Richard Turner

Turner was born in San Diego in 1954. At the age of seven he became infatuated with the television show Maverick. His eyesight failed at the age of nine following his recovery from scarlet fever. The macula of each of Turner's eyes was destroyed, preventing forward vision, and the rest of his retinas suffered a condition he describes as a "shotgun pattern" resembling being blasted full of holes by a tiny shotgun. By the age of thirteen, his vision deteriorated to 20/400, and, he presently sees little more than indiscernible shadows, and those only peripherally. Turner attended a special school for the visually impaired, where he refused to learn Braille. His younger brother, David, had been taking Karate lessons, and invited Turner to accompany him. He began the Japanese hard style Wado-Kai Karate training in 1971 under the tutelage of Master John Murphy, and began training at Gene Fisher's Gym eventually earning a 6th degree black belt. In 1972 Turner auditioned for a small, non-profit San Diego Christian theater, and performed for six years with the "Lamb's Players". Terrell taught Turner how to look people in the eye so that they would not know of his visual impairment. He was later introduced to Bobby Yerkes, the stunt coordinator for the Wonder Woman television series who also trained celebrities for the show Circus of the Stars. Yerkes taught him to swing on the trapeze, walk a tight rope, and take high falls. Turner is recognized as a master card mechanic and performs all over the world.