January 9 Birthday Wishes

Lee Van Cleef [1925 - 1989]

Howdy Manco!!

Well, Happy Birthday Angel Eyes!! This fella appeared in some of the most well known westerns of all time, including High Noon with Gary Cooper , The Man Who Shot Liberty Valence, with the Duke, all the way through The Good , The Bad And The Ugly with Clint Eastwood. Not to mention the fact that he also appeared in almost every t.v. western series, you can name. One of, if not the most prolific western villians ever!! Anyone who watches westerns is familiar with those beady l'il eyes of his. Having resurrected his career with the Easwood spaghetti trilogy, he went on to become an international star in Europe with the Sabata series, GOD'S Gun, Death Rides A Horse and too many to list here. Many western fans thought he was evil personified!! One of the baddest of the bad.
Have a good'un Lee!!

Ed

Not a bad way to start your career appearing in HIGH NOON. I learned his name early and followed his career until his death. I was glad to see him become a star in the mid-60s as an anti-hero. Other TV badmen who became big names in the 60s were Charles Bronson, James Coburn, Jack Elam and Jack Palance. Nice to see their long careers rewarded in later life. Thanks for the memories.

We first called Lee Van Cleef the mysterious guy cause we always recognized him but didn't know his name until Yellow Tomahawk. He was in the same group as Bob Wilke, John Doucette, & Jack Elam. Always recognized them but not their name until Wilke (Smoke Signal), Elam (Ride Clear of Diablo) & Doucette (a tv western called Night Ride to Butte). Always enjoyed the work of these four western badmen.

VanCleef (How the West was Won), Wilke (The Magnificent Seven), Elam (Rawhide, the Tyrone Power movie on Saturday Night at the Movies), Doucette (The Sons of Katie Elder).

Robert Wilke is one of those guys, when I see him I say, "That guy that plays the undertaker in the Magnificent Seven", but can never remember the name!

Guys I used to work with years ago used to talk about L.Q. Jones, and I had no idea who he was until I bought the DVD of Hang 'em High! Of course, that was before I got on internet, too. IMDB is a blessing!

Howdy Tinhorn!!

Pard, Robert Wilke is the fella that challenged James Coburn, early in The Magnificent Seven film, to see who was the fastest. Coburn with the knife or Wilke with his gun. They first used a tin can beside Coburn and a pole beside Wilke. When they tied, Wilke insisted that he beat him and forced Coburn to play for keeps!! Coburn put the knife through Wilke's chest and ended the argument!!

Ed

Thanks, Ed. See...that's how much I know! This forum is becoming educational! Maybe I'm thinking of Whit Bissel....?