Lee Van Cleef

Birth Name: Clarence LeRoy Van Cleef, Jr.

Date of Birth: January 9, 1925

Place of Birth: Somerville, New Jersey, U.S.

Date of Death: December 16, 1989

Place of Death: Oxnard, California, U.S.

Ethnicity: Dutch, along with distant French, Swedish, Belgian Flemish, English, and German

Lee Van Cleef was an American actor.

Lee was the son of Maria/Marion Lavinia/Levinia (van Fleet) and Clarence LeRoy Van Cleef, Sr. Both of his parents were of mostly Dutch ancestry, and his family tree also included distant bits of French, Swedish, Belgian, English, and German, ancestry.

Most lines of his family tree had been in the United States since the 1600s.

Lee was married to Barbara Havelone, until his death. He had three children with his former wife Patsy Ruth Kahle; and a daughter with his former wife Joan Marjorie Drane.

Lee’s patrilineal line can be traced to Jan Cornelisse van Cleve/Cleef, who was born, c. 1627, and to his wife, Engeltje Louwerens Pietersen/Pieterse.

Lee’s paternal grandfather was Clarence V. Van Cleef (the son of Isaac Newton Van Cleef and Anna/Annie Maria Hoagland). Isaac was the son of John I. Van Cleef and Elizabeth Wyckoff Van Doren/Doran. Anna was the daughter of James Vanderveer Hoagland and Margaret Hammer.

Lee’s paternal grandmother was Alice A. Apgar (the daughter of George Voorhees Apgar and Isabella/Isabel Brokaw). George was the son of Henry Hoffman Apgar and Frances M. Lance. Isabella was the daughter of James Vanderveer Brokaw and Elizabeth Baird.

Lee’s maternal grandfather was Gilbert Kennedy Van Fleet (the son of Andrew Van Fleet/VanFleet and Catharine/Catherine Ann Barkman). Andrew was the son of John Van Fleet/VanFleet and Eleanor “Nellie” Van Sickle/Syckle/VanSickle. Catharine was the daughter of Jonathan Barkman and Sarah Felmly.

Lee’s maternal grandmother was Cornelia Isabel/Isabella Little (the daughter of Samuel Barclay Little/Liddle and Elizabeth Amerman). Samuel was the son of John Little/Liddle and Joanna/Johanna Dumont.

Source: Genealogy of Lee Van Cleef (focusing on his father’s side) – https://www.geni.com

17 Responses

  1. Virulent says:

    interesting looking man, his nose looked Semitic and his eyes were Asiatic. would suspect some Native heritage.

    either way can someone on here add a picture? the copyright is expired on this one:

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Lee_Van_Cleef_in_Kansas_City_Confidential.jpg

  2. Rekta says:

    He doesn’t look Dutch at all, he looks too exotic to be 100% Western/Northern European.

  3. andrew says:

    probably he had some ancestry from Indonesia via Netherlands

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