An amazing actor Lee Van Cleff, I love his movies. Some say he played the role of bad characters. They just didn't know what they were looking at.In his movies he played really good characters. I love you Lee.RIP.
This man was such a hero Clint, Eli and Lee made the PERFECT movie If someone told me I have only 3 more hours to live, I would watch 'The Good, The Bad and the Ugly' one more time
My grandpa lee van cleef the great western actor who will always be missed r.i.p my uncle lee van cleef ( Jan 9, 1925 - dec 16, 1989 ) “best of the bad” love and light
Your uncle is a légende ... What a charismatique personality ... And a wonderful acting ... R.I.P master Lee ... Your fan from algeria ... Salutations ....
For some reason, I am just so fascinated by Lee, more so than Clint or anyone. He truly is a mystifying phenomenon - doesn’t often do interviews, did not get the recognition he deserved and not to mention his peculiar looks. I am glad he got to witness the success of his defining movie.
Because there not plus the ideas today for movie's are all the same generic rehashed crap with lousy acting and to much special effects, and honestly today's actors aren't even on the same level as Wayne, Stewart, Fonda etc.
You hit the nail on the head about the men being feminised and unfortunately that's flowed over into society also, our kids aren't even allowed to be boy's and girls anymore.
Some people haven't yet realised how magical it was to hear Lee van Cleef speak, in such a low, badass voice that the whole audience is silent, and how even more magical it was to hear Angel Eyes say "so I took my pants off and pirouetted..."
Lee Van Cleef, Jack Palance, Lee Marvin, Ernest Borgnine....they were actors!!! They were people who conveyed emotion with just a glance! Great performers!!
I've always been more intrigued by the actors without the perfect looks. The Lee Van Cleefs, Jack Palance, Bogart. From that time, keep the Alan Ladd's and Rock Hudsons. I like the guy who looks like he's had his nose broken. Van Cleef had the facinating eyes.
One day I found his headstone by chance. His epitaph says, as I recall, THE BEST OF THE BAD. This interview tells why. I miss the old ones. Yes, they had class.
So you found his headstone on google then where it's a well known fact his epitaph say's the best of the bad, then tried to change it into a more interesting story....
I like the contrast when Van Cleef walks out. Here's a guy confident and at total ease with himself, unconcerned about his lack of hair, being greeted by the previous guest, Tony Bennet, wearing his obvious rug. I like the Van Cleefs of this world.
Truly, one of the most legendary actors of all time. His performances in The Rifleman, Gunsmoke, The Twilight Zone and not to mention "For a Few Dollars More" and "The Good the Bad and the Ugly" have made him immortal. Under the right directors, he was one of the best character actors who ever lived.
Vera Evans I tsink he is (was) a real ninja also B'cause strangely he remembered meeting Johhny Carson @ a certain place & @ a certain time. Sadly, he crossed over from this life just one year after this Nterview:(
It didn't matter if he was in High Noon, The Rifleman, Bonanza, or The Good the Bad and the Ugly. The man could communicate pure menace with just a look. Good acting is harder than one would ever imagine. Van Cleef seemed to be a real professional in his craft....and a basically decent guy you wouldn't want to mess with.
I met Lee in 1961 when I was 17. I was in the county jail in Salem Mass. He was in for failing to pay alimony. His ex wife had him arrested. We played poker most of the time. He didn't tell me he was an actor for quite a while. I asked him what he was in and he told me he was in three episodes of the rifleman as three different bad guys and was killed by Chuck Connors three times. He said that his nose was what got him bad guy roles. I looked it up and he was in a lot of movies and TV shows before I met him. He even killed Godzilla in the American version of the first film. He was the soldier who fired the fatal shot. He was a great guy and he smuggled donuts in to me when I got thrown into solitary confinement. I've watched him in a lot of movies since then and always expected him to do in a movie what got me into solitary.
@@brushcountry6361 I bet not many people played poker with Lee Van Cleef in a jail cell. If it wasn't for that I would never have told anyone that I was in jail.
The movie was just on Svengoolie the other night and it's the beast from 20,000 fathoms that he kills with a radioactive projectile fired into the monster's neck wound.
His performance as the pipe smoking Colonel in the Clint films was so believable it puts most modern actors to shame, a performance like that is worth 10's millions dollars of special effects and CGI.
One of the greats, it's nice to hear him at this point, still sounding like he's just stepped off a spaghetti western set and willing to make fun of himself so gracefully. A quality gent.
Lee seemed a humble and gentle guy. I love the end to For a Few Dollars More. Beautiful denouement to a dazzling movie! Great music cues by Ennio. When movies had heart.
This man was an incredible actor. If you haven't seen "For a few dollars More" or "The good, the bad and the ugly" you should add these classics to your list.
I remember after my first viewing of "For a few dollars more", 25+ years ago, I had such a huge crush on Mr. Van Cleef...which only grew with subsequent movies I saw him in. He was such a good actor he could play the villain or the good guy with equal ease. You will always be missed Mr. Van Cleef - if only we had actors of your caliber today.
Eleni Fokea I second your statements. Damn, my eleven year old self fell hard for this man. It never went away. I'm over forty now. Colonel Mortimer forever!
I couldn't agree more! I thought I was the only one! People talk alot about "The Good, The Bad And The Ugly" (perhaps because the title itself is so iconic), but NOTHING beats the shoot out of the hats between Clint Eastwood and Lee Van Cleef in "For A Few Dollars More"! Plus....it has Klaus Kinski in it, of all people!
This is the first interview I've ever seen of Lee; he transmits a real stage presence, wow. A true professional. His role in 'For A Few Dollars More', in my opinion, was his best.
I like the way he tells a story! Lee Van Cleef seems like a really down to earth person. I would have loved to have met him!! I would have thanked him profusely for his work in The Good, The Bad and the Ugly and For a Few Dollars More.
Such a charismatic man in real life too, thank you for this video. I'll never understand why some critics say he's not a good actor. A good actor is someone you still want to watch and rewatch 33 years after he passed away. That's what Lee Van Cleef is, I never get tired of him. I'm currently watching Barquero, he's so good in it. RIP Lee you are missed ❤
My grandpa lee van cleef was the best actor, shooter, and uncle my uncle lee knew how to be in films and that was great I wish my uncle lee didn’t die in 1989 so he could still be here today acting at 94 but sadly he got taking away at 64 in 1989 from a heart attack. R.i.p uncle Clarence leroy van cleef jr. aka lee van cleef ( Jan 9, 1925 - dec 16, 1989 ) “best of the bad” love and light
I thought his film The Big Gun down held its own and more againt the Dollar movies along with Thomas Milan I watch it so much was blown away on first seeing it in the 60s and the soundtrack was superb loved the Song Run Man Run. He was super cool Lee Van Cleef
+Sohayb Megraoui Most were patriots as well. Lee served from 1942 to 1946 in the U.S. Navy, right in the thick of WWII. See how many liberal commie conscientious objector actors would bother with that today. They were part of the greatest generation, its proven. The MOST decorated WWII veteran was actor Audie Murphy. Look him up, he was flat out amazing, a true Nazi killer.
Eric Peterson, George W. Bush avoided the Vietnam War by joining the Texas Air National Guard, which had zero chance of being deployed to Vietnam. He then went AWOL from his service, before deserting his service obligations totally. Donald Trump avoided being drafted and sent to Vietnam by getting his rich daddy to bribe a doctor to write a bogus medical report claiming that Trump had "heel spurs" in one of his feet (he couldn't remember which foot when later questioned about it). John Wayne, an uber-patriotic, far-right conservative, avoided fighting in WW2 by refusing to join up and serve, while many of his costars willingly served (Henry Fonda was older and had children, and still served). So, take your claims that liberals avoided military service and shove it.
+Mark Adkins Many do, that's a fact my friend. I've served this country, and was a liberal, but the point you seem to be missing is that patriotism and liberalism have "split", i.e. "classic liberalism" is no longer the "liberalism" of the past, one of the best examples being Thomas Jefferson. Liberals now are all about "equality of outcomes", i.e. communism, as opposed to "equality of individuals" and its easily seen. No reverence for the Constitution, unless of course it applies to THEM. Hypocrisy at its finest. What's happened is that the communists have taken over and are using the party. If you don't believe that, simply read the admissions on this page, and then think about the "divide and conquer" tactics used based on race, class and other non stop "Saul Alinsky tact" fallacious arguments, AGW included: www.thenewamerican.com/usnews/politics/item/19997-top-u-s-communist-boasts-that-party-utilizes-democrats If in fact you are a classic or old school liberal and not a marxist thinker, you will agree. Based on the recent elections since 2010, and the LOSS of over 1300 democrat political seats nationwide, the "new liberal" ideology of marxism is being rejected, and with good reason. We were just speaking of WWII and its more than easy to see for those who use something known as "common sense" that the ideology murders those it governs and does so time and time and time again, most recently Venezuela and its failures, but also Castro's Cuba proves the same. Obviously Castro had a "penchant" for firing squads, yet idiot liberals of today believe the sun shined out his ass, just as they revere Mao and his "Great Leap Forward" that murdered and starved over 45 million Chinese: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mass_killings_under_Communist_regimes www.frontpagemag.com/fpm/180318/reign-evil-look-back-vicious-rule-hugo-chavez-arnold-ahlert www.heritage.org/research/commentary/2010/02/the-legacy-of-mao-zedong-is-mass-murder
What an amazing and underrated actor. I honestly think he is up there with the top 5 of all time and I think he even easily has a good chance with competing with people such as John Wayne and Clint Eastwood for the best western actor spot. The only thing I regret, is being born in 1988 and not having the opportunity to be around at the age where he was alive when I could have really appreciated him. But I do give him my condolences and gratitude. I remember when I was about 12 years old. All the kids called westerns "old grandpa movies". Then one day I was flipping through the channels and I caught (The Good The Bad and The Ugly) on TV. At first the movie simply caught my attention. Then it pulled me into it. Eventually I forgot I was watching a movie. I became so mesmerized by the film I forgot I was watching a movie. I became sucked in like I was actually there (and how shocked I was that something that most kids called a "grandpa film" was such an adventure and escape from reality). I eventually became very grateful that the film was as long as it was because throughout it I was hoping it would keep going on. However when it finally ended, it did so on a perfect note. I remember literally sitting there in awe just staring at the screen for a good five minutes. It really was a work of art. Lee Van Cleef was such a good actor that he made eating a bowl of stew look frightening. Last I checked nobody in the past 20 years has pulled off that kind of acting. Eastwood did a proportionally good job as well in the film but I think Van Cleef stole the film. Like I said though I am almost kind of sad that I didn't grow up in the time when he was still around. That way he would still have been a living legend to me. However in a sense he is an eternal legend in my heart. And I probably am going to have a nervous breakdown when the sad day comes that I find out Clint Eastwood has passed away.
+remsensor You've said everything for me. A fine tribute, to a fine man & actor. I want to read his bio, there's so much steel in the man, that came out in his acting. Another favourite of mine, was Jack Palance, even similar features Hank Marvin, another veteran, who himself, really got shot "in the ass, for not keeping his head down" Now, I'd like to see moncorp 1 just tell Clint Eastwood, face ro face, he's too old!.
Of course he was a stage actor. Just watch the finale of the ''For a few dollars more''. Phenomenal acting. With in 2 minutes he takes you through all the emotions using only his eyes
I've only started digging into his works since Morricone passed away. I totally agree with you yes no matter how bad the movie is, he himself is worthy of watching. the way he carried himself and his unique face. such a great face, as Sergio Leone once said.
People always give his TV series "The Master" a lot of crap and I never understood why. He was so great in that role and played perfectly with Tim Van Patten. It was very 80's for sure and that's why I still love it to this day. It showed a different side of this classic actor.
Lee Van Cleef his look talked for itself a real tough rugged cool actor who made great legendary westerns so original and authentic character one of the last of the best
This man has been one of the most incredible and happy memories of my infance. Thanks to my father western's fan i meet all this actors, Clint eastwood, ellie Wallace and angels eyes mr Lee Van Cliff. 39 years old and still need to see it. From Argentina, Thanks for all and god bless you Lee Van Cliff eternal
