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]
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]
↑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.
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