Actor Brian Turk, who died on Friday, was known for his role as Tiny in Beverly Hills, 90210. Turk was born on May 29, 1970, in Northglenn, Colorado, and died as a result of complications due to brain cancer. He was 49 years old.
Turk was also known for playing Gabriel in HBO’s Carnivale (2003-2005). He appeared on several other TV shows, including Boy Meets World, Saved by the Bell, ER, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Criminal Minds, and Two and a Half Men.
He also appeared in movies such as The Lost World: Jurassic Park (1997), American Pie 2 (2001), Crocodile Dundee in Los Angeles (2001), and AI: Artificial Intelligence (2001).
He was first diagnosed with brain cancer in early 2018. After the cancer became terminal, a GoFundMe page was set up in July 2019 to help pay for his medical care.
The GoFundMe page, organized by “Carlos Marlene Montiel and 2 others” on behalf of his wife Emily Wu, raised more than $30,000 of the $50,000 goal.
He is survived by his wife, Emily Wu, and their eight-year-old son.
Brian Turk played Tiny in Beverly Hills, 90210
Brian Turk played the character Tiny on the teen drama series Beverly Hills, 90210 (1990-2000). He appeared in two episodes of the show’s sixth season in 1995.
The first was Season 6, Episode 8, titled Gypsies, Cramps and Fleas, which aired on Fox on November 1, 1995. The second was Episode 11, titled Offensive Interference, which aired on November 15, 1995.
He appeared in the opening scene of Season 6, Episode 11 (Offensive Interference), as the huge guy in the same football team with Joe Bradley (Cameron Bancroft) at California University. And in Season 6, Episode 8 (Gypsies, Cramps and Fleas), he is shown eating a huge meal ahead of a football game.
In episode Gypsies, Cramps and Fleas, David (Bryan Austin Green) buys a love potion from a mysterious gypsy named Madame Raven to promote his relationship with Valerie (Tiffani Thiessen). Steve (Ian Ziering) and Clare (Kathleen Robertson) unintentionally use the potion and have a passionate night together.
Ray (Jamie Walters) tries to revive his relationship with Donna (Torie Spelling) but ends up in a confrontation with her new love interest Bradley.
In Offensive Interference, Joe is suspended from CU’S homecoming football game after Ray accuses him of battery following their Halloween encounter.
Steve tries to guard the CU mascot, the Gold Condor Head, from the rival college team. Bounty hunter Jay J. Jones asks Valerie to help in a sting operation by posing as a prostitute to catch the husband of a woman he is representing in a divorce case.