Darnell Turner

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Darnell Turner
First appearance	Pilot
Information
Gender	Male
Age	30s
Relationships	Joy Darville (wife)
Children	Dodge (adopted), Earl Jr
Portrayed by	Eddie Steeples
Created by	Gregory Thomas Garcia

Darnell "Crab Man" Turner is a character on the NBC sitcom My Name Is Earl, played by Eddie Steeples.

[edit] Character history

Darnell (always called "Crab Man" by Earl Hickey) works as a cook at the local restaurant, Ernie's Crab Shack (hence his nickname). Darnell began having an affair with Joy Darville while she was still married to Earl. He is the father of Joy's younger son, Earl Jr. (who Joy had while she was still married to Earl, and was obviously supposed to be named after him). Joy eventually leaves Earl to be with Darnell. Despite this, he and Earl are good friends (although they rarely do anything together), and always greet each other with the well-known exchange:

Darnell: "Hey, Earl!"

Earl: "Hey, Crab Man!"

After the first time they meet, Earl cannot remember his name, thus beginning his calling him "Crab Man." It was revealed in one episode that Darnell's real name is Harry Monroe, but he was forced to change it through the Witness Protection Program. Joy throws him out after learning this, believing everything she knew about him was now a lie, but takes him back after he convinces her that his feelings are genuine. He has a fondness for cheese, a pet box turtle named Mr. Turtle, and a cactus named Mr. Prickly. He is almost always seen wearing a "wifebeater shirt." In the episode entitled "Buried Treasure", Darnell reveals through an inner monologue that he graduated college at the age of 14, is a virtuoso cellist, and can identify 254 varieties of cheese blindfolded, but cannot disclose his past as he is in the aforementioned, Witness Protection Program.

Although generally calm and soft-spoken, Darnell is implied to be quite intelligent and occasionally makes highly intellectual statements, which the others usually ignore or brush off. Unlike most of the characters on the show, Darnell is not a habitual criminal. He once attempted to steal an old woman's purse (most likely at Joy's urging) but immediately gave it back and apologized.

In the pilot, it is mentioned that his parents had recently thrown him out for growing weed in their trailer, though only his mother is seen at his wedding. He has a sister, Daneesha, who is also present at his wedding. He mentions in one episode that his family had actually emigrated from Canada, though given his past, this may not be true.

My Name Is Earl

Karma • The List • Episodes

Characters

Earl Hickey • Randy Hickey • Joy Darville • Catalina Aruca • Darnell Turner • Minor characters