The ridiculous-faced Yorman character actor, who has appeared in dozens of films, is best known for two final performances by bartender Lloyd in “The Shining” and Dr. Eldon Turkel in “Blade Runner.” Joe Turkel died in June. 27 years old in Santa Monica, California. He is 94 years old.
His son, Craig Turkel, said the death in the hospital was due to liver failure.
Mr. Turkel (pronounced ter-KELL) was a favorite among directors looking for someone who could bring enthusiastic professionalism to even the smallest role.
In films such as “The Navy’s Hellcats” (1957) and “The Sand Pebbles” (1966), he held himself with leading actors such as Ronald Reagan and Steve McQueen. It’s often up to Mr. Turkel to provide a subtle but unmistakable plot pivot, using his steel-like on-screen attitude and perfectly delivered lines to change the overall mood of the film. did.
Nowhere else has it formed a kind of society that he praises each other like the three films he made for Stanley Kubrick. Both men of about the same age grew up in New York as working-class secular Jews. Both were huge baseball fanatics. And both were perfectionists about their work.
Mr. Turkel played a small role in Kubrick’s 1956 racetrack robbery movie The Killing and returned a year later as a soldier accused of “Assault.” In both films, he contrasted the stone-like tranquility with the sudden explosion of mania, conveying meaning far beyond his few short lines.
He then played a role in popular shows such as “Bonanza,” “Ironside,” and “Fantasy Island,” becoming a prolific television actor.
He returned to Kubrick’s service in 1980 for “The Shining,” an adaptation of Stephen King’s novel. The story revolves around Jack Torrance (Jack Nicholson), a writer who is hired as a winter caretaker for a remote, otherwise empty Overlook Hotel and travels there with his family. increase.
Under the influence of malicious supernatural forces, Jack slowly becomes obsessed. At some point he entered the hotel bar, where he found Lloyd, played by Mr. Turkel. Jack asks for Bourbon, and Lloyd pours him a shot of Jack Daniel’s.
Nicholson dominates their conversation, but it is Turkel’s ominous stoic presence that shifts the film to a darker register.
“In terms of clothing and attitude, he’s a typical old school hotel bartender,” Turkel told the Toronto Star in 2014. Most bartenders are stylish and a little evil. But poor Lloyd doesn’t know the difference between bourbon and Tennessee whiskey. “
Joseph Turkel was born on July 15, 1927 in Brooklyn. His father, Benjamin Tarkel, was a tailor, and his mother, Gazelle (Goldfisher) Turkel, was a housewife and a part-time opera singer.
Mr. Turkel survived with his son Craig by another son, Robert. His brother, David. And two grandchildren. His wife, Anita (Cacciatore) Takeru, died in front of him.
He joined the US Merchant Ship in 1944 and the Army in 1946. After he received his prestigious retirement, he temporarily returned to New York for an acting class before he headed to Hollywood in 1947.
His first achievement was “City Across the River” (1949), a film about a program for juvenile delinquency, starring young Tony Curtis.
His work on “Shining” caught the attention of Ridley Scott, who cast “Blade Runner”, which was adapted from Philip K. Dick’s novel “Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?” ..
He was cast as Dr. Tyrell, the illustrious but proud founder of a company that manufactures robots that are perfect enough to blur the line between humans and machines.
“Blade Runner” has become one of the most acclaimed science fiction movies in history, but it was originally a box office revenue. Tired of being auditioned after decades in Hollywood, Turkel decided to retire. Except for some small television and movie roles, he never acted again.
Instead, he tried the script (although none were produced), became a regular at the Fan Convention Circuit, and wrote an unpublished memoir, “The Tragedy of Success.”
“I made some great movies,” he told the interviewer. “Blade Runner” fan site, blade zone, 1999. “I know the other actors who made great movies. They still have to go out and audition, meet producers, directors, and regardless of what they did, these people Delight. Of course, great big stars don’t do that. But there are good actors who do it, and they feel it’s sneaky. “
Still, he added, “I had a hellish career.”
