| Al Mulock | |
| Birth Name: | Alfred Mulock Rogers |
| Birth Date: | 30 June 1926 |
| Birth Place: | Toronto, Ontario, Canada |
| Death Date: | May 1968 (aged 41) |
| Death Place: | Guadix, Granada, Spain |
| Yearsactive: | 1955–1968 |
| Spouse: | Steffi Henderson (? – 1967; her death) |
| Children: | 1 |
| Relatives: | Sir William Mulock (great grandfather) |
| Occupation: | Actor |
| Known For: | "One-armed bounty hunter" in The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly "Knuckles" in Once Upon a Time in the West |
Alfred Mulock Rogers (June 30, 1926 – May 1968), better known as Al Mulock or Al Mulloch, was a Canadian character actor.[1]
Alfred Mulock Rogers was born on June 30, 1926, in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. He was the only child of Adèle Cawthra Mulock and Alfred Rogers. Maternally he was descended from the Mulock family, headed by Sir William Mulock KCMG, the former Postmaster-General of Canada and one of the wealthiest families in the then-Dominion of Canada.
He attended the Lee Strasberg's Actors Studio in New York City, United States. Then, with David de Keyser, he started The London Studio, which taught method acting to British actors. Mulock became active in the British film industry in the 1950s and early 1960s, making numerous appearances in various British television series and films.
He is best known for his roles in Spaghetti Western films, most notably in his two collaborations with Sergio Leone, The Good, the Bad and the Ugly and Once Upon a Time in the West. He appears, and is memorably shot in each film: by Eli Wallach's character, Tuco, in the former and by Charles Bronson's character (in a shoot out along with two others) in the opening scene of the latter.
Mulock died by suicide by jumping from his hotel room in Guadix, Granada, Spain, in May 1968, while filming for Once Upon a Time in the West.[2] He was wearing his cowboy-style costume at the time of his fall.[3] Mickey Knox, screenwriter for the film, and production manager Claudio Mancini witnessed Mulock's suicide as his body passed their hotel window near the end of the shoot. Mulock survived the fall, but suffered a pierced lung from a broken rib during the bumpy ride to the hospital. Before being taken away in the ambulance, director Sergio Leone shouted, "Get the costume, we need the costume."[4]
Al Mulock was the great-grandson of Sir William Mulock, the former Canadian Postmaster-General. He was married to actress Steffi Henderson; she died in 1967. They had one child named Robin Mulock - now named Eclipse Neilson who is a screenwriter and artist.