R.I.P. Lenny Von Dohlen, Twin Peaks actor
The actor was known for playing agoraphobic shut-in Harold Smith on the David Lynch series
Aux News Twin Peaks
Lenny Von Dohlen, who starred as Harold Smith in the cult classic series Twin Peaks, died Tuesday at the age of 63, reports Variety. No cause of death has been given.
The actor’s death was first revealed on Facebook by his sister Catherine Von Dohlen on Thursday, with an ode to her brother.
“The world lost a magnificent man on July 5,” she wrote beside of a photo of the two. “Brother Len was passionate about everything and everyone. He was always leading; whether it be riveting conversation, an artistic creation or a trip to new places. He loved a good laugh. He continues on his spiritual journey. Living life full in his memory.”
Von Dolen would become most significantly known for his role as the quiet shut-in Harold Smith in David Lynch’s surrealist television series Twin Peaks. He played a key role in the show and the mystery surrounding Laura Palmer’s murder, having been given her diary by Laura for safe-keeping. He later befriends Palmer’s best friend, Donna Hayward, as she investigates her friend’s death. Unfortunately, Harold’s storyline ends with his suicide after Donna betrays his trust and steals Laura’s diary from his home.
Aside from Twin Peaks and its prequel film Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me, Von Dolen’s made his acting debut in the tv series Kent State in 1981, and marked his film debut in the Oscar-winning film Tender Mercies in 1983. He would go on to have roles in such films like Home Alone 3, Tollbooth, Cadillac, Bird of Prey, Entertaining Angels, and One Good Turn. On television, he starred in Miami Vice, Red Dwarf, Walker Texas Ranger, The Pretender, The Equalizer, Psych, and most recently appeared in an episode of Seth MacFarlane’s The Orville.
News of Von Dolen’s death comes only a month after Twin Peaks’ theme song singer and David Lynch collaborator Julee Cruise died at the age of 65. In May, Twin Peaks actor Kenneth Welsh, who portrayed chess-obsessed villain Windom Earle, died at the age of 80.
16 Comments
He’ll always be Moles to me.
He’ll always be Miles from Electric Dreams to me. RIP.
Man, that movie has been forgotten. But I think it was, along with Wargames, one of the first movies to feature the new concept of “home computers”. And both imagined that human-level AI would be possible on machines with probably less computing power than your current microwave.
Yeah, that was my intro to Mr Von Dohlen. I remember he was a good mad scientist on an episode of the 1990 Flash. RIP
Yes. First thing I thought of. The precursor to Her.
They asked Virginia Madsen about Electric Dreams a few years back as she played the love interest Miles (and Edgar) were attracted too and she admitted to crushing pretty hard for ol Lenny and still held a torch for him even to that day. Said he was an outright gentleman and hearthrob.I remember that movie as the one that introduced me as a kid to Jeff Lynne and remixing from the song “Video” he created for it.
Awe, you beat me to it. Moles! I WANT to MEET her! Moles?
Yeah, me too.
He’ll always be Moles to me. “Moles, where are you going?”
Same here. I kept thinking why are they only mentioning Twin Peaks?!
Thank you!! God bless. Amazing soundtrack with fantastic songs from Culture Club.
Seriously that was the thing I know him from. God he was gorgeous!
Still have that movie on VHS that I brought used on Ebay. I keep on hoping that it will be released one day as a HQ streaming movie. It’s an underrated gem from the 80’s. RIP Lenny.
Will always remember him from Red Dwarf, such a small but memorable appearance in a single episode that I can still always laugh at.
I was stunned when I saw him in Twin Peaks after Red Dwarf. Just complete cognitive dissonance.“You…change people”“In what way?”“You change them from being alive people to being dead people”Perhaps Red Dwarf’s best episode or certainly right up there. It has a concept and plot that would sustain a two hour blockbuster in service of a half hour comedy. And Van Dohlen is a big part of why it’s so great, alongside Timothy Spall of course.
All of our Twin Peaks friends are leaving us. So sad. See you at the curtain call.