Kieran Turner Dies: Documentary Filmmaker Behind ‘Jobriath A.D.’ Was 56

Kieran Turner, the documentary filmmaker behind Jobriath A.D. (2012), has died. He was 56.

According to his rep, the Eight Track Tape Productions founder and 2021 CNN Docuseries Fellow died from cancer on Monday, Dec. 23 in West Hollywood. A celebration of life is planned for January.

His 2012 documentary Jobriath A.D. detailed the rise and fall of the titular pioneering ’70s glam-rock musician, the first openly gay rock star. The film inspired a re-release of Jobriath’s catalogue.

Turner’s final documentary, Ghost Lights: Reclaiming Theater in the Age of AIDS, examines the impact the AIDS epidemic had on the theater industry, featuring more than 150 interviews with trailblazers and theater stars. Although Turner died amid production, Wise Child Studios and producer Christianne Tisdale, in partnership with executive producers Brett Morgan and Jonathan Groff, will completed the project in his honor.

The filmmaker’s work “focused on shining a light on gay artists who, like himself, passed before their time.”

His screenplay Black Dogs made the 2022 Black List and is currently in development with Star Thrower Entertainment.

After receiving his BFA and MFA from NYU’s Tisch School of Arts, his graduate thesis 24 Nights played at festivals worldwide before TLA Releasing picked up the feature for distribution, making it one of the first Christmas films to feature a gay love story.

Turner also created the web series Wallflowers, which ran for two seasons on Stage17 and is now streaming on Dekkoo.

Turner is survived by his cousins on the East Coast and his chosen family.