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Who is Glynn Turman?
American actor, screenwriter, producer and director Glynn Russell Turman was born in New York City USA on 31 January 1947, making Aquarius his zodiac sign. He has 177 acting credits and is perhaps known best for portraying Dr. Woodward in the 2011 action mystery science fiction film “Super 8”, which starred Elle Fanning and AJ Michalka, and was written and directed by J. J. Abrams. It follows a group of friends who’ve witnessed a train crash, and the film won 11 of its 81 award nominations.
Glynn’s also known for being a former husband of the late American singer-songwriter and pianist Aretha Louise Franklin.
He’s currently shooting for eight upcoming movies and TV series, including the film “”Horizon: An American Saga”, “Black Cake” and “Outlaw Johnny Black”.
Education and early life
Glynn was raised in New York City by his parents of Nigerian descent, however, because he respects their privacy, he’s yet to share any details about them; Glynn’s also believed to be an only child, as he’s yet to speak about having siblings.
He fell in love with acting at a very early age and was 12 when he appeared in the Broadway play “A Raisin in the Sun”. Glynn studied at the High School of Performing Arts and was besides acting also into dancing, singing and playing football.
He matriculated in 1965 and then continued to pursue acting rather than enroll at college.
Roles in TV series
Glynn made his debut TV series appearance in the 1961 episode “Black Monday” of the fantasy comedy “Play of the Week”, and he gained recognition in 1968, when cast to play Lew Miles in 37 episodes of the popular romantic drama “Peyton Place”, which starred Ed Nelson and Barbara Parkins, and was created by Paul Monash and Irna Phillips. It follows the lives of members of the Harrington family from Peyton, the series aired from 1964 through 1969 and won one of its seven award nominations.
The first half of the ‘70s saw Glynn appear in an episode of the family comedy “Room 222”, the drama “Men at Law” and the crime action “Mod Squad”. In 1978 and 1979, he played Nate Person in five episodes of the action adventure mini-series “Centennial”, which starred Raymond Burr and Barbara Carrera, and was created by John Wilder. It follows the cultural and economic growth of Colorado from the 1700s through to the 1970s, and the mini-series won three of its seven award nominations.
The ‘80s saw Glynn appear in an episode or two of more than 30 TV series, including the action adventure comedy “CBS Sumer Playhouse”, the adventure “J. J. Starbuck” and the crime mystery “Murder, She Wrote”. From 1988 through 1993, he starred as Colonel Brad Taylor in 122 episodes of the comedy “A Different World”, created by Bill Cosby, and which also starred Kadeem Hardison and Lisa Bonet. It follows several black college students, and the series won 17 of the 25 awards for which it was nominated.
Glynn appeared in an episode of only four other TV series in the ‘90s, including the action western “The Magnificent Seven”, the crime mystery “Strange World” and the crime horror “Millennium”.
What marked the 2000s for him was playing former Mayor Clarence V. Royce in 22 episodes (2004-2008) of the critically acclaimed crime thriller “The Wire”, which starred Lance Reddick and Dominic West, and was created by David Simon. It follows the lives of criminals and police officers from Baltimore, Maryland, the series aired from 2002 through 2008 and won 16 of the 70 awards for which it was nominated; the website IMDb’s ranked the series #6 best of all time.
From 2012 through 2016, Glynn portrayed Jeremiah Kaan in 51 episodes of the hit comedy “House of Lies”, which starred Kristen Bell and Don Cheadle, and was created by Matthew Carnahan. It follows the work of management consultant Marty Kaan and his team, and the series won six of its 39 award nominations.
Some of Glynn’s most recent roles in TV series have been in three episodes of the 2022 drama “Queen Sugar”, an episode of the 2022 comedy “The Proud Family: Louder and Prouder” and two episodes of the 2023 animated family drama “Stillwater” (voice role).
Roles in movies
Glynn’s debut film role was playing Private George Brightman in the 1970 war drama “Carter’s Army”, while some of his following roles were in the 1971 drama “In Search of America”, the 1971 romantic drama “Honky” and the 1972 crime drama “A. W. O. L.”
What marked the ‘70s for Glynn was perhaps playing Gideon in the 1973 comedy “Five on the Black Hand Side”, which starred Clarice Taylor and Godfrey Cambridge, and was directed by Oscar Williams. It follows the lives of barber Jackson, his wife and their three children, and the film was nominated for two awards. Some of Glynn’s notable performances in the remainder of the decade were in the 1977 mystery thriller “The Serpent’s Egg”, the 1977 drama “A Hero Ain’t Nothin’ But a Sandwich”, and the 1980 drama “Attica”.
The year 1984 saw him play Roy Hanson in the evergreen fantasy horror comedy “Gremlins”, which starred Phoebe Cates and Zach Galligan, and was directed by Joe Dante. It follows a young man who’s released a horde of monsters on his small town, and it won eight of its 14 award nominations. Some of Glynn’s following roles were in 1984 in the comedy “Poor Richard” and the drama “Secrets of a Married Man”, and the 1986 crime action “Out of Bounds”.
He had only a couple of film roles in the ‘90s, including in the 1992 action crime thriller “Deep Cover”, the 1994 romantic comedy “The Inkwell”, and the 1998 romantic comedy “How Stella Got Her Groove Back”.
The year 2004 saw him play Derrick’s Dad in the romantic musical comedy “The Seat Filler”, which starred Kelly Rowland and Duane Martin, and was directed by Nick Castle. It follows a pop superstar who’s fallen for a seat filler pretending to be a lawyer. The remainder of the 2000s saw Glynn appear in the 2005 action adventure comedy “Sahara”, the 2007 action “City Teacher”, and the 2008 drama “Night Life”.
In 2016, Glynn portrayed Harry E. Davis in the biographical sports drama “Race”, which starred Stephan James and Jason Sudeikis, and was directed by Stephen Hopkins. Set in the first half of the 1930s, the film follows Jesse Owens who’s dreaming of becoming the greatest track and field athlete, and the film won six of its 15 award nominations.
Some of Glynn’s most recent movie roles have been in the 2021 short drama “Beyoncé x Adidas: Ivy Park Rodeo”, the 2022 crime thriller “The Devil You Know”, and the 2023 sports comedy “80 for Brady”.
Other credits
Glynn received special thanks for the 2015 biographical musical “Miles Ahead”, the 2018 biographical documentary “King of Stage: The Woodie King Jr. Story”, and the 2019 biographical comedy “Dolemite Is My Name”.
He has eight producing and six directing credits – some of the movies which he’s recently produced include the 2021 documentary “You Look Familiar: Vernée Watson”, the biographical drama “Women of Theatre, New York” and the documentary “The Legend of Glynn Turman” both in 2022.
Some of Glynn’s most recent talk-show appearances have been in “The Real”, “Red Table Talk” and “Tamron Hall”.
Awards and nominations
Glynn’s won seven of his 22 award nominations.
Some of his wins include a 2008 Primetime Emmy for Outstanding Guest Actor in a Drama Series, for “In Treatment”, a 2018 Los Angeles Film Festival La Muse Award for Best Ensemble Cast, for his and his colleagues’ performance in “Solace” and a 2023 Image Award for Outstanding Guest Performance, for “Queen Sugar”.
Congratulations to Glynn Turman on his #NAACPImageAward for Outstanding Guest Performance! 🙌 #QueenSugar pic.twitter.com/Dv6Oxz4K0A
— Warner Bros. TV (@warnerbrostv) February 23, 2023
Love life and marriages
Glynn’s married thrice. His first wife was non-celebrity American Ula M. Walker; they married in 1965, divorced in July 1971, and have three children together.
On 11 April 1978, Glynn married famous American singer-songwriter and pianist Aretha Louise Franklin, but they separated in 1982, and divorced on 7 February 1984.
Since 14 February 1992, Glynn’s been married to non-celebrity American Jo-Ann Allen, and they have a daughter together, but whose name and exact birthdate haven’t been disclosed.
There are no other women whom Glynn’s been with, that we know about; he’s married to his third wife Jo-Ann Allen as of July 2023, and they have a daughter together, while he also has three children with his first wife Ula M. Walker.
Interesting facts and hobbies
Glynn was initially cast to play one of the lead characters Han Solo in the 1977 action adventure fantasy movie “Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope”, but the film’s writer and director George Lucas eventually changed his mind and cast Harrison Ford; the movie went on to win 65 of its 96 award nominations, including six Oscar wins.
Glynn co-wrote his second wife Aretha’s song “I’m Your Speed”, which was featured on her album “Almighty Fire”.
He was a successful cowboy and rodeo performer, and once won the Regional Team Roping Finals.
Glynn’s a philanthropist, and he and his wife Jo-Ann have founded the non-profit organization for underprivileged children Camp Gid D Up.
In 2011, he was inducted into the National Multicultural Western Heritage Museum Hall.
Clint Eastwood’s one of Glynn’s favorite actors, and some of his favorite movies include “A Fistful of Dollars”, “Gran Torino”, and “The Bridges of Madison County”.
Height, eyes and wealth
Glynn’s age is 76. He has brown eyes and grey hair, is 5ft 9ins (1.76m) tall and weighs around 175lbs (80kgs).
Glynn’s net worth’s been estimated at over $1.5 million, as of July 2023.
