Who is Lee Van Cleef’s Spouse? Lee Van Cleef. Cause of Death. He played a villainous henchman of Lee Marvin's title character in the 1962 John Ford movie The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance. His parents were Clarence L. Van Cleef and Marion L. Van Fleet Van Cleef. I believe in showing real violence, not toy violence. 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). He also had distant French, Swedish, Belgian (Flemish), English, and German, roots. His death certificate gave throat cancer as a secondary cause of death. When Van Cleef's employer heard this, he promptly fired him, removing the need for any notice period. 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. He appeared in episode 82 of the TV series The Lone Ranger in 1952. He was interred in Forest Lawn Memorial Park Cemetery in Hollywood Hills, California. The only drawback is Cleef's costar, who is stiff and actually seems too lanky in his part. [6] From there, he continued to meet with the group and audition for parts. After serving in the United States Navy during World War II, he was trained as an accountant. In 1961, he played a role on episode 7 ("The Grave") of the third season of The Twilight Zone. He was of partial Dutch ancestry. Despite suffering from heart disease from the late 1970s and having a pacemaker installed in the early 1980s, Van Cleef continued to work in films until his death on December 16, 1989, at age 64. During this time, he was observed by visiting talent scouts, who were impressed by Van Cleef's stage presence and delivery. Corral. Lee Van Cleef was certainly a proud pipe smoker. Being born with a pair of beady eyes was the best thing that ever happened to me. [17] His second marriage was to Joan Marjorie Drane, from 1960 to 1974. 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. Intro/News Page. Remains:Buried, Forest Lawn Memorial Park Cemetery, Hollywood Hills, CA. After the war he worked as an office administrator, becoming involved in amateur theatrics in his spare time. 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. Van Cleef died in his Oxnard, California home on Dec. 16, 1989. Clarence's cause of death was heart attack… What happened to it? Here is all you want to know, and more! He collapsed in his home in Oxnard, California, from a heart attack. 64 years. Lee Van Cleef was hitched multiple times in his lifetime. They had three children, Alan, Deborah and David, and divorced in 1958. Van Cleef started out as an accountant. He was rushed to the hospital but was pronounced dead on arrival. I have been told Van Cleef did", "Western Archivillain Lee Van Cleef Dies", "The Cinema Behind Star Wars: The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly", "Primus – Lee Van Cleef (Official Music Video)", "Jonathan Green, Author: N is for Nathan Creed", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Lee_Van_Cleef&oldid=1004607333, Burials at Forest Lawn Memorial Park (Hollywood Hills), Somerville High School (New Jersey) alumni, United States Navy personnel of World War II, Short description is different from Wikidata, Wikipedia articles with style issues from March 2019, Articles with multiple maintenance issues, All Wikipedia articles written in American English, Pages using infobox military person with embed, Articles with self-published sources from February 2020, Articles with trivia sections from May 2018, Wikipedia articles with MusicBrainz identifiers, Wikipedia articles with PLWABN identifiers, Wikipedia articles with SNAC-ID identifiers, Wikipedia articles with SUDOC identifiers, Wikipedia articles with WORLDCATID identifiers, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License, 'El Latigo' / Joe 'Utah Joe' / Rocky Hatch, "Treasure of Santa Dolores"; "Outlaw's Double"; "Greed Rides the Range", Joe Singer / 'Bull' Harper / Henchman Jango, "Desperado at Large"; "The Brown Pony"; "Stage to Estacado", "Snowshoe Thompson"; "The Hat That Won the West", Dan Maury / 'Stinger' / Wicks / Johnny Drako, "The Deadly Wait"; "The Prodigal"; "The Clarence Bibs Story"; "Death Never Rides Alone", Rad Meadows / Johnny Hooker / Ike Jeffords, "Old Flame"/"The Pariah"/"My Father, My Son", Wes Torrey / Dawson / 'Mac' Morgan / Caleb, ".45 Calibre"; "Killer Odds"; "Vengeance"; "The Stranger", "Trouble Street"; "A Man Called Ragen"; "Man Alone", "The Richest Man in Boot Hill", "Call to Glory", Lee Van Cleef's characters in the Sergio Leone movies inspired the creation of the characters Elliot Belt of the, Van Cleef served as visual inspiration for the characters of, This page was last edited on 3 February 2021, at 13:13. Lo played Ho Chiang in the 1974 film The Stranger and the Gunfighter , alongside Lee Van Cleef . Official Sites, Beady eyes that frequently squinted in the Western sun. 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. Sadly, Lee passed away within months following this interview. Was on the short list of actors under consideration for arms dealer. 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". [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". He also had been awarded the Bronze Star and the Good Conduct Medal. [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). Five Fingers of Death . The kids who were the first born with the Internet and are suspected to be the most individualistic and technology-dependent generation. He was involved in a car accident in 1959 in which he lost his left kneecap. Lee Van Cleef, the nine-fingered master of the sidelong Western sneer, died 20 years ago today.. Had he lived, he’d be 84 years old now. In January 1945, Incredible moved to the Black Sea, and performed sweeping duties out of the Soviet Navy base at Sevastopol, Crimea. Lee Van Cleef is exceptional in Death Rides a Horse. Please reorganize this content to explain the subject's impact on popular culture, Learn how and when to remove these template messages, personal reflection, personal essay, or argumentative essay, Learn how and when to remove this template message, Forest Lawn Memorial Park (Hollywood Hills), European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign Medal, Forest Lawn Memorial Park Cemetery, Hollywood Hills, California, "Glimpse of History: 'Being born with a pair of beady eyes was the best thing that ever happened to me' – Lee Van Cleef", "Lee Van Cleef, the "Bad" in Leone's classic Western, was a decorated sonarman on a WWII minesweeper", "Actor Lee Van Cleef, Villain in Hundreds of Westerns", "Lee Van Cleef was an iconic presence in the veteran villain category of film", "Lee Van Cleef, Actor, Dies at 64; Played Villains in Many Westerns", "In The Good, the Bad and the Ugly, Lee Van Cleef (the Bad) is missing part of a finger. Roberts." In 1963, he appeared on Perry Mason (episode: "The Case of the Golden Oranges"). 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. The play was Mister Roberts. |  His first marriage was to Patsy Ruth Kahle, in 1943. Van Cleef is interred at Forest Lawn Memorial Park Cemetery, Hollywood Hills, California, with an inscription on his gravestone referring to his many "heavy" roles: BEST OF THE BAD. |  I look mean without even trying. Lee Van Cleef in his only interview with Johnny Carson. I've worn it, off and on, ever since. For the next decade he played a string of memorably villainous characters, primarily in westerns but also in crime dramas such as The Big Combo (1955). Son of Clarence Leroy Van Cleef and Maria Lavinia Van Fleet, both mostly of Dutch ancestry. 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