“Deadline” says that 94-year-old character actor Joe Turkel died recently at St. John’s Hospital. In Stanley Kubrick’s “The Shining,” he played the evil bartender Lloyd, and in “Blade Runner,” he played the man who made synthetic people. These are two of his most famous roles. With roles like these, Turkel left an impression on the audience that will last forever.
His family said that his death was peaceful and that his sons Craig and Robert were with him when he died. It was sure that he had passed away. Turkel was born in New York City on July 15, 1927. At age 17, he joined the Merchant Marines. When World War II broke out, he switched to the US Army and served in Europe.
“Deadline” says that in 1947, Turkel went to California to try to become an actor. The next year, in 1948, he got his first credit for a film role in “City Across the River.” Turkel is one of only two actors who have been credited for being in all three of Stanley Kubrick’s movies.
The actor had just finished writing his autobiography, “The Misery of Success,” a few months before he died. The book will come out sometime near the end of 2022, according to the family.
Turkel is survived by his brother David, his two grandchildren, Ben and Sarah, and his two sons and daughters-in-law, Craig and Annie Turkel and Robert and Casilde Sesti.
