Joe Turkel Biography

American actor (1927–2022)

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 M*acre (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

City Across the River (1949) – Shimmy Stockton
Johnny Stool Pigeon (1949) – Bellboy (uncredited)
Sword in the Desert (1949) – Haganah Soldier (uncredited)
Angels in Disguise (1949) – Johnny Mutton
Lucky Losers (1950) – Johnny Angelo
Federal Man (1950) – Jack "Sneeze" Norton
Triple Trouble (1950) – Benny the Blood
Southside 1-1000 (1950) – Frankie
Halls of Montezuma (1951) – Marine (uncredited)
Fixed Bayonets! (1951) – Soldier (uncredited)
Starlift (1951) – Litter Case (uncredited)
Down Among the Sheltering Palms (1952) – Pvt. Harris (uncredited)
The Gl* Wall (1953) – Freddie Zakoyla
A Slight Case of Larceny (1953) – Holdup Man (uncredited)
Man Crazy (1953) – Ray
Duffy of San Quentin (1954) – Frank Roberts
Gypsy Colt (1954) – Chuck (uncredited)
Return from the Sea (1954) – Sailor (uncredited)
The Human Jungle (1954) – Delinquent Hood (uncredited)
The Bamboo Prison (1954) – P.O.W. (uncredited)
Cell 2455, Death Row (1955) – Curly (uncredited)
Mad at the World (1955) – Pete Johnson
The Naked Street (1955) – Shimmy
Lucy Gallant (1955) – One of Casey's Air Force Buddies (uncredited)
Inside Detroit (1956) – Pete Link
The Killing (1956) – Tiny
The Proud and Profane (1956) – Patient with Cards (uncredited)
Friendly Persuasion (1956) – Poor Loser (uncredited)
The Shadow on the Window (1957) – Lounger (uncredited)
Hellcats of the Navy (1957) – Chick
Beau James (1957) – Reporter (uncredited)
The Midnight Story (1957) – Lothario at Dance (uncredited)
Jeanne Eagels (1957) – Eddie, Reporter (uncredited)
House of Numbers (1957) – Bradville – Convict (uncredited)
Paths of Glory (1957) – Private Pierre Arnaud
The Beast of Budapest (1958) – Martin
The Bonnie Parker Story (1958) – Chuck Darrow
The Case Against Brooklyn (1958) – Henchman Monte
Verboten! (1959) – Infantryman
Warlock (1959) – Chet Haggin (uncredited)
Here Come the Jets (1959) – Henley
The Purple Gang (1959) – Eddie Olsen
Visit to a Small Planet (1960) – Malcolm (uncredited)
The Boy and the Pirates (1960) – Abu the Genie
Tormented (1960) – Nick, The Blackmailer
Bat Masterson (1960) – Fargo
Portrait of a Mobster (1961) – Joe Noe
East Side West Side (TV series) (1963) – Richard Bailey
The Yellow Canary (1963) – Policeman
The Carpetbaggers (1964) – Reporter (uncredited)
Combat! (1964) – Pvt. Klimmer
Village of the Giants (1965) – Sheriff
King Rat (1965) – Dino
The Sand Pebbles (1966) – Seaman Bronson
The St. Valentine's Day M*acre (1967) – Jake "Greasy Thumb" Guzik
The Rat Patrol (1967) – Capt. Bruener
The Devil's 8 (1969) – Sam
Five Savage Men (1970) – Peyote
Wild in the Sky (1972) – Corazza
Six Hundred and Sixty–Six (1972) – Col. Ferguson
Cycle Psycho (1973) – Harry
The Prisoner of Second Avenue (1975) – Man Upstairs (uncredited)
The Hindenburg (1975) – Detective Moore
The Commitment (1976) – Jules
Which Way Is Up? (1977) – Harry Boatwright
The Shining (1980) – Lloyd the bartender
Blade Runner (1982) – Dr. Eldon Tyrell
Miami Vice, episode 415: Indian Wars (1988) – Levec
The Dark Side of the Moon (1990) – Paxton Warner
Blade Runner (1997) – Dr. Eldon Tyrell (voice, final role)

References

Specific

Bibliography

Lentz, Harris M. (1997). Television Westerns Episode Guide: All United States Series, 1949–1996. McFarland. ISBN:9780786403776.

External links

Joe Turkel at IMDb
Joe Turkel discography at Discogs

Portals:

:New York City
:Los Angeles
:California
:Film
:Television

Description above from the Wikipedia article Joe Turkel, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.