Frank Silva (BOB)
||"...he said it was usually easy to tell if people were Peaks fans: they'd just sort of stare at him in grocery stores..."
I once spoke to Frank Silva on the phone; I think it was in 1994. I did it as a sort of exorcism, because on the previous night I had a nightmare about Killer Bob - my fourth! I determined to humanise this guy by actually talking to him so my dreams would quit troubling me (and my poor wife, who had to put up with them as well. A previous dream had me leaping out of bed as Killer Bob was creeping up the stairs towards my kids' bedrooms!)
I got his number by calling the Screen Actors' Guild. He lived, at the time, in the Silverlake District of L.A., where my family lived as a child.
He was at first wary - I suppose he got a lot of calls from weirdos - but he then warmed up and became conversational, although I had the feeling he was being guarded with me during the conversation.
Apparently I was not the only person to get spooked by his character - he seemed understanding about my experiences and mentioned that it was usually easy to tell if people were Peaks fans: they just sort of stared at him in the grocery stores, etc.
He told me a story about how he once popped out of a cake dressed as Killer Bob for the benefit of the groom, who was a major Twin Peaks fan. He said the guy's jaw dropped to the ground. Talk about wedding memories...
I never asked him any detailed questions about the character of Killer Bob, or how it affected him. In fact, my entire conversation with him was rather short. I was somewhat embarrassed about making the call and I didn't want him to think I was trying to pry.
I asked him for an autographed photo- which he promised but I never got.
He told me his next acting project was going to be a teleplay about the homeless, called "Treehouse." I watched for it, but as far as I know it was never released. Maybe it was never produced...? If anyone has any information on "Treehouse", please email me.
-Wes Clark
[email protected]
MIGUEL FERRER
MICHAEL HORSE, DAVID LYNCH and more...
DAVID LYNCH
KIMMY ROBERTSON ON KROQ
JACK NANCE
SHERYL LEE
RAY WISE
A good friend of mine works at the Suncoast in the Glendale Galleria. While I'm there, who happens to walk in the store?... none other than Leland Palm... oops, I mean Mr. Ray Wise.
AL STROBEL (MIKE, TOAM)
As some of you may know, Al Strobel, the actor that played the One Armed Man in Twin Peaks, lives in the Pacific Northwest in Portland, Oregon. I too live in Portland and besides him and myself there is another great wonder to our city: Powell's Books, the largest bookstore in America- open 365 days a year. The
other day, on Halloween, my friends and I were walking to Powell's when a man on a bike rode by, as he passed I noticed he had one arm, when his back was turned to me I noticed the back of his jacket, "Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me" it said, this was him. It was at that point that I went into hysterics and
yelled out his name.Somehow he waved to me with his one and only
hand while somehow still riding that bike straight. Oh well, that's my story, just thought it would sound cool, happening on Halloween and everything.
KYLE MACLACHLAN
� The scoop on 'Showgirls'�
I met a guy yesterday who spent the last year in L.A. where he met someone who knows a production assistant (or whatever) that was involved in Showgirls starring poor Kyle MacLachlan.
� CATHERINE COULSON (and other TP alumni) on the Larry Sanders Show
�
JENNIFER LYNCH
MARK FROST
Crew member DAVE FLORENCE
RUSS TAMBLYN
DON DAVIS
DAVID DUCHOVNY
� For an interesting peak behind the scenes during the filming of FWWM Follow this link.
"We started shooting Episode 3 with the scene in the operating room where I was performing the autopsy," recalls Ferrer. "It was the hardest, most difficult day of dialogue I have ever had in 12 years of acting. It is probably the most difficult one I will ever have. It was just tongue twisters of unsayable dialogue and it was Shakespearean almost in that if you let one link of the chain drop, you couldn't ad lib this stuff so it really all had to come out letter-perfect. I sweated bullets to get
through that day."
-Miguel Ferrer
Above excerpt from the twinpeaks.org archives.
I have a couple of stories about meeting some Twin Peaks celebs to share. I used to work at a movie theatre here in L.A and saw Sherilyn Fenn and Michael Horse there.
Sherilyn Fenn seemed pretty stand-offish but Michael Horse was really nice and chatted with a friend and I about Jack Nance's passing. He was really upset about it. I also, attended the Jack Nance memorial in Pasadena. A lot of Twin Peaks people were there including David Lynch, Catherine Coulson, Michael Horse and Michael Anderson (Little Man From Another Place). Unfortunately, I don't have a scanner or else I would try to post a copy of the memorial program somewhere. It has a great photo of Jack on the cover and some very sweet poems by close friends inside.
David Lynch spoke for a long time and seemed very broken up by Jack's death. His hair was very messy and he looked pretty unkempt. Poor man! I didn't try talk to anyone though, as it was day for remembering Jack.
Los Angeles can be a tough city to live in but for a Lynch fan it's pretty cool. The scenes shot inside Twin Peaks High were filmed at my sister's High School (Van Nuys Performing Arts) and Lynch/Frost Productions was maybe five minutes away from the house I grew up in.
My friends and I used to drive endlessly back and forth in front of the building, hoping for a glimpse of a cast member. We saw quite a few rushing to their cars but the security guards never let us get on the property.
Now I live right across the street from the mechanic's shop where part of Lost Highway was filmed. Remember Arnie's garage?
-Nicolle Lynne Cornute Computer Film Company
I saw Lynch's talk in Madison recently (Dec/97) and it went really well.
Someone asked about a director's cut of FWWM, and he replied ..."actually...that was the directors cut" (pointing out the
length). After some laughing from the crowd, he came clean and admitted "that movie flopped at the box office and so there is little finance to work with if there were such a project."
We saw a hilarious short movie he did called "The Cowboy and the
Frenchman." It was pretty amazing. Just full of cliches and everything put together so Lynchian. :)
The most important part of the night came when I kind of snuck
downstairs in Mills Hall and waited outside his dressing room with about 10-15 other people.
He came out and shook everybody's hand and actually had some pretty decent conversations with people. One girl gave him a copy of her thesis. I asked him about art school (which I am attempting to decide on now), and he was as helpful as he could be.
It was, all in all, a very positive experience and he was a very amiable person.
-Leo Langheim
� And here's a brief but memorable Lost Highway premiere David Lynch 'Close Encounter' at the Sundance Film Festival.
� Excerpt from transcript of a KROQ interview with Kimmy Robertson, circa November, 1990:
"No one on the set knew that Piper Laurie was playing the part
of the Chinese businessman. Jack Nance was very disturbed by
this new character and kept asking fellow cast members 'Where
did they get this weird person?'"
-From the twinpeaks.org archives.
*Several* years ago--probably right after TP went off the air, and I was but a young teenager--I was in this headshop in LA , in North Hollywood to be exact--and I spotted a dashing Jack Nance hanging around the store. (I don't remember if he was disheveled or anything, I adored him on the show & even more so when I saw him in real life). ANYWAY, I was pretty shy about it, but I
finally made my way over to ask for his autograph & tell him how much I loved Twin Peaks, etc.
He was totally nice about it and everything, I just don't remember him being too flattered or impressed that I had seen his show. The one thing I *do* remember clearly was that after he handed me back whatever paper he signed for me, he kind of squinted at me, and in "that voice" said: "What's a young girl like you DOING in this kind of store, anyway?"
-Glitter (TP newsgroup post)
I was fortunate enough to see some of the on-location shooting of FWWM, and it was chilling to watch Lee act. I also saw evidence of how closely Lynch connected with her.
I spent the first week of the fall school quarter that year standing out on the sidewalk on the other side of the street from the "Palmer's house" in Everett, Washington. Got some great autographs and some very bad pictures--all the good stuff happened at night, and of course I couldn't use a flash.
Lynch and Lee even posed for me at a distance when they saw I had my camera out; too bad the pic didn't come out very well. :(
I learned that Sheryl Lee doesn't smoke, but Moira Kelly does. So Lee was always putting her cigarette out after a scene where she had to smoke, and Kelly was lighting one up in
between many scenes.
But I don't know, this was five years ago. I saw James Marshall, Ray Wise, Grace Zabriskie and Dana [Ashbrook] --most everyone who was seen in or around the Palmers' house in the movie.
The best part of it all though was staying there till 4am on their last night at that location, hearing Lee scream over and over as they did the Bob/rape scene, then finally being able to intercept Lynch as his car was being brought around and actually shake his hand and say thank you for everything he's done.
-Adam Walter (excerpted from the Mike Dunn Mail list)
� Follow this link to read about Sheryl Lee's appearance in Milwaukee
Since moving to California about two months ago, he is the first celebrity I've spotted -- and being a Peaks Freak, my first
sighting couldn't have been better.
I approached him and told him that his performance on Twin Peaks was, quite literally, one of the best performances I had ever seen on television. He thanked me and seemed genuinely flattered. I was especially taken by his manner, he was a true
gentleman. He was dressed in black denim jeans, a white shirt and a black sports jacket. He was also a bit taller than I expected -- certainly over six foot. He continued to shop, buying some Halloween-themed movies and before he left, I asked him to sign a copy of the Twin Peaks pilot, which I had grabbed off the shelf. Again, I was somewhat surprised by how surprised *he* seemed to be at the attention.
It was great experience and my only regret was that I hadn't thought to ask him if he knew anything about a follow-up to FWWM.
Oh well, maybe I'll run into him again this
Christmas.
-Zak Forsman (Oct 10/97)
To visit Zak's web site click here.
The day I met Al Strobel for the first time I was sitting on a stack of books outside of Powell's bookstore in Portland, Oregon (if you're familiar with PDX, it was the main one on Burnside).
I was waiting for a friend of mine there, and I saw a fellow that looked a lot like the ceramics teacher I had been fueding with- but a lot shorter.
He rode his rusty bike up on the porch and locked it up on the racks. That's when I noticed he had one arm. That's when I started shaking (when I get nervous, my hands shake really badly) and as he was about to go inside, I went up to him and asked him if he was named Al Strobel.
He said "Yes, that's me."
And my mouth went off at mile and minute: "Ohmygod, you played Mike on Twin Peaks. I love that show. You did such a good job. This is so cool. Sjdal;fksjdlkfzj;sljdfakl;sjl;dkjfal;skjd."
Crap like that.
I asked to shake his hand and he gladly obliged. I also asked for an autograph which he agreed to. He signed in my notebook "Ashley: Fire Walk With Me! Al Strobel aka Gerard."
He was very friendly about the whole situation.
Later, when my friend showed up (he'd missed him by about five minutes) I was so excited to tell my story (I had gotten him hooked on TP, too) I completely forgot the books I was sitting on and we searched the store to find him (not an easy task-- this bookstore is HUGE) and we found him in the film section- but Paul was too shy to talk to him. Haw haw.
Later when I met him again at the TP Fan Festival, he remembered me.
He's quite a nice fellow. He smokes little cigars. His beard is a lot grayer now. And he's short.
So, if you live in Portland, Oregon, hang out downtown a lot. You'll see him sometime. It's not hard to miss a one-armed man riding a rusty bike.
(My friends have reported a couple more TOAM sightings besides my initial meeting.)
-Ashley
- - - - - - - - - -
-'BOB' -posting in the alt.tv.twinpeaks ng
When Kyle MacLachlan, Linda Evangelista and this production girl were at the Showgirls premiere, Linda E. ran out of the screening in the middle of the film: crying!!
Kyle and the Production A. followed and Kyle got real mad.
Linda crying in the hall and Kyle walking up and down
shouting:
"F*ck!!...F*ck!..my career is ruined. I thought that was an art movie!"
That might explain his grey hair you can expect in close-up in Mike Figgis "One Night Stand" starring also Nastassia Kinski and ...?
-Mike Hartmann
(Oct 9/97 lynch-list post)
MICHAEL J. ANDERSON (TMFAP)
I've been to LA twice in the past year or so. Both times I've found myself within 5 feet of Michael Anderson (LMFAP). He seems to have an interest in science fiction and space art. I wanted to say hi to him, but I wasn't quite sure about how to handle it...do I loom over him? Do I crouch down in front of him? So I dithered about it like a dope and both times let him slip away.
- Joe Bergeron
-- November/97 alt.tv.TP newsgroup post excerpt --
Ray Wise was not a regular, but he did appear as Larry's lawyer. The show has other TP
connections, the most prominent being that TP director Todd Holland is one of the show's
producers and has directed most of the episodes. David
Duchovny played himself twice and on Garry Shandling's previous series, "It's Garry Shandling's Show," the cast also included Ian
Buchanan (Dick Tremayne).
About four years ago I had a friend who was working as a production assistant on Larry Sanders. Knowing what a big fan I was, he invited me to the set one day, and I watched
them film a scene. Imagine my joy when I discovered that the person working the camera
was none other than Catherine Coulson, the Log Lady herself. (Of course, my friend had
no idea that "the camera woman" was such a big deal.)
She was operating a camera on the Larry Sanders Show set and so was very focused on
her work. I couldn't help but stare at her, but I don't think she noticed since she was
working. I think we locked eyes a few times, and she probably figured I must recognize
her, but it didn't seem to faze her. If I recall though, I think she smiled at me once. She
seemed like a very good camera person, though and yes, she was wearing her glasses,
though sadly carrying no log.
Unfortunately, I never got to talk to her. It was actually a tense day on the set, and a
couple of the actors got into an argument with the director. My friend kept apologizing,
saying he'd never seen any of the stars fight before and that this day was unlike any other.
Since things were so uncomfortable on the set, we only watched them film the one scene
and then left to explore the rest of the soundstage and lot.
It was hard to tell what she was really like, since she was working when I saw her, and
when you're on a TV or movie set, you must remain absolutely quiet during filming.
When not filming, she was setting up the camera. She seemed very professional. If
anything, I was disappointed that she didn't seem as loopy and wise as on TP.
-Wookiee97
� "Are you Jen's dad?"...... "No, I'm David *Lynch*..." �
I worked at Interlochen Arts Academy (a fine arts boarding school) during the school years of 1984-1986. Jennifer Lynch was there both years. I worked in the dorm as a Resident Advisor (basically an adult presence to keep some kind of order among the 45 junior and senior girls on my hall.) Jen was on my hall both years. She was, in fact, one of my assistants (called a Dorm Assistant) during her senior year. She was really wonderful person to know -- smart, funny, a really good writer and she often put on a strange green facial mask in the evenings. I am
not sure what is was supposed to do for her pores, but it would stiffen and if she laughed it would hurt. So of course we always tried to make her laugh. Strange, but my clearest memory of her is of her trying not to laugh with that junk all over her face.
Anyway, when she graduated, her father came for the ceremony. She had to go someplace for a minute and asked me to look out for him and tell him she would be right there if he showed up while she was gone.
Well, he did. I went over and said, "Hello, you must be Jen's dad."
He just looked down at me and said, "No, I'm David Lynch."
There was a quiet emphasis on his name that I couldn't mistake.
So, I said, "Oh. Well, Jen asked me to tell you to wait here, she will be right back."
I left him standing in the lobby of the dorm surrounded by other parents and students. Jen came back and off they went.
-Lisa
� First in line at a Mark Frost book signing session
The booksigning was, I believe, in August of 1994, at the Friar Tuck Bookshop in Saratoga Springs, NY. I apparently was the first person to arrive. Mark Frost was dressed all in black and carried a copy of that day's NY Post. (I was struck by how much he looked like William Gibson, the science fiction writer.)
He was soft-spoken and friendly, and very tolerant of my fannish enthusiasm. He signed my copy of "The List of 7" as well as my copy of the TP zine "Wrapped In Plastic" that featured a Mark Frost interview. Since I was the only person there, I was able to monopolize him with Twin Peaks questions for a good 20 minutes or so, and he accepted this with good grace and humor. We also talked about "List of 7" and his movie "Storyville."
Basically, this close encounter just left me feeling sad that Twin Peaks will forever go unfinished and unresolved, because he was very emphatic that there would never be any continuation of the story.
Apparently Mark Frost and David Lynch had a falling out. He said that Lynch had "burned a lot of bridges, personally and in the industry." Therefore, there was no possibility of his (Frost's) involvement in a sequel. Since both Frost and Lynch created the series (and own the rights to it) they would both have to agree to a continuation in any form, and that just isn't going to happen. He mentioned a Michener-esque novel as something that he might have done if he could, but he couldn't.
Also, in this conversation Frost let slip some ideas that the 3rd season might have used. It would fast forward 25 years, with Dale Cooper being Twin Peaks' aging pharmacist (!). Also, BOB and MIKE would have been revealed to have come from "a planet made of corn, corn everywhere." BOB stole some special corn (garmonbozia) and fled to Earth, and MIKE pursued him to retrieve it. Frost said that these ideas weren't fully developed and no scripts had been written.
-Brian T Kelley
--- � The Twin Peaks FAQ acknowledges the above-mentioned friction between Frost and Lynch
� Frost also speaks out in this July 1998 Los Angeles Times article.
� Before the cameras rolled �
"... Considering the size and amount of construction of the sets, we crew members knew there was a lot a stake. There was too much money spent on construction to pass it off as nothing. We knew it was a big production..."
- TP crew member Dave Florence
To read more behind-the-scenes Twin Peaks
pre-production info courtesy Dave Florence, Follow this link.
About five years ago [mid-1990's], while wandering about a Baltimore hotel which was hosting a SF convention, one of my friends got my attention and pulled me into a small knot of people. There in the middle was one of the convention guests, Russ Tamblyn, happily hanging out with fans.
I asked him about the red/blue glasses and he said they were somewhat annoying to wear for long periods on the set. He also mentioned West Side Storywhere he mostly danced (alongside co-star Richard Beymer- Ben Horne).
He looked pretty much like Dr. Jacoby except no glasses or
Hawaiian shirt, and also looked shorter and slighter than he does on TV.
Nice guy!
-X-Lydia
Click on the link that follows to read an excerpt from a 1992 Q & A session with Russ Tamblyn
My hometown is Nevada, Missouri where Don Davis maintains a part-time home. I went to school with his son, had his wife for a substitute teacher. Last summer, I had to work 4th of July weekend while all of my friends were at a lakehouse. I was just
about ready to throw myself out the drive-thru window under the next car when Don Davis drove in.
I gave him his order (roast beef sandwich w/horseradish and mustard), babbled something about loving his work and asked for his autograph, holding out a paper napkin. He asked how long I was going to be at work, then promised to come back with an autographed picture!
Sure enough, a couple hours later, he came back and signed it right in front of me. He told me how nice it was to be remembered for Twin Peaks as well as the X-files. A really nice guy. That picture occupies a place of honor in my apartment.
-Hannah
Oct/97 online Q & A excerpt:
Q--How hard was it to keep your legs shaved for Twin Peaks?
A--"I used Nair, and I had never used it before. It was given to me by the makeup lady the night before. I put the Nair on and waited a few minutes, like they say to,
wiped it with a towel--and it was quite sexy, really. Like after you shampoo a mangy dog and towel it dry."
FWWM PREMIERE IN NORTH BEND
Even the press appears to get a kick out of meeting the stars of Twin Peaks.
