Before Lee Van Cleef earned fame in Hollywood for his icy gaze and formidable roles in Westerns, he had already proven his courage as a sailor in the U.S. Navy during World War II. Serving aboard minesweepers and submarine chasers, he faced perilous waters where quick thinking and strict discipline were matters of life and death. These formative experiences forged a resilience and quiet intensity that would later define his on-screen persona. Long before audiences recognized him for his commanding presence, Van Cleef had honed his toughness and composure under real-world pressure, building the foundation for a career marked by grit and authority.
Lee Van Cleef enlisted in the US Navy
Clarence LeRoy “Lee” Van Cleef, Jr. was born on January 9, 1925, in Somerville, New Jersey. After graduating high school early, he intended to enlist in the U.S. Navy. By that time, the United States was fully involved in the Second World War, and Van Cleef was eager to do his part.
In late 1942, Van Cleef completed basic training and went on to attend Sonarman School. Upon finishing this training, he was assigned the rank of sonarman third class and stationed aboard the submarine chaser USS SC-681. Over the course of a 10-month deployment, the ship patrolled the Caribbean, tasked with hunting down German U-boats in the region.
When Van Cleef was ordered to leave the SC-681 to attend additional training at Fleet Sound School in Key West, Florida, he had been promoted to sonarman second class.
Participating in the Allied landings of France
After completing his training at Fleet Sound School, Lee Van Cleef was stationed in Savannah, Georgia, where he joined the pre-commissioning crew of the USS Incredible (AM-249), a minesweeper built for dangerous coastal operations. After completing a shakedown cruise along the East Coast and through the Caribbean, the ship was deployed to Europe in support of the Allied invasion of southern France.
In the Mediterranean, the Incredible had a critical job—locating and clearing enemy mines to protect Allied ships along the French coast. In September 1944, the crew helped foil a German human torpedo attack, a rare but deadly underwater threat designed to sabotage Allied naval forces.
Van Cleef stood out for his diligence and dedication. He became highly skilled in sonar operation, learning to interpret key underwater signals with precision. His performance reflected a strong sense of duty and a commitment to excellence—traits that would follow him into his acting career.
Operations in the Pacific Theater
After several months of hazardous missions, the USS Incredible was reassigned to the Black Sea, taking position at the Soviet naval base in Sevastopol, Crimea. There, Van Cleef and his crew collaborated with Allied forces to clear dangerous minefields, paving the way for safer naval operations. Their duties also included conducting air-sea rescues before the ship moved on to Palermo, Italy, and eventually returned to Norfolk, Virginia.
By the summer of 1945, the Incredible was redeployed to the Pacific to join Operation Skagway, a large-scale postwar mission focused on removing mines around the Ryukyu Islands and the East China Sea. Van Cleef completed his naval service on February 20, 1946, receiving an honorable discharge as a sonarman first class.
In recognition of his bravery, expertise, and steadfast commitment during the war, he was awarded multiple honors, including the Bronze Star, World War II Victory Medal, Good Conduct Medal, and a collection of campaign ribbons that acknowledged his service across both the European and Pacific theaters.
Lee Van Cleef decided to give acting a try
Following his military service, Lee Van Cleef returned to New Jersey, where he participated in community theater. He worked his way up and eventually found himself in Manhattan, at the behest of a talent scout. His big break came in the 1952 Western, High Noon, starring Gary Cooper. Van Cleef had actually been offered a more prominent role if he’d gotten a nose job, but he declined and, instead, played the villainous Jack Colby.
His role in High Noon greatly influenced Van Cleef’s career trajectory. Over the following decade, he appeared in many Westerns, usually playing the villain, and noir films. He also made a number of television appearances, acting on such shows as Annie Oakley (1954-57), The Rifleman (1958-63) and Gunsmoke (1955-75). Similar to his film career, the majority of these small screen productions were in the American Western genre.
Becoming a sought-after actor
In 1965, Sergio Leone cast Lee Van Cleef as the villain in For a Few Dollars More. His work opposite Clint Eastwood was so good that he was subsequently cast as the villain in The Good, the Bad and the Ugly (1966).
It was the latter role that made Van Cleef a star and much sought-after actor. He continued to appear in movies directed by Leone throughout the remainder of the 1960s, and also starred in such features as Death Rides a Horse (1967), Day of Anger (1967) and Sabata (1969).
While Van Cleef arguably made his biggest films in the 1960s, he kept on acting throughout the 1970s and ’80s. Some of his most notable movie appearances during this time included as Police Commissioner Bob Hauk in Escape from New York (1981) and as US Marshal Chris Adams in The Magnificent Seven Ride! (1972). He even appeared alongside famed action star Chuck Norris in 1980’s The Octagon.
Lee Van Cleef worked up until his death
Lee Van Cleef continued working up until his death, appearing in 90 films and receiving 109 television credits. On December 16, 1989, the famed actor suffered a heart attack at his California home and passed away. He’d been diagnosed with heart disease in the late 1970s and had since had a pacemaker installed. In the autopsy report, throat cancer was listed as a secondary cause.
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In recognition of his impact on the Western genre, many of those who attended Van Cleef’s funeral wore period-authentic clothing and cowboy hats. He was buried at Forest Lawn Memorial Park Cemetery in Hollywood Hills, California.