Lee Van Cleef rose to fame during the Golden Age of American Westerns, where his piercing eyes and rugged features made him the perfect on-screen villain. But off-screen, he had a very different role—as a real-life hero. Before making it in Hollywood, Van Cleef served honorably in the U.S. Navy during World War II, showing the same grit and focus that later made him a standout in classic films.
Lee Van Cleef enlisted in the US Navy
Clarence LeRoy “Lee” Van Cleef, Jr. was born on January 9, 1925. Raised in Somerville, New Jersey, he graduated early from high school with the intention of enlisting in the US Navy. By then, the United States was fully engaged in the Second World War, and the future Western star was eager to contribute.
Van Cleef completed basic training in late 1942 and subsequently attended Sonarman School. After finishing this phase, he was assigned the rank of sonarman third class and stationed on the submarine chaser USS SC-681. During this 10-month assignment, the ship was deployed to the Caribbean to search for German U-boats in the area.
When Van Cleef was ordered to leave the vessel to attend the 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 assigned to Savannah, Georgia, where he became part of the pre-commissioning crew for the minesweeper USS Incredible (AM-249). Following the ship’s shakedown cruise along the East Coast and through the Caribbean, Van Cleef and his crew were sent to Europe to assist in the Allied invasion of southern France.
While operating in the Mediterranean, the Incredible was tasked with finding and clearing enemy mines along the French coastline. In September 1944, the ship played a key role in preventing a German human torpedo attack on Allied vessels.
During this period, Van Cleef distinguished himself through his diligence and dedication. He consistently sought to learn and improve his skills, mastering the operation of sonar equipment and heightening his ability to interpret the critical data it provided.
Operations in the Pacific Theater
After six months of service, the USS Incredible was sent to the Black Sea, where it continued clearing mines while stationed at a Soviet naval base in Sevastopol, Crimea. During this deployment, the crew also conducted air-sea rescue patrols before eventually heading to Palermo, Italy. From there, they sailed back to their home port in Norfolk, Virginia.
By July 1945, the Incredible was deployed to the Pacific Theater. There, the ship and its crew participated in Operation Skagway, a post-war mission to clear mines in the waters around the Ryukyu Islands and the East China Sea. After completing his military service, Lee Van Cleef returned to the U.S. and was honorably discharged on February 20, 1946, holding the rank of sonarman first class.
In recognition of his service during World War II, Van Cleef was awarded multiple military awards, including the Bronze Star, the World War II Victory Medal, the Good Conduct Medal, the American Campaign Medal, the European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign Medal, and the Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal.
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.