As a collector of prop replicas, I love it when an item is featured so prominently that it’s easy to identify the make and model. There are several clear shots of Donna Hayward’s cassette player as the gang listens to tapes that Laura has recorded for Dr. Jacoby.
DONNA HAYWARD’S CASSETTE PLAYER – REALISTIC BY RADIO SHACK
The combination radio and cassette player is a Realistic SCR-34. The Realistic brand was produced by RadioShack from the mid-1950s until it was phased out in the 1990s and officially discontinued in 2000. It briefly returned in 2016 with a line of Bluetooth products.
This is not the only Realistic product featured in the series. Though the brand name is blacked out, two of Agent Cooper’s three voice recorders were made by Realistic.
APPEANCE IN EPISODE 1.006
A “small tape recorder” is mentioned in the episode 1.006 script dated November 8, 1989. As scripted, the scene takes place in Donna Hayward’s bedroom, not the dining room as in the broadcasted version. We never actually see Donna’s bedroom in the series.
APPEARANCE IN EPISODE 1.007
After appearing in the Hayward house in episodes 1.006 and 1.007, the cassette player makes a surprise appearance in episode 2.003 on a different set.
APPEARANCE IN EPISODE 2.003
In Dr. Jacoby’s hospital room, his wife Eolani (played by Jennifer Aquino) uses the very same prop to play a tape during her husband’s hypnotism.
With that, the Realistic SCR-34 joins the likes of Norman Yeckley’s “Spring Formal” painting on the list of Twin Peaks’ traveling props.
