Obituary - New York Times

Lee Van Cleef, 64;
Actor Was a Villain In Many Westerns

OXNARD, Calif., Dec. 16 (AP) - Lee Van Cleef, the film actor whose steely eyes and rugged features led to a long career portraying Western arch-villains, died Saturday, apparently of a heart attack at St. John's Regional Medical Center. He was 64 years old and lived in Oxnard.

Mr. Van Cleef, who had a history of heart disease, collapsed at his home, about 60 miles north of Los Angeles, late Friday night, said a deputy Ventura County coroner, Craig Stevens.

Mr. Van Cleef got his first film break as one of the desperadoes faced down by Gary Cooper in the 1952 movie "High Noon." He went on to play a series of gunmen and caught the eye of the Italian director Sergio Leone, famous for his "spaghetti Westerns."

Their association led to Mr. Van Cleef's starring in "The Good, the Bad and the Ugly," portraying "the bad."

Among Mr. Van Cleef's other film credits were the Westerns "A Fistful of Dollars" 'For a Few Dollars More," 'Take a Hard Ride," "Sabata," "El Condor" and "The Magnificent Seven Ride!"

"I believe in showing real violence, not toy violence," Mr. Van Cleef said in a 1970 interview. "Real violence turns you off because you know it's not the thing to do. if you show violence realistic enough, people don't want to do it."

Lee Van Cleef was born in Somerville, N.J., on Jan. 9,1925. His first job was as a farm worker in his home state. He then worked as an accountant in Somerville before beginning in his movie career in 1950.

He is survived by his wile, the former Barbara Havelone, and three children Prom a previous marriage, Alan, Deborah and David.

Escape From New York - Color Press Photos

Click 'em to make 'em bigger!

Grand Duel Trailer

aka - "The Big Showdown"

LVC Streaming Movies on Netflix

Those of you with a Netflix subscription can view a number of LVC films as part of your subscription. 

The lineup changes from time to time, but below is what is currently available.

Death Rides a Horse (Widescreen)

Machete

China Gate

The Badge of Marshal Brennan

Accused Of Murder

The Big Combo

The Bandits of Corsica

Kansas City Confidential

  

 This is a great way to catch some LVC films you may have missed!

eBay Watch: Rainman Custom 1/6 12" Lee Van Cleef

From time to time I will post interesting items that I see on eBay that would be of interest to a LVC fan. These are not endorsements of the sellers, just merely my observations of interesting or rare items.

There has never been a mass produced LVC action figure or statue available, but from time to time there are limited run or custom figures made.  This auction is for one of the finest I have seen.

About the item: You are bidding on one of only 15 produced custom Rainman Artwork Full Figure Set of the "Gunman 1873" showing Lee Van Cleef in his classic villan role as Col. Mortimer in Sergio Leone's "For a Few Dollars More". The South Korean 1/6 artist known as "Rainman" has become world known for his impeccably crafted, accurate figures. He possesses an uncanny sculpting ability to capture the essence of the character and his painted heads are truly works of art. Quality of this high caliber cannot be produced in large numbers. Typically, he will produce a very small number (15-20) of Full Sets which include everything and some extra items. There will also be "uniform sets" that come with painted heads, and then some unpainted head sculpts. All of which sell out within minutes of being put on sale. This is the Full Set of Gunman 1873 which includes the secret item which was the Colt brass frame "Cloverleaf" House Pistol.

The full set is as shown and includes:

• Headsculpt with hat (non removable) hand painted by Rainman
• Col. Mortimer's signature meerschaum pipe
• White shirt
• Vest
• Necktie
• Black jacket
• Pants
• Black long "duster" coat
• Leather boots
• Belt with holster
• Brass bullets (please note that full set did not come with enough rounds to totally fill belt)
• Colt Single Action Army "Buntline Special" long barreled pistol
• Colt brass frame "Cloverleaf" House Pistol
• Winchester Saddle Ring Carbine lever action rifle
• Hot Toys body with relaxed hands, gripping hands, neck post, and stand
• Custom Rainman Artwork box
• All paperwork including instructions, certificate of authenticity signed by Rainman

Condition: This item was purchased and on display in dust free showcase our store since purchasing direct in 2009. It is in new condition as received from Rainman. The long barreled single action pistol does have a small mark on the handle from where the figures hand has rested on it for the past 3 years (he was displayed in the pose shown above with the pipe and hand on pistol butt). The long barrel also has a slight bend to it. It was like this when it arrived from Rainman, but since it was going to be displayed in the holster, we did not care. I am only mentioning the smallest of defects to keep everything on the up and up. 

http://www.ebay.com/itm/110937667784?ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1438.l2649

SOLD FOR - $1,226.99

Photos below for archival purposes.  Click to enlarge.

Bad Man's River - Color Press Photos

"He's the badest man on Bad Man's River!" 
Enjoy the theme HERE!

Posted here are some color press photos from Bad Man's River.



Click 'em to make 'em bigger!

LVC Yearbook Photo

Thanks to some digging by some folks at the Lee Van Cleef Web Board, we have Lee's yearbook photo from Somerville High School in 1943!

For a Few Dollars More - LVC Pipe Replica Available

http://www.meerschaumpipe.us/lee-van-cleef-meerschaum-pipe.html

On the legendary LEE VAN CLEEF Pipe :  

The original pipe was smoked by Lee Vane Cleef ,also known as The Angel Eye in the movie "For a few dollars more". It was a meerschaum pipe made by WDC meerschaum pipes of Vienna. It's stem was a Lucite stem in the movie and it was a replace stem since the original stems of WDC pipes were made of amber.  

We are providing you Lee Van Cleef pipe as close as it can be made.Our Carver İzzet has been carving Lee Van Cleef pipes for many years to the people who reach him knowing his skills.We are now bringing it to you ..  

Your Lee Van Cleed pipe is carved out of strictly selected Sarısu meerschaum blocks, which are literally the highest quality meerschaum blocks in the world , also used by greatest Austrian Meerschaum Brands in 19th century and earlier ,gathered from Sarısu village in Eskişehir.Real meerschaum pipe providers use only Sarısu meerschaum blocks which are also described as the highest grade,highest quality or finest quality.. Happy Smokes to All.. Yavuz Korpefiliz Ceo / Storient Meerschaums

Total cost of $148

Barquero - Poster Gallery

Click to enlarge

Who or What is "Little Lee"?

I've gotten a few questions over the years as to what the signifigance of, and who drew the LVC caricuture that is on the logos for theBad.net, Web Board, and Blog.  Obviously it is a drawing of LVC from the final shootout in The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly.  If you don't know that you shouldn't be here!

There is more to it than that of course.  "Little Lee" was actually drawn by Lee Van Cleef himself on a 3x5 autographed index card!

Suntory Old Whisky Commercials

Another great YouTube find.  Looks to be from around the mid-80's.  Probably my favorite LVC commercial.



60 second spot





30 second spot

If you like the song you can download it here

Stranger and Gunfighter - Color Press Photos

aka Blood Money...

Click 'em to make 'em larger!

Take a Hard Ride - NY Times Review - October 1975

By VINCENT CANBY

Published: October 30, 1975

"Take a Hard Ride," which opened at three theaters on Tuesday, is a black Western that has something of the ingenuousness of a story being made up by a child as he tells it to his friends. It goes on and on—it lurches, really — in little fits and starts of inspiration from dimly remembered earlier movies.

It's about an honest cowboy (Jim Brown), a cheerfully dishonest gambler (Fred Williamson) and a mute Indian scout (Jim Kelly) and their efforts to transport $86,000 across hundreds of miles of Western wilderness to the families to whom it belongs in Mexico. The trail is fraught with dangers, and busier than Eighth Avenue on a Saturday night. There's a gun waiting behind every bush and lots of incredibly good marksmanship by the stars, and incredibly bad marksmanship by the villains, which is the only way a movie like this keeps going.

The villains include Lee Van Cleef and Barry Sullivan and are mostly white. The film was shot in the Canary Islands by an Italian director who calls himself Anthony M. Dawson, though his name is actually Antonio Margheriti.

Mr. Williamson works hard to achieve a light touch but all his efforts are immediately absorbed by Mr. Brown, whose impassive performance acts as a kind of blotter. The two have a long way to go before they give Paul Newman and Robert Redford any competition.



TAKE A HARD RIDE, directed by Anthony M. Dawson; screenplay by Eric Bercovici and Jerry Ludwig; produced by Harry Bernsen; director of photography, Riccardo Pailotini; music, Jerry Goldsmith; editor, Stanford C. Allen; a Bernsen-Ludwig-Bercovici production, distributed by 20th Century-Fox. Running time: 103 minutes. At the Cinerama Theater, Broadway near 47th Street, RKO 86th Street Twin One Theater, 86th Street near Lexington Avenue and Colosseum Theater, Broadway at 161st Street. This film has been rated PG.


Pike . . . . . Jim Brown
Kiefer . . . . . Lee Van Cleef
Tyree . . . . . Fred Williamson
Catherine . . . . . Catherine Spaak
Kashtok . . . . . Jim Kelly
Morgan . . . . . Dana Andrews
Kane . . . . . Barry Sullivan
Dumper . . . . . Harry Carey Jr.
Skave . . . . . Robert Donner

Octagon Coming to Blu-ray (UK)

With a release date of August 6th, The Octagon comes to blu-ray in the UK (region B).  No word on a US release.

Scott James is a man haunted by memories, eerie flashbacks that plague both his waking and sleeping hours. The first is a childhood memory relating to the intense and rigorous combat training he and his best friend endured under the guidance of a mysterious martial arts master. The second is a far more painful recollection of loss, and one that has turned Scott away from his former life. But when a wealthy heiress convinces him to enter the fray once more, Scott finds himself drawn into an international terrorist organisation consisting of deadly ninjas, at the head of which is a close acquaintance from his past. Now it is up to Scott to confront his worst fears and battle a former adversary in the ultimate ninja showdown.

Special Features:

• Making Of Featurette
• How America Changed Hollywood Forever
• Trailer
• TV Spot
• Director's Commentary

It would also seem this disc was released in Austraila on July 5, 2012.

Also region B. 

No details on extra features.