Known to horror fans for his role as Lloyd the bartender in Stanley Kubrick’s The Shining, we’ve learned the sad news this weekend that veteran actor Joe Turkel has passed away.
Turkel was 94 years old, passing away at St. John’s Hospital in Santa Monica, California.
In addition to his iconic role in The Shining, Joe Turkel also appeared in Ridley Scott’s Blade Runner just two years later, playing the creator of the Replicants, Dr. Eldon Tyrell.
With 142 credits on a resume that dates back to 1949, Joe Turkel also appeared in the films City Across the River, The Glass Wall, Mad at the World, The Beast of Budapest, Tormented, Portrait of a Mobster, The Yellow Canary, King Rat, The St. Valentine’s Day Massacre, The Devil’s 8, The Hindenburg, and most recently, 1990’s The Dark Side of the Moon.
On the small screen, Joe Turkel returned to the horror genre in the 1985 episode of “Tales from the Darkside” titled “Levitation,” playing a once-great circus magician named Kharma.
According to Entertainment Weekly, “Turkel completed his memoir, The Misery of Success, just before his death, and his family plans to publish it later this year.”
Joe Turkel is survived by his sons Craig and Robert.