Line #11 Creator/LeeVanCleef


1	[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/lee_van_cleef_9.jpg]]
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3	->''"A lot of actors think that the more words they have, the more attention they get. That's bullshit. I make people ''look'' at me. I don't have to say a lot of words."''
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5	One of the first faces to come to mind when you think of the phrase "[[TheWestern Western]] villain", Clarence Leroy Van Cleef (January 9, 1925 – December 16, 1989) began acting in theater, playing small off-Broadway roles until he was cast in a touring company of ''Literature/MisterRoberts''. From there, Van Cleef started out in film as one of the villain's henchmen in ''Film/HighNoon'' (a bit part he apparently got because the director thought he had an evil-looking face) and went on playing {{mook}}s in various Westerns and [[FilmNoir films noirs]] during the 1950s. Then his career gradually fizzled out, partly because he'd injured his leg badly in a car accident but likely also because he had a drinking problem. In the mid-'60s, Creator/SergioLeone resurrected Van Cleef's career by giving him major supporting roles in ''Film/ForAFewDollarsMore'' and ''Film/TheGoodTheBadAndTheUgly'', which brought him to stardom in Europe. He continued to star in [[SpaghettiWestern spaghetti westerns]] for much of his subsequent career.
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7	Van Cleef reportedly claimed to be [[QuickDraw faster on the draw]] than Creator/ClintEastwood in real life. A sequence at the climax of ''For a Few Dollars More'' shows him drawing, cocking and firing a gun in three frames of footage, which translates to roughly one-eighth of a second. He's also one of relatively few actors to appear in more than one movie on ''Series/MysteryScienceTheater3000'' (he was in both ''Film/ItConqueredTheWorld'' and ''Series/MasterNinja'', the two 'movies' both being riffed on). He was [[RedRightHand missing the tip of his middle finger on his right hand]], as a result of an attempt to make a playhouse for one of his daughters.
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9	Of course, while he's most known for playing the main antagonist of ''The Good, the Bad and the Ugly'', he's also played heroic (or at least sympathetic) characters on more than a few occasions, including ''For a Few Dollars More'' and most of the other spaghetti westerns he appeared in.
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11	Van Cleef's health began to decline in the late-1970s as he started suffering from heart disease, but in spite of this he continued his work as an actor until his death. He eventually passed away from a heart attack (with throat cancer listed as a secondary cause) in December 1989, at the age of 64.
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13	[[FountainOfExpies Characters based on Van Cleef's appearance and/or the type of character]] he tended to play include [[VideoGame/MetalGearSolid Revolver Ocelot]], [[VideoGame/MetalGearSolid4GunsOfThePatriots Old Snake]], [[VideoGame/MetalGearSolidVThePhantomPain Skull Face]], [[Literature/HisDarkMaterials Lee Scoresby]], [[WesternAnimation/StarWarsTheCloneWars Cad Bane]], [[WesternAnimation/{{Rango}} Rattlesnake Jake]], [[{{Series/Firefly}} Jayne Cobb]], [[Film/ShanghaiNoon Marshall Nathan]] [[ShoutOut Van Cleef]], [[VideoGame/WorldOfWarcraft Edwin Vancleef]], [[ComicBook/LuckyLuke Elliot Belt]], [[VideoGame/{{Desperados}} Arthur “Doc” McCoy]], and [[VideoGame/RedDeadRedemption Dutch van der Linde]].
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16	!!Selected filmography:
17	* ''Film/HighNoon'' (1952)
18	* ''Film/TheBeastFromTwentyThousandFathoms'' (1953)
19	* ''Film/{{Tumbleweed}}'' (1953)
20	* ''Film/ItConqueredTheWorld'' (1956)
21	* ''Film/JoeDakota'' (1957)
22	* ''Film/TheBravados'' (1958)
23	* ''Film/RideLonesome'' (1959)
24	* ''Film/TheManWhoShotLibertyValance'' (1962)
25	* ''Film/HowTheWestWasWon'' (1962)
26	* ''Film/ForAFewDollarsMore'' (1965)
27	* ''Film/TheGoodTheBadAndTheUgly'' (1966)
28	* ''Film/DeathRidesAHorse'' (1967; he preferred the Italian title, ''From Man to Man'')
29	* ''Film/AlDiLaDellaLegge'' (1968)
30	* ''Film/TheSabataTrilogy'' (1969, 1971; in the first and third films of the trilogy)
31	* ''Film/TheGrandDuel'' (1972)
32	* ''Film/GodsGun'' (1976)
33	* ''Film/EscapeFromNewYork'' (1981)
34	* ''Series/MasterNinja'' (1984)
35	* ''Film/ArmedResponse'' (1986)
36	* ''Film/ThievesOfFortune'' (1990; his last film appearance)
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39	!!His works provides examples of:
40	* ManlyFacialHair: His iconic moustache is so badass that it's been used to homage him in many works.
41	* PlayingAgainstType:
42	** Hero or villain, his characters were usually the confident, focused type. In ''Film/TheBravados'', his character, Alfonso Parral, was a pathetic, desperate thug.
43	** He also played an arrogant hothead in ''Film/TheNebraskan''.
44	* SmokingIsCool: Expect him to smoke a ciggie in plenty of his Western-themed films.
45	* TypeCasting: Hero or villain, his characters were often cold and brooding.
46	* VillainousCheekbones: His hawkish features meant he was cast as a lot of villains. Averted with Colonel Mortimer in ''Film/ForAFewDollarsMore''.
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48	->''"But you know the pity is when I'm paid, I always follow my job through. You know that."''

Context Creator / LeeVanCleef