Joe Turkel dead: “The Shining” bartender turned 94

Joe Turkel, the prolific character actor best known for his roles in The Shining and Blade Runner, died Monday at St. John’s Hospital in Santa Monica, California, a spokesman confirmed diversity. He was 94.

A prolific performer with over 100 credits in various films and TV shows, Turkel is best known for his supporting roles in three Stanley Kubrick films, including his debut feature The Killing, Paths of Glory and The Shining, in in which he played the often-parodied role of the ghostly bartender Lloyd. He also had a prominent role in the original 1982’s Blade Runner as eccentric replicant creator Eldon Tyrell.

Turkel was born in Brooklyn in 1927 and enlisted in the US Army at the age of 17, where he served in Europe during World War II. After the war he moved to California to pursue acting and landed his first film credit in 1948 with City Across the River.

Over the next four decades, Turkel worked extensively on notable films such as King Rat, The Sand Pebbles, The St. Valentine’s Day Massacre, and his last film, The Dark Side of the Moon. He also appeared in three films directed by Bert I. Gordon: Tormented, The Boy and the Pirates, and Village of the Giants.

On television, he appeared in episodes of such popular shows as “The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp”, “Sky King”, “Tales from the Darkside”, “The Lone Ranger”, “SWAT”, “Adam-12”. Ironside, The Andy Griffith Show, Ben Casey, The Untouchables, Dragnet, Miami Vice and Bonanza. His last credit before retirement was a voice role in a 1997 spin-off of the video game Blade Runner.

According to a representative, before his death, Turkel completed a memoir called The Misery of Success, which his family plans to publish later this year.

Turkel is survived by his two sons, two daughters-in-law and his brother David Turkel.