrieved September 25, 2018.
- ^ Lee van Cleef by Tamas Cseh (amazon.com)
- ^ "Cseh Tamás – Lee van Cleef" – via www.youtube.com.
External links[edit]
 | Wikimedia Commons has media related to Lee Van Cleef. |
- Lee Van Cleef at IMDb
- Lee Van Cleef at AllMovie
- TheBad.net: A Tribute to Lee Van Cleef
