John Bunny

However, John Bunny was eventually honored for his contribution to the motion picture industry with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 1715 Vine Street in Hollywood. He also appeared as a villainous swindler in the Bonanza episode, The Bloodline (December 31, 1960). Following his passing, advances in technology and in stunts brought great new comedic stars to silent film that relegated John Bunny to the status of an almost completely-forgotten actor. Van Cleef also appeared in John Carpenter's cult hit Escape from New York. Because silent film had no language barrier, Bunny's popularity was such that his death was front-page news in Europe as well as the United States. He appeared with Clint Eastwood in For a Few Dollars More and The Good, the Bad and the Ugly. John Bunny had only been acting in films for five years when he passed away from Bright's disease and was interred in the Cemetery of the Evergreens in Brooklyn, New York. His first film was the classic Western High Noon, in which he played a villain.

By 1910, Bunny was working at Vitagraph Studios where the happy-go-lucky, rotund man quickly became an international star of silent film comedies. Van Cleef served in the United States Navy during World War II and became an actor after a brief career as an accountant. He went on to jobs as stage manager for various stock companies and performed in vaudeville before being drawn to the fledgling motion picture business. However, Van Cleef occasionally played heroes. John Bunny attended High School in Brooklyn and worked as a grocery clerk before joining a small minstrel show touring the East Coast. His sharp features and piercing eyes made him an ideal "bad guy". John Bunny, born September 21, 1863 in New York City, United States – died April 26, 1915 in Brooklyn, New York, was the first comic star of the American silent film era. Lee Van Cleef (January 9, 1925 - December 16, 1989) was a movie actor, who appeared mostly in Western and action pictures.