'The Shining's' spectral bartender, Joe Turkel, dies at 94

On June 27, Joe Turkel, 94, died in Santa Monica, Calif. The gaunt-faced yeoman character actor was known for two of his last performances - Lloyd the bartender in "The Shining" and Dr. Eldon Tyrell in "Blade Runner." Craig Turkel said his father's death was caused by liver failure at a hospital. The directors preferred Mr. Turkel as someone who can bring zealous professionalism to every role he played (pronounced ter-KELL). The actor stood up to leading men like Ronald Reagan and Steve McQueen in movies like “Hellcats of the Navy” (1957) and “The Sand Pebbles” (1966). With his steely onscreen demeanor and perfectly delivered lines, Mr. Turkel was often the one to provide a subtle but unmistakable plot pivot in a film. Those three movies he made for Stanley Kubrick, with whom he formed a mutual admiration society, proved this to be truer than anywhere else. In New York, both men had been raised as working-class secular Jews. They both loved baseball. And both were perfectionists.

His first role was in “The Killing,” Kubrick’s 1956 film about a racetrack robbery, and he starred in “Paths of Glory” the next year as a condemned soldier. He conveyed meaning much beyond his few brief lines by juxtaposing stony stillness with sudden explosions of manic action in both films. The actor went on to appear on a number of popular television shows, including “Bonanza,” “Ironside” and “Fantasy Island.” The Shining adaptation, adapted from Stephen King's novel, was his return to Kubrick's service in 1980. The story revolves around an author, Jack Torrance (Jack Nicholson), who is hired as the winter caretaker of the secluded, otherwise empty Overlook Hotel and moves there with his family. At one point, Jack goes crazy and enters the bar of the hotel to find Lloyd. Lloyd pours him a shot of Jack Daniel's while Jack asks for a bourbon.

The film abruptly shifts into a darker mode thanks to Mr. Turkel's ominously stoic presence. Mr. Turkel told The Toronto Star in 2014 that Mr. Turkel dressed as an old-school hotel barman and enabled corruption. Most bartenders are stylish and a little bit evil. Poor Lloyd doesn't know the difference between bourbon and Tennessee whiskey, though.” Benjamin Turkel, his father, was a tailor, and his mother, Gazella (Goldfisher), was a homemaker who sang opera part-time. Besides Craig Turkel, Mr. Turkel left behind another son, Robert; a brother, David; and two grandchildren. His wife, Anita (Cacciatore) Turkel, passed away in September 2007. In 1944, he joined the U.S. merchant marine, followed by the army in 1946. After his honorable discharge, he briefly returned to New York for acting classes before going to Hollywood in 1947. He was credited with his first film role in 1949's "City Across the River," in which Tony Curtis also appeared.

During the casting of "Blade Runner," Scott was reading Philip K. Dick's novel "Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?", which had been adapted by Ridley Scott. He played Dr. Tyrell, who founded a company that makes robots so perfect that they blur the lines between human and machine - a trait that ultimately led to Dr. Tyrell's bloody demise. "Blade Runner" has become a critical success, but it was originally a box office dud, even though it has gained critical acclaim. After decades of grueling through auditions in Hollywood, Mr. Turkel retired from acting; he only played a few more small roles in TV and film before retiring. As an alternative, he wrote screenplays (although none were produced), frequented fan conventions, and wrote "The Miseries of Success," which was never published. He told Blade Zone, a “Blade Runner” fan site, in 1999, “I've done some great films. There are other actors who have done brilliant films. It doesn't matter what the great big stars do, they still have to go out and audition, meet the producer and director, and please these people. They don't do that. A lot of great actors do that, but they find it demeaning.