Alfred Mulock 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. He is also known as the actor who died by suicide on the set of Once Upon a Time in the West.
Mulock committed suicide by jumping from his hotel room in Guadix, Granada, Spain, in May 1968, while filming Once Upon a Time in the West. He was wearing his cowboy-style costume at the time of his fall. 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.”
The reasons for the suicide were not clear, during the filming he suffered from depressive disorders. It was later learned that Alfred Mulock was a drug addict and it was impossible for him to find a dose for him in Guadix or to acquire medications that would alleviate his withdrawal syndrome.
This last spaghetti western by Sergio Leone, tells the story of Brett McBain, a widowed farmer who lives with his children in the poor area of the American West. He has prepared a welcome party for Jill, his future wife; but when she arrives, she discovers that McBain and his children have been murdered. The murderer is an unscrupulous villain played by Henry Fonda and Jill is a luxury prostitute who married for love, masterfully played by Claudia Cardinale. The cast is completed by Cheyenne (Jason Robards), a romantic bandit, and Morton (Gabriele Ferzetti), a ruthless business man who wants to take his railroad to the Pacific.
Alfred Mulock’s appearance in the film was very brief, the film begins at the Cattle Corner station, where three gunmen await the arrival of the train, from which a man will get off (Charles Bronson). The three gunmen are played by Woody Strode, Jack Elam and Alfred Mulock himself.
