Joe Turkel

Joseph Turkel (July 15, 1927 – June 27, 2022) was an American character actor who starred in film and television during the Golden Age Era in the 1950s and 1960s. He is known for his roles in Stanley Kubrick's films The Killing (1956), Paths of Glory (1957), and The Shining (1980), and as Dr. Eldon Tyrell in Blade Runner (1982). He also had roles in three of Bert I. Gordon's films.

Early life

Turkel was born in Brooklyn on July 15, 1927, to Benjamin Turkel, who was a tailor, and Gazella (née Goldfisher), a homemaker and occasional opera singer. His parents were Polish Jewish immigrants. He had two brothers, Harold and David. Turkel joined the United States Army when he was seventeen and served in the European Theater of Operations during World War II.

Career

Turkel's first film appearance was 1948's City Across the River. His other film appearances include Bert I. Gordon's The Boy and the Pirates as Abu the Genie, Tormented as Nick (both 1960), and Village of the Giants (1965) as the sheriff; as a gangster-sidekick in The Purple Gang (1959); a prisoner of war named "Dino" in the 1965 POW movie King Rat; The Sand Pebbles (1966) as Bronson; The St. Valentine's Day Massacre (1967) as Chicago gangster Jake "Greasy Thumb" Guzik; and the 1990 horror feature The Dark Side of the Moon.

Turkel appeared on the television series The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp as Jim Rellance on November 13, 1956. His other television appearances include Sky King (in the 1957 episode "Mystery Horse"), Frontier Doctor, Bat Masterson, U.S. Marshal, The Asphalt Jungle, Mackenzie's Raiders, Kojak, Tales from the Darkside, and Miami Vice (in the episode "Indian Wars"). He also appeared on Bonanza three times, including the 1961 episode "The Many Faces of Gideon Flinch", playing one of two of Bullet Head Burke's right-hand men.

Turkel's best known roles are Lloyd, the ghostly bartender in Stanley Kubrick's The Shining (1980) and Dr. Eldon Tyrell, the android manufacturer in Ridley Scott's Blade Runner (1982). He was one of only two actors (the other being Philip Stone) to have worked with Kubrick as a credited character three times. The other appearances were in The Killing (1956, as Tiny), and in Paths of Glory (1957, as Private Arnaud), He retired from acting after reprising his role of Eldon Tyrell in the 1997 Blade Runner video game. As of 1999, he lived in Southern California and wrote screenplays. He said in a 2014 interview that Paths of Glory was his favorite among his films. Prior to his death, Turkel wrote a memoir, The Misery of Success, scheduled for a now posthumous 2022 release.

Personal life

Turkel was married to Anita Josephine Cacciatore, with whom he had two sons. When he attended a 2011 rally in Occupy Seattle, he referred to himself as a "liberal progressive Democrat".

On June 27, 2022, Turkel died at the age of 94 from liver failure at Saint John's Health Center in Santa Monica, California.

Filmography

References

Specific

Bibliography

Further reading

• Boucher, Geoff; Crabtree, Sheigh (July 31, 2007). "An Actor's Lessons in Storytelling". Los Angeles Times. p. E5

External links

• Joe Turkel at IMDb
• Joe Turkel discography at Discogs

1. Turkel
2. The Shining (film)
3. The Dark Side of the Moon (1990 film)
4. The Killing (film)
5. S.W.A.T. (1975 TV series)
6. The St. Valentine's Day Massacre (film)
7. Tormented (1960 film)
8. The Sand Pebbles (film)
9. Blade Runner
10. Philip Stone
11. Room 237
12. List of horror films of 1990
13. Blade Runner (franchise)
14. King Rat (film)
15. The Texan (TV series)
16. List of Tales from the Darkside episodes
17. Blade Runner (1997 video game)
18. List of Blade Runner (franchise) characters
19. List of American films of 1975
20. The Bonnie Parker Story