Turpin was born Benjamin T. Turpin in New Orleans, Louisiana, the son of a candy store owner. His birthdate is usually given as September 17, but various years ranging from 1869 to 1874 are listed in various sources and claimed by Turpin himself at various times.

He worked in Vaudeville, Burlesque, and Circuses. Turpin had a distinctive appearance, with a small wiry frame, a brushy mustache, and crossed eyes.

Turpin's famous crossed eyes, he said, only crossed as a young adult after he suffered an accident. Turpin was convinced that the crossed eyes were essential to his comic career; his co-workers recalled that after he received any blow to the head he made a point of looking himself in the mirror to assure himself that they had not become uncrossed. Turpin took out an 25,000 dollar insurance policy with Lloyd's of London, payable if his eyes ever uncrossed.

Turpin retired from film in 1924 to look after his ailing wife. Turpin had invested his earnings in real estate, and being highly successful at this, had no financial need for more work. After his wife's death, however, he again began making irregular appearances in supporting comic roles in films in 1926. This would continue into the sound era; his last film role was in the Laurel and Hardy film Saps at Sea in 1940, the year of Turpin's death

P.O.D. is a southern California-based rock band. The letters P.O.D. stand for Payable on Death. One interesting aspect that separates P.O.D. from these other bands is that their members are Christian, though they avoid the label of Christian rock band. Even though they prefer to not be called a Christian band, they still do play Christian music festivals each year, and have overtly religious/spiritual lyrics. The members of P.O.D. attribute much of their success to their faith in God.

P.O.D.'s 1999 mainstream debut album, Fundamental Elements Of Southtown, spawned the hits "Southtown," "School Of Hard Knocks," and the TRL favorite "Rock The Party". All three videos enjoyed heavy play on MTV2, and the songs were rock radio hits.

In 2001, just days before the September 11, 2001 attacks, P.O.D. released the music video for their sophomore album, Satellite. The album's first single, "Alive," already a rock radio hit, went on to become one of MTV and MTV2's most played videos of the year. The popular video, as well as the song's positive messages to be grateful for life, helped the song become a huge pop radio hit.

The album's second single, "Youth Of The Nation," which was inspired by the Santana High School shooting. The 2002 singles, "Boom" and "Satellite," were not hits on the level that the first two singles were.

In 2003, guitarist Marcos Curiel left the band due to his side projects and their spiritual differences. Curiel was replaced by Jason Truby (formerly of hardcore band Living Sacrifice).