Lloyd Turner (born on August 14, 1924 - died November 30, 1992) was a screenwriter who, with Gordon Mitchell, acted as a writer and story consultant for the first season of Mork & Mindy, before his retirement.
Biography[]
Lloyd was born in Winnemuca, Nevada and raised in Oakland, California. He lost one of his arms in a childhood accident. After high school, Lloyd studied at the California College of Arts and Crafts in Berkeley, California before going to Hollywood in 1944 to pursue his dreams of becoming an animator for Walt Disney Studios.
Lloyd died of cancer with his wife Darlene at his side at his home in Shady Cove, Oregon.
Career[]
Turner started out working in the animation department at Warner Brothers during the late 1940s. There he collaborated with Bill Scott on numerous cartoon shorts, including What Makes Daffy Duck (1948). In 1959, Turner teamed again with Bill Scott and Jay Ward to create the 'Rocky and His Friends (1959-1964)' animated television series and its sequel, 'The Bullwinkle Show (1961-1964)'. In 1949, Turner teamed up with Jay Ward to create the first animated series on television, "Crusader Rabbit" (1949-1957)'. The following year, Turner began directing and writing for the children's puppet show 'Time for Benny (1949-1954)'.
Lloyd teamed up with Gordon 'Whitey' Mitchell and either wrote episodes or contributed to episodes as a script supervisor/story editors for numerous 1970's-1980's popular TV shows like Get Smart, several Bob Hope television specials, The Mary Tyler Moore Show, The Odd Couple, The Good Life (U.S. not U.K.), Maude, The Partridge Family, All in the Family, The Jeffersons, Good Times, and the animated series The Bugs Bunny & Tweety Show.
Mork & Mindy[]
During their time on Get Smart, writer Dale McRaven worked for Turner & Mitchell, and they in turn worked for him as writers during his time on The Partridge Family. At the very earliest stages of Mork & Mindy, before the Pam Dawber & Robin Williams had even met Dale McRaven contacted Turner & Mitchell and asked them to come in to look at the show that Garry Marshall had just gotten greenlit.
Turner & Mitchell agreed to come on board as writers and story consultants (the latter for all 22 episodes of the first season) and they and Dale McRaven 'kicked around how the show would work' Mitchell & Lloyd wrote the very first episode which was actually "Mork Moves In". The Pilot, written by Dale McRaven was actually written and filmed several weeks after 'Mork Moves In'.
Gordon 'Whitey' Mitchell & Lloyd Turner wrote 4 out of the first 12 episodes written (though not shot/released in that order)
*** For more on Turner & Mitchell's time as writers on the show see Gordon Mitchell's page.
Mork & Mindy saw the end of the 11 year writing partnership of Turner & Mitchell as, during the course of the show, the all night working conditions having an effect on Lloyd Turner's health and 'made his life miserable'. On visiting a doctor it was 'discovered that his blood pressure was elevated aboute the numbers that human beings can survive and he was was approaching the deceased category. The doctor asked what he was doing. He said, "Writing Mork & Mindy," and the doctor said, "Don't do that!". [1]
At the end of the first season of Mork & Mindy, Turner & Mitchell would finish out their Paramount contract with their obligation for a pilot and then Lloyd Turner retired