Editing Lee Van Cleef (section)

=== Stardom with ''For a Few  Dollars More'' and ''The Good, the Bad and the Ugly'' ===
[[File:LeeVanCleefDeathridesahorse.gif|thumb|Van Cleef in ''[[Death Rides a Horse]]'' (1967)]]
In 1965, [[Sergio Leone|Leone]] cast Van Cleef, whose career had yet to take off, as a main protagonist alongside [[Clint Eastwood]] in ''For a Few Dollars More''.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://eu.poughkeepsiejournal.com/story/entertainment/2018/10/17/lee-van-cleef-iconic-presence-spaghetti-western-genre/1663603002/ |title=Lee Van Cleef was an iconic presence in the veteran villain category of film |last=Robinson |first=Larry |date=December 12, 2019 |website=Poughkeepsie Journal |access-date=September 8, 2020}}</ref> Leone then chose Van Cleef to appear again with Eastwood, this time as the primary antagonist, Angel Eyes, in the now seminal Western ''The Good, the Bad and the Ugly'' (1966). 

With his roles in Leone's films, Van Cleef became a major star of spaghetti Westerns, playing central, and often surprisingly heroic, roles in films such as ''[[The Big Gundown]]'' (1966), ''[[Death Rides a Horse]]'' (1967), ''[[Day of Anger]]'' (1967), and ''[[The Grand Duel]]'' (1972). He played the title role in ''[[Sabata (film)|Sabata]]'' (1969) and ''[[Return of Sabata]]'' (1971). Van Cleef starred in the Kung fu Spaghetti Western ''[[The Stranger and the Gunfighter]]'' and co-starred with [[Jim Brown]] in an Italian-American co-production, ''[[Take a Hard Ride]]'' (1975). In two of his final Westerns, he co-starred with [[Leif Garrett]] in ''[[God's Gun]]'' (1976) and ''Kid Vengeance'' (1977), both of which were filmed mainly in Israel. During the 1970s, Van Cleef also had leading roles in American Westerns, such as ''[[Barquero]]'' (1970), ''[[El Condor (film)|El Condor]]'' (1970) and ''[[The Magnificent Seven Ride!]]'' (1972). Van Cleef would later star alongside [[Patrick McGoohan]] in the [[John Boorman]] produced crime thriller ''[[The Hard Way (1980 film)|The Hard Way]]'' (1980). 

Van Cleef starred alongside [[Chuck Norris]] in the martial-arts film ''[[The Octagon (film)|The Octagon]]'' (1980). Van Cleef later had a supporting role in [[John Carpenter]]'s [[cult film]] ''[[Escape from New York]]'' (1981).<ref>{{cite news |url=https://eu.democratandchronicle.com/story/lifestyle/entertainment/2015/05/27/jacks-plan-escape-new-york/27957439/ |title=Jack's Plan B: 'Escape from New York' |last=Garner |first=Jack |date=May 27, 2015 |access-date=August 20, 2018 |newspaper=[[Rochester Democrat and Chronicle]] |publisher=[[Gannett]]}}</ref> He slipped out of the limelight in his later years.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1989-12-17-mn-1417-story.html|title=Cowboy Film Villain Lee Van Cleef Dies|date=December 17, 1989|newspaper=[[Los Angeles Times]]|access-date=February 15, 2022}}</ref> In 1984, he was cast as a [[ninja]] master in the NBC adventure series ''[[The Master (American TV series)|The Master]]'', but it was canceled after 13 episodes. Van Cleef also appeared alongside [[David Carradine]] in ''[[Armed Response (1986 film)|Armed Response]] '' (1986). In all, Van Cleef is credited with 90 movie roles and 109 television appearances over a 38-year span.