Joe Turkel–a character actor who had key supporting roles in The Shining and Blade Runner–has passed away. He was 94.
Turkel’s passing was announced by his family, according to a report on Deadline. He reportedly passed away peacefully, with his sons Craig and Robert at his side.
Turkel–a Brooklyn, N.Y. native–moved to California in 1947 to pursue his acting career, and landed his first credited film work the following year. It wasn’t until the 1980s that the actor scored the two roles for which he will be best remembered by genre fans.
Turkel played Lloyd, the mysterious bartender who serves drinks to a quite-mad Jack Torrance (Jack Nicholson), in Stanley Kubrick’s 1980 The Shining, and also portrayed Dr. Eldon Tyrell–a maker of artificial humans–in Ridley Scott’s 1982 Blade Runner.
Turkel also counted The St. Valentine’s Day Massacre (1967) and the 1990 horror feature The Dark Side of the Moon among his many credits. On the small screen, he had roles in Tales from the Darkside, The Untouchables and Dragnet.
Turkel is survived by his two sons, his daughters-in-law Annie and Casilde, his brother David and his two grandchildren Ben and Sarah.
The staff of Horror News Network extends its condolences to Turkel’s family, friends and colleagues.
