Biography
American actor Joe Turkel had at least one movie leading role, as the Genie in the 1961 kiddie-matinee feature
The Boy and the Pirates. Otherwise he seldom rose any farther than featured billing (sometimes, as in
Harold and Maude [1971], he got no billing at all). In films since the late '40s, Turkel essayed character parts in such productions as
City Across the River (1949),
Visit to a Small Planet (1959),
The Sand Pebbles (1966), Hindenberg (1977) and
Blade Runner (1980) (as Tyrrell); though firmly entrenched in Hollywood, he occasionally grabbed a quick paycheck in such exploitation flicks as
Savage Abduction (1975), which afforded him star billing if not a whole lot of prestige. Joe Turkel is best remembered by "auteur" critics for his appearances in the films of director
Stanley Kubrick: He played Tiny in
The Killing (1955), Private Arnaud in
Paths of Glory (1957), and the other-worldly bartender Lloyd in
The Shining (1978). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide