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On the final day of a cross-Canada train trip, Ohio’s Marilyn Walpole was walking down King St. East with fellow travellers, when, behind her, she heard a slight moan and turned around to see her 77-year-old husband awash in his own blood.

“There was blood everywhere on the sidewalk; his face was full of blood, his clothes were soaked in blood … and he was moaning,” said Ms. Walpole, speaking from her home in Defiance, Ohio.

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Within moments, a bystander had thrown down his cigarette, rushed into the blood-soaked scene and administered the emergency First Aid that may have saved Mr. Walpole’s life. Only later would the couple discover that the bystander was Academy Award-nominated actor John Malkovich.

He had no qualms about getting blood all over him

“He really knew what he was doing; that’s why I thought he was a doctor,” said Ms. Walpole. “He had no qualms about getting blood all over him; that would be a real concern for some people.”

In a freak accident, Jim Walpole, a retired General Motors manager had tripped on the sidewalk and gotten caught on construction scaffolding, tearing open his neck.