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One of the great movie villains, Clarence Leroy Van Cleef, Jr. was born in Somerville, New Jersey, to Marion Lavinia (Van Fleet) and Clarence LeRoy Van Cleef, Sr. His parents were of Dutch ancestry. Van Cleef started out as an accountant. He served in the U.S. Navy aboard minesweepers and sub chasers during World War II. After the war he worked as an office administrator, becoming involved in amateur theatrics in his spare time. An audition for a professional role led to a touring company job in "Mr. Roberts". His performance was seen by Stanley Kramer, who cast him as henchman Jack Colby in High Noon (1952), a role that brought him great recognition despite the fact that he had no dialogue. 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). His hawk nose and steely, slit eyes seemed destined to keep him always in the realm of heavies, but in the mid 1960s Sergio Leone cast him as the tough but decent Col. Mortimer opposite Clint Eastwood in For a Few Dollars More (1965). A new career as a western hero (or at least anti-hero) opened up, and Van Cleef became an international star, though in films of decreasing quality. In the 1980s, he moved easily into action and martial-arts movies and starred in The Master (1984), a TV series featuring almost non-stop martial arts action. He died of a heart attack in December 1989 and was buried at Forest Lawn in the Hollywood Hills.

Lee Van Cleef in The Good, the Bad and the Ugly (1966)

(Late 1970s) TV commercials (Canada): Appeared in a series of innovative commercials for the Canadian Midas Muffler chain. He played the part of the laconic cowboy (as in 1960s &quot;spaghetti westerns&quot;) who could fix a muffler or tailpipe with such speed that <a class="ipc-md-link ipc-md-link--entity" href="/name/nm0171475/?ref_=nmwrk">John Colicos</a> (playing the straight-man store manager) would be amazed to see him lounging in a chair propped up against a wall on the side of the shop with his hat down in less time than it takes to write this.

(1985) TV commercial (Japan only): Suntory Old Whisky

(early 1980s) TV commercials (Canada): Midas Muffler

(1950) Stage: Appeared in &quot;Mister Roberts&quot; on Broadway.

(Late 1940s) Stage: Appeared in &quot;Heaven Can Wait&quot;, Clinton Music Hall Players, Clinton, NJ,

(Late 1940s) Stage: Appeared in &quot;Our Town&quot;, Clinton Music Hall Players, Clinton, NJ,

(1950-51) Stage: Appeared in US tour of &quot;Mister Roberts&quot;.

Other works

Lee Van Cleef

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