B.J. Turner (March 20, 1949 - August 1, 1993)

[reviews_and_ramblings]

William "B.J." Turner was a stage actor. He won a Drama-Logue Award for his portrayal of Lady Bracknell in "The Importance of Being Earnest" and an LA Weekly Award for his panto of "Rumpelstiltskin."

B. J. Turner introduced bawdy British "panto," musical versions of fairy tales, to Southern California audiences. After beginning his career on the London stage as Will Parker in "Oklahoma," Turner toured Europe with "Hair" and other shows, and eventually made his way to Los Angeles. Turner produced well-received pantos at the Pasadena Playhouse, the Theatre Exchange and the Riverside Civic Light Opera. The Times cited him as "a wildly funny actor" playing Scrooge and other parts in his version of "A Christmas Carol" for the Pasadena Playhouse in 1988. Turner also appeared on television, in such series as "Cheers," "Night Court" and "Highway to Heaven," and the soap operas "General Hospital," "The Young and Restless," and "Days of Our Lives."

He died on August 1, 1993, in Toluca Lake, California, due to AIDS complications.


Picture: Costume for Lady Bracknell 'The Importance of Being Earnest', by Bob Crowley, The Aldwych Theatre, London, 1993. Museum no. S.108-1993


AIDS Quilt

Source: http://articles.latimes.com/1993-08-06/news/mn-20841_1_b-j-turner

Further Readings:

Beyond Shame: Reclaiming the Abandoned History of Radical Gay Sexuality by Patrick Moore
Paperback: 264 pages
Publisher: Beacon Press (January 14, 2004)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 080707957X
ISBN-13: 978-0807079577
Amazon: Beyond Shame: Reclaiming the Abandoned History of Radical Gay Sexuality

The radical sexuality of gay American men in the 1970s is often seen as a shameful period of excess that led to the AIDS crisis. Beyond Shame claims that when the gay community divorced itself from this allegedly tainted legacy, the tragic result was an intergenerational disconnect because the original participants were unable to pass on a sense of pride and identity to younger generations. Indeed, one reason for the current rise in HIV, Moore argues, is precisely due to this destructive occurrence, which increased the willingness of younger gay men to engage in unsafe sex.

Lifting the'veil of AIDS,' Moore recasts the gay male sexual culture of the 1970s as both groundbreaking and creative-provocatively comparing extreme sex to art. He presents a powerful yet nuanced snapshot of a maligned, forgotten era. Moore rescues gay America's past, present, and future from a disturbing spiral of destruction and AIDS-related shame, illustrating why it's critical for the gay community to reclaim the decade.