"He was quite a guy, he was my guy": When Glynn Turman reminisced about his first son 

After having an over six-decade-long career, Glynn Turman was finally honored with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. The Cooley High actor posted a montage of the clips from his special day and shared his gratitude on Instagram,

“Honored & grateful to receive my star on the @hwdwalkoffame today. A lifetime of stories, a legacy of passion — this moment is for every step of the journey. Thank you for the love and support! 🙏🏿”

Turman, who had his onscreen debut in 1961 with an appearance on Play of the Week, faced many ups and downs in his personal and professional lives. However, in 1986, the actor got devastating news of the death of his son, Glynn Turman Jr. According to United Press International (UPI), the TV/movie actor’s son was fatally stabbed in November 1986.

The incident reportedly happened near the Santa Monica Pier in the parking lot of the Lobster Restaurant, after a fight broke out following an argument. Henry Montgomery, a 19-year-old, was later identified as a suspect and was apprehended, per UPI.

According to the witness accounts, a fist fight broke out between Henry Montgomery and Glynn Turman Jr, but the suspect reportedly used a knife and stabbed the victim multiple times.

Glynn Jr was the actor’s first child. For those unaware, Glynn Turman was around 18 when he first became a father. Junior was still a toddler when his dad got the role of Lew Miles on Peyton Place. During an appearance on the Fathers Who Bother Podcast in February 2021, Turman remembered his late son’s childhood and said,

“[He was] an achiever, you know, an overachiever, kinda like his old man, you know, very athletic, you know, a great athlete. But he was also very smart, much smarter than I was, you know. And a student, he was a student, he liked school, liked books, liked reading, you know, none of that he got from me.”

Turman shared that he was not interested in reading books, unlike his son. Glynn added,

“He was quite a guy, he was my guy.”

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Glynn Turman never healed, but focused on "adjusting" to cope with the loss of his son

The House of Lies actor was around 39 when his firstborn died. More than three decades later, Glynn Turman opened up about coming to terms with the early demise of his son during his appearance on the Fathers Who Bother Podcast. When the host, Jerry Barrow, asked about how he and his family healed after the loss of Glynn Jr, the actor asserted that they “adjusted” rather than being “healed.” He added,

“You don’t heal, you know, you make an adjustment. For that space, for that hole in your heart, you make an adjustment, but that hole never heals. So, don’t anticipate that, don’t live for that moment. The moment where it’s gonna be healed and you’ll be all right, that ain’t happening, you know.”

He continued,

“What’s happening is you've got a hole in your heart. Someone that you've missed the rest of your life. The pain will hit you at any given time, and you don’t know when it’s gonna hit you.”

Glynn Turman shared that the pain keeps coming back in the form of flashes, memories, or something else. He reiterated that healing is not the right word for someone trying to cope with the loss of their loved one. Glynn Turman added that he has made adjustments to learn to live with the pain of losing his son.

For those unaware, the Rustin actor’s other three children are named Delena Joy, Darryl, and Stephanie. According to IMDb, Glynn Turman was around 18 when he married his first wife, Ula Walker, and had his first three children with her. Their marriage lasted six years, and the actor later tied the knot with the soul and R&B legend, Aretha Franklin. However, they also parted ways a few years later.

The NAACP Image Award-winner visited the legendary singer-songwriter during Franklin's final days. He recalled the moment during a conversation with People magazine in 2018,

“I was able to feel her pulse, which was strong. So she was fighting ’til the very end. She’s always been a warrior — a strong, strong woman and a fighter. Her pulse told me that she was not in surrender mode. She was going to fight it ’til the end.”

The actor revealed that Franklin was aware of his presence, but couldn't communicate. He continued,

“We were able to feed off of that recognition, feed off of the moment of both sort of realizing that time was extremely precious at this time. So it was a moment full of closure.”

In 1992, Glynn Turman married his third wife, Jo-Ann Allen. The couple shares a daughter, Stephanie, who is Glynn’s youngest child.