Lee Van Cleef

Lee Van Cleef
Van Cleef in Death Rides a Horse (1967)
Born	Clarence LeRoy Van Cleef Jr. (1925-01-09)January 9, 1925 Somerville, New Jersey, U.S.
Died	December 16, 1989(1989-12-16) (aged 64) Oxnard, California, U.S.
Occupation	Actor
Years active	1952–1989
Spouses	Patsy Ruth Kahle ​ ​ (m. 1943; div. 1958)​ Joan Marjorie Drane ​ ​ (m. 1960; div. 1974)​ Barbara Havelone ​ (m. 1976)​
Children	4
Military career
Service / branch	US Navy
Years of service	1942–1946
Rank	Sonarman First Class
Unit	USS Incredible (AM-249)
Battles / wars	World War II Battle of the Caribbean Operation Dragoon
Awards	Bronze Star Good Conduct Medal American Campaign Medal European–African–Middle Eastern Campaign Medal Asiatic–Pacific Campaign Medal World War II Victory Medal Golden Boot (1983)

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.^[1] 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).