Born Clarence Leroy Van Cleef, Jr, better known as Lee Van Cleef, led a regular life as a child, but grew up to do great things, such great things that made him qualified to be inducted into the Hall of Great Western Performers. Van Cleef worked miscellaneous jobs such as accounting until he could finally utilize his skills in acting. Throughout his career, he has shown great perseverance through many struggles, performed in multiple major films alongside popular actors while accomplishing so much not only in film, but in his military career as well, and has shone a different light on western film with his integrity and passion. At the age of seventeen, Van Cleef graduated high school early just so he could join the United States Navy (Who is Lee Van Cleef? Everything You Need to Know). It took great courage to enlist at such a young age, especially when you have dreams of a career outside of the military. He persevered through four years of service in the Navy until he was dishcharged after the war in March 1946 and was awarded The Good Conduct…show more content… Van Cleef has exemplified that throughout his lifetime in film. According to the article “The ‘Bad’ from Leone's Spaghetti Western, Lee Van Cleef Was in Fact a WWII Veteran,” “Lee Van Cleef filled a more significant role than any character in a movie. The man who played...an outlaw...was a World War II hero in real life,” Many actors that play in western or war movies have no idea what it’s actually like to be part of a war, to see things that you cannot unsee, and to put your life on the line every day. This isn’t the case for Lee Van Cleef. Although the military does not have much to do with a career in film, his accomplishments through the Navy demonstrate his character of integrity, virtue, and
