In previous posts I’ve identified ‘Half-Soldier’ from the 1966’s “The Good, the Bad and the Ugly” as a certain Alfonso Veady which I took from a post on Facebook in 2019. Apparently, this was not complete information. ‘Half-Soldiers’ daughter appeared at Sad Hill Cemetery recently where they erected a cross in his name which is actually John Dionysius. His daughter Isabel is not on Facebook so I’m unable to contact her. I asked, via Facebook, his grandson who wrote a book in honor of his grandfather and he did reply with some information.
See the original post below.
Asociación Cultural Sad Hill
April 25, 2023
We don't like making posts with too much text or artificial dreaming (the talk and say nothing). But today we'll make a very justified exception.
We recently received a very special visit at Sad Hill. A long time ago, we were commissioned a tombstone called “Half Soldier”. We didn't know who was behind the sponsorship, but we got a very pleasant surprise when a few weeks ago they explained it to us. It was a tomb in honor of “Juan Dionysius of the Torija Fountain”. The name doesn't ring a bell. He's the actor who embodied the "half soldier"
Juan Dionysius of the Torija Fountain aka Alfonso Veady, his stage name, was born on February 18,1917 in Noez, Toledo, Spain and died in Madrid, Spain in 2003. He was the father of two boys and four girls. Juan lost his legs at the age of 19 during the Spanish Civil War.
Isabel (his daughter) and his friend Enrique, have brought an improved grave marker to pay him a well-deserved tribute.
The story of John Dionysius is impressive, you can learn
more by reading the book written by his grandson:
https://www.amazon.es/Llegaron-primero.../dp/B08CPLDDYX
That's so sweet of them honoring "Half Soldier" in this way. I think he deserves that. In the 1966 Spaghetti Western, "The Good, The Bad, And The Ugly" he is played by Alfonso Veady. Veady's real name was Juan Luis Antonio Dionysius Vega and he was born on February 18, 1917 in Alicante, Spain. He died on September 3, 2003, in Madrid, Spain. He actually lost both of his legs during the Spanish Civil War when a bomb landed near him and exploded in his face nearly killing him. He woke up to find his legs missing and his right arm covered in blood. Had it not been for his commanding officer coming back to find him, Alfonso would have bled out and died. Luckily, Half Soldier was saved. And his handicap paid off because he became the most recognizable character in GBU besides Blondie, Tuco, and Angel Eyes. Everybody thinks that Jose Terron played Half Soldier but that is not true. The man who actually played him was Alfonso Veady. This was verified by Tom Betts in 2019 and has now been made public. It is a special honor to be included in the Sad Hill Cemetery which is what Half Soldier definitely deserves. RIP Half Soldier. It sure was good to know ya.
ReplyDeleteI posted on the story, "Half Soldier Identified" from 2019 that I forgot to add the name Juan to Alfonso Veady's real full name. It seems I was wrong. He was actually born as Juan Luis Jose Antonio Dionysius Vega on February 18, 1917, in either Noez, Toledo, Spain, or Alicante, Spain and died on September 3, 2003, in Madrid, Spain. He grew up in Madrid and at the age of nineteen he participated in the Spanish Civil War where a bomb exploded in his face, nearly killing him. The explosion cost Alfonso Veady the loss of his legs but he was prevented from death by his commanding officer who returned just in time to save him. Thirty years later, in 1966, Alfonso would have the great pleasure of appearing as "Half Soldier" in the classic Spaghetti Western "The Good, The Bad, And The Ugly". For years, everyone has thought that Jose Terron played "Half Soldier" but the truth has finally come out that it was actually Alfonso Veady. We would like to thank Tom Betts and Alfonso's family for this tremendous research. Adios, Half Soldier.
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