I recently shared updated exterior location images from Eat at Rudy’s restaurant in Wilmington, California that served as the film location for Eat at Judy’s in Twin Peaks Part 18 on Showtime. This time, I explore the interior scenes at this Southern California restaurant.
WHERE IS EAT AT JUDY’S LOCATED?
As a reminder, Eat at Judy’s is actually Eat at Rudy’s located at 558 E Anaheim Street in Wilmington, California.
According to the Behind the Curtain videos from Twin Peaks – From Z to A Collection, exterior and interior shots were done on October 26-27, 2015. A waitress who works at the location, David Lynch and crew were at this location for three days of shooting. The third day could have been set up and set decorating.
On May 25, 2019, I visited the location for breakfast and to take photographs documenting the exterior and interior of this restaurant.
Upon ordering my cup of hot, black coffee, I quickly realized that I didn’t bring my laptop which contained all the photo references for the interior scenes (I was clearly excited to visit this location to be that absent minded). Luckily, I found video from Part 18 on YouTube and screen capped the scenes I needed.
EAT AT JUDY’S INTERIOR
Richard/Cooper had just left a strange motel in Odessa, Texas and spots Eat at Judy’s. The interior scenes begin when he parks his car.
The day I visited, there were two gentlemen sitting in the booths next to the door, so I couldn’t easily match the shot. Interesting to note that the door Richard/Cooper uses is the side entrance, not the main entrance to the restaurant.
OLDER COUPLE IN EAT AT JUDY’S
The scene cuts to an older couple enjoying breakfast. The gentleman is played by “Okie Dokie,” a regular customer of Eat at Rudy’s for more than 20 years. His real name is Gary Sands and he was joined by Dorothy Mae, an actress who also appeared in OneRepublic’s “Love Runs Out” video.
The newspaper that the lady is reading is from the fictional newspaper, the “Odessa Daily News.” In reality, the paper was used in a controversial AXE body spray add first published on March 24, 2016. Thank you to @Nina on the former WelcomeToTwinPeaks.com forums for finding the reference.
The newspaper was from the commercial “Shower Thoughts” created by the now defunct Generate/DEFY Media and Mindshare Entertainment. In the commercial, “Axe teams up with former NBA great Muggsy Bogues–the shortest guy to ever play pro at 5’3″–for a cameo in a 60-second spot that gets inspiration from one of the brilliant ideas that can come up in the shower.” Users on Reddit claimed the production company stole the idea from a Shower Thought thread and the commercial was quickly pulled about a week later.
I searched EVERYWHERE trying to locate a copy of the commercial. The closest thing I found (besides the screen cap from the WelcomeToTwinPeaks.com forum) was a brief clip in this recap YouTube video from What’s Trending. Most likely, the prop was recycled by possibly someone who worked on the AXE video. All they did was add “Odessa Daily News” as the masthead.
RICHARD / COOPER ENTERS EAT AT JUDY’S
Richard/Cooper walks into Eat at Judy’s and notices very few patrons. See how the tables were cleared in the episode.
He looks around the restaurant before sitting in a booth.
RICHARD / COOPER IN A BOOTH AT EAT AT JUDY’S
He walks over to the booths along the exterior window and sits down.
A waitress named Kristi (played by Francesca Eastwood) serves coffee.
Richard/Cooper asks Kristi about another waitress who works at the restaurant.
I couldn’t help getting a photo in the same booth. Note that it’s the second to last booth. They used different coffee cups in the episode and the photos along the back wall were replaced. My server said the crew completely redecorated the place to look more “Texas style.”
Kristi says that another waitress hasn’t been to work for three days.
Whatever his name in Part 18, he sure LOVES coffee.
Richard/Cooper watches as three cowboys harass Kristi. He tells them to leave her alone, which catches their attention.
The impending scuffle catches the attention of a cook in the kitchen. Notice the silver coffee pot sign and fryer were added for the episode, while the spinning order thingy was removed.
THE COWBOYS AND RICHARD / COOPER
Cowboy 1 (played by Heath Hensley, a stunt performer turned actor for this episode) approaches Richard/Cooper.
Cowboy 1 and Richard/Cooper exchange words.
Cowboy 1 then draws a gun which Richard/Cooper quickly grabs and then kicks him in his groin. This stunt is probably why Heath was hired to play Cowboy 1.
Cowboy 2 (played by Rob Mars) goes to draw a weapon as Cowboy 3 (played by Matt Battaglia) looks on. Like Heath, Rob is a seasoned stunt performer who was hired as an actor for this scene.
Richard/Cooper draws his own weapon and aims it at Cowboy 2’s feet.
The camera cuts to Cowboy 2’s feet as a hole is blasted into his left boot. I tried to match the approximate spot where this stunt took place. My teenage son laughed as he watched me edit these photos. He couldn’t believe his father was this obsessive.
Cowboys 1 and 2 are on the ground, rolling around in pain.
The older couple gasps at the action unfolding before their eyes.
Matt Battaglia who played Cowboy 3 is no stranger to Twin Peaks. He was the cop who couldn’t spell “Jaguar” at the Marsh Mansion in Episode 2.015 from Season 2. I was particularly excited to see his name on the Cast list on April 23, 2017
Matt shared this Behind-The-Scenes photo from filming at Eat at Rudy’s. You can follow him on Twitter at @MattBattaglia.
Richard/Cooper gets Cowboy 3 to lay down his weapon.
He then crosses the restaurant as the three Cowboys are on the ground.
DEEP FRIED HANDGUNS IN EAT AT JUDY’S
Kristi the waitress watches from behind the counter. Notice they removed the giant refrigerator for the episode.
Counter seating was also added to Eat at Rudy’s for the episode. It has since been removed.
I noticed these Tuxton mugs while taking photographs at the restaurant.
They appear to be similar to the mug that Mr. C uses when having dinner in Part 2.
Richard/Cooper glances around the counter area while the cook looks on.
Notice the Texas toast in the background. Everything is bigger in Texas.
He deep fries all three handguns. The fryer was added for the episode.
The cook in the kitchen leaves.
Richard/Cooper continues watching his back while the handguns are frying.
Kristi gives Richard/Cooper the address for the missing waitress.
We get one final look at the older couple who have yet to start eating their breakfast.
Richard/Cooper crosses the restaurant passing the Cowboys as he heads toward the exit. I would love to have copies of those restaurant signs in the background.
RICHARD / COOPER LEAVES EAT AT JUDY’S
Richard/Cooper leaves the restaurant, gets in his Lincoln Town Car and drives away.
The Used Parts sign is part Auto Recycling of Wilmington located at 418 East Anaheim Street.
The Cowboys are in disbelief as they watch Richard/Cooper leave.
Thank you to the staff at Eat at Rudy’s for indulging me during my visit. They serve damn, fine coffee and I had an exception breakfast.
Hi, I wanted to say that I love your blog. i use it as a source of inspiration when I do my twin peaks art. Especially vacant peaks part. A big thumbs up!
@Maja – Thank you for the kind words! That’s one of my favorite series. Working on a few more Vacant Peaks articles now.
Well Done Steve !
Another fine set of detective work !
Found your blog while trying to find out which episode my Dad was in. Okie Dokie’s given name is Gary Sands. He really enjoyed the experience.
Love your work Steve! Appreciate you getting to the bottom of this 😎