Joseph Turkel (July 15, 1927 – June 27, 2022) was an American character actor who starred in film and television during the Golden Age of Hollywood 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.

Joe Turkel
Turkel in Tormented (1960)
Born
Joseph Turkel

(1927-07-15)July 15, 1927
New York City, New York, U.S.
DiedJune 27, 2022(2022-06-27) (aged 94)
OccupationActor
Years active1949–1997
SpouseAnita Josephine Cacciatore
Children2

Early life

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Turkel was born in Brooklyn on July 15, 1927, to Benjamin Turkel (1899–1988), who was a tailor, and Gazella (née Goldfisher; 1899–1997), a homemaker and occasional opera singer.[1] His parents were Polish Jewish immigrants.[2][3][4] He had two brothers, Harold and David.[5] Turkel joined the United States Army when he was seventeen and served in the European Theater of Operations during World War II.[6]

Career

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Turkel's first film appearance was 1948's City Across the River.[7][6] 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;[7] as a gangster-sidekick in The Purple Gang (1959);[8] a prisoner of war named "Dino" in the 1965 POW movie King Rat;[7] The Sand Pebbles (1966) as Bronson; The St. Valentine's Day Massacre (1967) as Chicago gangster Jake "Greasy Thumb" Guzik;[8] and the 1990 horror feature The Dark Side of the Moon.[7]

Turkel appeared on the television series The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp as Jim Rellance on November 13, 1956.[9] His other television appearances include Sky King (in the 1957 episode "Mystery Horse"),[10] Frontier Doctor,[3] Bat Masterson,[7] U.S. Marshal, The Asphalt Jungle,[11] Mackenzie's Raiders,[3] Kojak,[7] Tales from the Darkside,[11] and Miami Vice (in the episode "Indian Wars").[7] He also appeared on Bonanza three times,[7] including the 1961 episode "The Many Faces of Gideon Flinch", playing one of two of Bullet Head Burke's right-hand men.[12]

Turkel's best known roles are Lloyd, the ghostly bartender in Stanley Kubrick's The Shining (1980)[13] and Dr. Eldon Tyrell, the android manufacturer in Ridley Scott's Blade Runner (1982).[14] 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),[15] and in Paths of Glory (1957, as Private Arnaud),[16] He retired from acting after reprising his role of Eldon Tyrell in the 1997 Blade Runner video game.[6] As of 1999, he lived in Southern California and wrote screenplays.[17] He said in a 2014 interview that Paths of Glory was his favorite among his films.[18] Prior to his death, Turkel wrote a memoir, The Misery of Success, scheduled for a now posthumous 2022 release.[6]

Personal life

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Turkel was married to Anita Josephine Cacciatore,[4] with whom he had two sons.[3] When he attended a 2011 rally in Occupy Seattle,[19] he referred to himself as a "liberal progressive Democrat".[20][non-primary source needed]

On June 27, 2022, Turkel died at the age of 94 from liver failure at Saint John's Health Center in Santa Monica, California.[1][6]

Filmography

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References

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Specific

  1. ^ a b Risen, Clay (July 4, 2022). "Joe Turkel, the Spectral Bartender in 'The Shining,' Dies at 94". The New York Times. Retrieved July 4, 2022.
  2. ^ Abrams, Nathan (April 19, 2018). Stanley Kubrick: New York Jewish Intellectual. Rutgers University Press. ISBN 9780813587134.
  3. ^ a b c d Evans, Greg (July 1, 2022). "Joe Turkel Dies: Actor Who Played Lloyd The Bartender In 'The Shining' Was 94". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved July 1, 2022.
  4. ^ a b "California, County Marriages, 1850-1952," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3QSQ-G93W-XFH6?cc=1804002&wc=96PJ-N3J:147660201 : May 12, 2014), 005698071 > image 1610 of 3232; multiple county courthouses, California.
  5. ^ Evans, Greg (July 1, 2022). "Joe Turkel Dies: Actor Who Played Lloyd The Bartender In 'The Shining' Was 94". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved July 1, 2022. Turkel is survived by his two sons and daughters-in-law Craig and Annie Turkel, and Robert and Casilde Sesti, and his brother David Turkel; two grandchildren, Ben and Sarah. He is preceded in death by his former wife, close friend and mother of his children, Anita J. Turkel and his brother, Harold.
  6. ^ a b c d e f Chapman, Wilson (July 1, 2022). "Joe Turkel, Bartender in the 'The Shining' and 'Blade Runner' Actor, Dies at 94". Variety. Retrieved July 3, 2022.
  7. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z aa ab "Joseph Turkel". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved July 2, 2022.
  8. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z aa ab ac ad ae af ag ah ai aj ak al am an ao ap aq ar as at au av aw ax ay az ba bb bc bd be "Joseph Turkel". American Film Institute. Retrieved July 2, 2022.
  9. ^ Lentz 1997, p. 264.
  10. ^ Lentz 1997, p. 378.
  11. ^ a b Starkey, Adam (July 1, 2022). "'The Shining' and 'Blade Runner' actor Joe Turkel has died aged 94". NME. Retrieved July 3, 2022.
  12. ^ Leiby, Bruce R.; Leiby, Linda F. (2001). A Reference Guide to Television's Bonanza: Episodes, Personnel and Broadcast History. McFarland. p. 53. ISBN 9780786410200.
  13. ^ Raw, Laurence (2009). The Ridley Scott Encyclopedia. Scarecrow Press. p. 307. ISBN 9780810869523. Retrieved May 26, 2019.
  14. ^ Maslin, Janet (June 25, 1982). "FUTURISTIC 'BLADE RUNNER'". The New York Times.
  15. ^ Weiler, A. H. (May 21, 1956). "Screen: 'The Killing'; New Film at the Mayfair Concerns a Robbery The Cast". The New York Times.
  16. ^ Tucker, Ken (November 22, 2005). "All Messed Up on the Western Front". New York.
  17. ^ Stafford, Kara. Kissell, Gerry (ed.). "A One on One Chat with Joe Turkel, Blade Runner's Dr. Eldon Tyrell". Blade Zone: The Online Blade Runner Fan Club.
  18. ^ ZFOnline (October 6, 2014). "Joe Turkel, Co Star of 'Blade Runner' and 'The Shining', at Days Of The Dead Horror Con". YouTube. Archived from the original on December 14, 2021.
  19. ^ Bartlett, Rhett (January 22, 2014). "No slackers in sight: The great supporting actors". The New Daily. Retrieved March 29, 2022.
  20. ^ Joe Turkel at Occupy Seattle 10/12/2011. YouTube. October 13, 2011. Retrieved July 2, 2022.
  21. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z aa ab ac ad ae af ag ah ai aj ak "Joseph Turkel – Filmography". Turner Classic Movies. Retrieved July 2, 2022.
  22. ^ Bartlett, Rhett (July 1, 2022). "Joe Turkel, the Bartender in 'The Shining,' Dies at 94". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved July 2, 2022.
  23. ^ name=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0568764/?ref_=ttep_ep3/
  24. ^ a b c d e f g "Joe Turkel List of Movies and TV Shows". TV Guide. Retrieved July 2, 2022.
  25. ^ "The Rat Patrol - Season 2 Episode Guide". TV Guide. Retrieved July 3, 2022.
  26. ^ a b c "Joseph Turkel". British Film Institute. Archived from the original on October 19, 2016. Retrieved July 2, 2022.
  27. ^ Shelley, Peter (February 5, 2015). Neil Simon on Screen: Adaptations and Original Scripts for Film and Television. McFarland. p. 73. ISBN 9780786471980.

Bibliography

Further reading

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