- George Lucas originally cast Turman as Han Solo in Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope (1977), but eventually changed his mind and cast Harrison Ford instead.
- A cowboy and rodeo performer, he won the state's Regional Team Roping Finals and placed in the top five in the National Rodeo Finals in Oklahoma City at one point.
- Attending youth camps as a kid by his mother saved him from juvenile delinquency. Turman, an accomplished horseman, and his wife, Jo-an, are co-founders of Camp Gid D Up, a Los Angeles-based non-profit organization for under-privileged children.
- Co-wrote with then-wife Aretha Franklin, the song 'I'm Your Speed' which appeared on her "Almighty Fire" album.
- Originated the role of "Travis Younger" in Lorraine Hansberry's play, "A Raisin in the Sun.".
- Induced into The National Multicultural Western Heritage Museum Hall of Fame in 2011.
- The cast of "Joe Turner's Come and Gone" at the Mark Taper Forum Theatre in Los Angeles, California were awarded the 2013 Los Angeles Stage Alliance Ovation Award for Acting Ensemble of a Play.
- He was awarded the 2013 Los Angeles Stage Alliance Ovation Award for Lead Actor in a Play for "Joe Turner's Come and Gone" at the Mark Taper Forum Theatre in Los Angeles, California.
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