This year has been a surreal one to say the least. It’s become very clear to me that it’s important to celebrate the loved ones in our lives. It’s with a heavy heart that I write this Love Letter to Galyn Görg, who died at the age of 55 on July 14, 2020 (her birthday is today, July 15). While her appearance in Twin Peaks was brief, Galyn left an incredible legacy as a performer, actress and dancer.
ABOUT GALYN
Born in Los Angeles, California to filmmaker mother Gwyn and director and writer father Alan Görg. Galyn was raised in the state of Hawai’i and majored in liberal arts at Santa Monica City College.
As a teenager, she was awarded scholarships at the prestigious Dupree Dance Academy, Alvin Ailey Summer Program, and The Professional Dancer’s Society.  She has studied the dance styles of Jazz, Ballet, Haitian, Afro-Samba, Afro-Cuban, West African, Hip-Hop, Hula, and Funk.
Her work in film, television and live theatrical performances carried her to many countries including, Italy, Mexico, New Zealand, the Middle East, and Canada to name a few. She was the dance star of two Italian variety series, Fantastico and Sandraraimondo Show.
In addition to Twin Peaks, Görg stared in several notable films and television shows including LOST (Nurse), Star Trek: Deep Space Nine (Korena in “The Visitor”), M.A.N.T.I.S. (Lt. Leora Maxwell), Robocop 2, Point Break, and more.
Graeme Larmour interviewed Galyn in 2012 for Twin Peaks Archive. It’s a fantastic read, so please take a moment to learn more about her time on the show.
HER PASSING
I was first alerted to her passing by fellow Bookhouse Boy Luca De Paoli whom I met at the Fayetteville Comic Show 2020. A quick search on the internet returned a several stories from Italian publications, such as Huffington Post and Ilpost.it (I used Google Translate to get the text below):
“On 15 July, the American actress and dancer Galyn Gorg died at 56. Gorg, who was born in Los Angeles on July 15, 1964, was known in Italy mainly for participating in the Fantastic 6 broadcast on RaiUno between 1985 and 1986, conducted by Pippo Baudo with Lorella Cuccarini and Beppe Grillo. The choreographer Steve La Chance, the first dancer in that edition of Fantastico, gave the news of the death . In 1987 Gorg had been part of the cast of the transmission Sandra and Raimondo show , with Sandra Mondaini and Raimondo Vianello, and again with Steve La Chance.
The causes of the death of the dancer are not yet known. Lorella Cuccarini also remembered her on her social profiles by publishing a photograph of the two of them together.”
UPDATE – JULY 15, 2020 AT 3:38 P.M.
According to Heavy.com, Galyn passed on July 14 following a battle with cancer. Görg had been receiving treatment in Oahu, Hawaii.
“Görg died on July 14, the day before her birthday, according to her GoFundMe page. The description on the page said that Gorg had been diagnosed with cancer “throughout her entire body and lungs.’ The page reads, “The doctors claimed she only had days maybe a week to live, and after remaining optimistic and praying for a miracle, she has sadly passed.’ On July 12, Gorg’s sister wrote on Facebook, “My sister says she wants a miracle, please. Prayers.â€
EPISODE 2003
Galyn’s first appearance in Twin Peaks as Nancy O’Reilly occurs in Episode 2003 of Season 2. Nancy was Blackie’s sister and enjoyed playing the part, according to her interview with Twin Peaks Archive:
“I enjoyed playing a character that’s in a world that’s so different from mine. She’s in a seedy world of shady characters and making her way through that. That’s always fun, it’s almost like children doing make-believe, so you get to really use your imagination to create a back-story, and create philosophies and ideas for that character.”
Nancy was also the love interest of Jean Renault, who was played by the late Michael Parks. Galyn described him as “great, a very giving actor, very professional.”
Galyn created a backstory for Nancy’s character whom she described as “kinda desperate”:
“I don’t remember the specifics, about her having a really rough upbringing – maybe being abandoned by her mother and being really needy, getting herself lost and hanging around with people like Jean Renault.”
There is brief deleted dialog from the Episode 2003 script that explains Nancy’s relationship with Jean:
Battis leaves. Blackie and her sister square off. Clearly they hate each other.
BLACKIE
What the hell do you bring her here for?
JEAN
She’s with me.
BLACKIE
I can see she’s with you.
JEAN
No: she’s with me.
BLACKIE
She goes back north or this deal goes south.
NANCY
Jean, tell my sister to behave herself or you’ll get mad.
JEAN
She stays. You get the cash. I get Cooper. Everybody’s happy. Of course, we can’t let the girl live now, can we?
EPISODE 2005
Galyn returns in Episode 2005 and has extended scenes with Michael Parks.
During her 2012 interview, Nancy didn’t quite recall how she got the part:
“IÂ must have auditioned. You go on so many auditions they kind of blend together. David Lynch was around, and Mark Frost who cast me in another film he did called Storyville, with Jason Robards and James Spader.”
FIGHT SCENE WITH COOPER
When Cooper infiltrates One Eyed Jacks, he accidentally bumps into Nancy.
Galyn recalled Kyle MacLachlan’s warm and friendly demeanor on set:
“I remember Kyle [MacLachlan] specifically because he was really cool and made me feel really comfortable. When you go on a new show and you don’t know anybody, it’s a little awkward to adjust to people. It’s like bringing a new actor into your company for a short time. I remember he was really warm and friendly and cracked some jokes with me in between takes. He was really welcoming.”
I love this shot of Nancy watching Cooper interact with Audrey Horne.
For their fight scene, Galyn did her own stunts.
“I remember we had to rehearse it quite a few times so that it looked natural. Everybody was so professional that we moved pretty quickly, but it did take a little time to choreograph. It was a collaboration; Kyle would say ‘What about this?’. Then I’d say ‘What if I turn this way and look at you that way, and we all three (Galyn, Kyle & director Graeme Clifford) worked together, so that it looked real.”
It sure did look real.
In September 2019, a Twitter user asked Galyn if she thought Nancy was still plotting revenge. I love the fact that she responded.
Until we meet again, Galyn. Thank you for sharing your talents with the wor
