Joe Walsh paid tribute to his close friend and “drug enforcer,” Richard “Smokey” Wendell, who died aged 80 on March 2.
Wendell was hired by the Eagles icon in the ‘90s to help him get clean, and remained in the guitarist’s entourage as road manager for over 30 years.
“There are some losses so profound that words seem meaningless,” Walsh wrote on social media. “I hope to have some better ones later. I lost my buddy. RIP Richard “Smokey” Wendell.”
A former bodyguard of President Nixon, Wendell was assigned to deal with John Belushi’s drug issues in 1980, but quit as a result of the job’s stresses. Belushi died in 1982, just after Wendell had been persuaded to return.
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Referring to the Eagles’ current residency at the Sphere in Las Vegas, Walsh later added: “Better than the way we had. It always was with you by my side. Night #25 is for Smokey.”
“Smokey was a man whose life was as full of adventure as it was of kindness,” his family said in their obituary. “Though the years may say 80, anyone who knew him would say he was the youngest 80-year-old they ever knew.”
Joe Walsh Road Manager Smokey Wendell’s Incredible Gift
The family said he’d been granted an “incredible gift” in that “he got along with everyone. His wit and humor were sharp, his stories legendary (often ‘extended’) and he was a jack of all trades. We always joked that if you needed a plane, he’d have one ready in minutes.”
Wendell died peacefully at home, surrounded by his family. “Despite traveling for work, Smokey’s heart was always at home,” they said. “His pride and joy was becoming a grandfather. Smokey and [wife] Maryanne shared a deep loving bond and remained best friends until the day he passed.”
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