Twin Peaks Film Location – Tremond House Exterior in Season 2

I’ve previously discussed how the Woolsey Fire of November 2018 destroyed the iconic gazebo from the first two seasons of Twin Peaks. I’m sad to report that another three locations were lost in that devastating fire – the Tremond, Smith and Briggs homes from the original broadcast in the early 1990s. Thankfully Charles from the former InTwinPeaks.com website documented some of the location which I explore in this article. For starters, let’s begin with the Tremond home. The other house exteriors will be discussed in companion articles (see Harold Smith’s house in this story).

WHERE IS TREMOND HOUSE EXTERIOR LOCATED IN TWIN PEAKS?

The location for these spots is found at 29371 Lake Vista Drive in Agoura Hills, California. The approximate coordinates where the two houses once stood are 34°06’26.3″N 118°45’51.8″W.

The homes were part of the Malibou Lake Mountain Club, a private lake and residential community of custom houses nestled in the Santa Monica Mountains between the Conejo Valley and beaches of Malibu. The area has many No Trespassing signs and the community is serious about those warnings.

The Smith and Tremond houses were located across the street from the house used as the Johnson’s home exterior in Seasons 1 and 2.

Since this home was part of Malibou Lake Mountain Club, I was unable to pull any property records from the Los Angeles County Assessor’s office. The home was originally built in the 1940s and appears to have changed hands a few times over the years. The Hoecker family may have lived here during filming in 1990.

Thanks to a more recent sale of the home in the early 2010s, I found a listing on Trulia.com which described the property:

Malibou Lake~~One Story With Separate Guest House–Main House Is Approx 2500 Sq.Ft.~~ Guest House Is Approx 1000 Sq.Ft 2 Bedroom 1 Bath, Screen In Porch.Over 26000 Sq Ft.Usable Lot.

So it was really two homes on the same property.

THE WOOLSEY FIRE

I love Google Earth’s Time Machine function which can show the progression of time over a particular area. The above image shows the home as it appeared around August 2018.

By November 2018, you can see the homes are gone. The Woolsey Fire, named for Woolsey Canyon where the fire originated, ignited on November 8 and burned 96,949 acres of land. The fire, according to this page, “destroyed 1,643 structures, killed three people, and prompted the evacuation of more than 295,000 people.” By November 16, the fire was contained but left a trail of destruction in its wake.

Cleanup continued into January 2019 according to Google Earth imagery.

By February 2021, the land was cleared.

I visited the area on September 19, 2020 and took this image looking down at the property from Mulholland Way.

I returned about a month later and took this image at street level. All that remains is the mailbox (which you actually see in the show) and a handful of trees. The current owner’s family name – Roderick- is still found on the silver mailbox. I believe they moved in around 2015 so I’m assuming they still own the land.

EPISODE 2.002 SHOOTING DATE

The Tremond house first appears in the David Lynch-directed Episode 2002. The episode’s script was written by Harley Peyton between July 7-18, 1990 with a few revisions along the way.

The scene was most likely shot between July 23-27, 1990. I know the Double R Diner scene was shot on July 25 that week so it was either before or after that day. The episode first aired on October 6, 1990.

DONNA ENTERS TREMOND HOUSE

The scene begins with Donna Hayward carrying a Meals on Wheels delivery. The script describes the action, listing Mrs. Tremond lives in an “Apartment House.”

EXT. APARTMENT HOUSE – DAY

DONNA HAYWARD stands at the door, carrying a covered meal tray. She checks a piece of paper, doublechecks the address. And knocks.

DONNA
Hello? Mrs. Tremond? Meals On Wheels.

A long beat. Donna’s about to step away. Then a voice from within:

VOICE
Enter.

Donna hesitates, tries the door. It’s open. She hefts the tray, steps inside.

The crew constructed a wooden fence at the start of the pathway complete with a wooden arch. You can see the giant tree along Lake Vista Drive which was spared by the fire and still found there today.

Donna walks down the path carrying the hot meal.

You can see the start of the path and the utility pole in this image from Bing Maps.

Here’s the same path in the late 2000s from the former InTwinPeaks.com.

THE TREMOND HOUSE BACK DOOR

Donna pauses by a wood pile outside Harold Smith’s house to the right. She is looking at the back door of the home.

Here is a look at the backdoor of the previous home. Notice the washer and dryer located outside the house.

It must be a Southern California thing since the Johnson’s also have their washer and dryer outside.

Donna knocks on the blue trim-lined door.

When Charles from In Twin Peaks visited, the blue trim was white and the original door was replaced with one that had a dog door.

Fellow Bookhouse Boy Bob Hoag messaged me after reading this article.

“I’m looking super carefully at the doors on the Tremond house and I think it’s the same door as in the series (both the screen door and the main door).

I think the doggie door was installed in the door that’s seen onscreen. If you look closely, you’ll see it still has 3 panels below the window, but the dog door was installed. Then look at the relationship of the doorknob and deadbolt to the panels on the door and compare to what we see onscreen – looks exactly the same.

I think the screen door’s handle has changed, but the door itself appears to be the same. Two big chrome bars across the center. The pic is too low res to see the pattern in the lower half of the screen but I think it’s still there.”

I love Bob and I love this kind of teamwork. I’ve always seen Twin Peaks Blog as a collaborative experience. It’s crazy to think that the same door was kept on the house for 20-plus years (between 1990 and the time Charles visited around 2010).

The camera cuts to inside the home where Mrs. Tremond (Francis Bay) is seen sitting upright in bed. Her grandson (Austin Jack Lynch, David Lynch’s son), dressed in a black suit and tie, is sitting in a chair across the room. Believe it or not, this scene was shot inside the actual home!

You can see part of the bed and some kind of patterned towel as she opens the door. I’ll share more looks at this scene in a different article.

After her strange encounter with the old woman and her grandson, Donna departs the Tremond’s home and visits Mr. Smith’s house across the way. As mentioned, I’ll discuss that location in a separate article.

RETURNING TO TREMOND HOUSE IN EPISODE 2.009

We return to the Tremond’s house in Episode 2009 after Donna hears Deputy Andy Brennan recite a line from Harold Smith’s suicide note. This script was written by Mark Frost, Harley Peyton and Robert Engles between September and early October 1990 (the colors signify the pages with changes)

• FIRST DRAFT (Dept. Heads Only): September 21, 1990
• General Distribution: September 27, 1990
• REVISED: October 2, 1990 – BLUE
• REVISED: October 3, 1990 – PINK
• REVISED: October 8, 1990 – GREEN

The episode aired on December 1, 1990 which means this scene was probably shot sometime in either October or November that year. I haven’t found corresponding paperwork to confirm.

One thing to immediate note is the fence and wooden archway are different. The crew reconstructed the items for Episode 2009 but changed the wood beam over the arch and didn’t add additional wooden planks blocking that giant tree that still stands there today.

The planters, however, appear to be the same in both episodes. Three or four months had passed since the crew first shot scenes for Episode 2.002 at the end of July 1990.

WATCH DEPUTY ANDY

This scene appears on PINK pages which were revised on October 3, 1990. While rewatching this scene, pay attention to Deputy Andy in the background. What is he doing?

Based on the sun’s position, this scene was most likely shot in the morning.

The script contains similar dialogue and action:

EXT. MRS. TREMOND’S HOUSE – DAY
Donna leads Cooper and Andy up the path to Mrs. Tremond’s house, directly across from Harold Smith’s. In mid-speech:

DONNA
Mrs. Tremond is the woman who told me about Harold Smith. She has a grandson. And he said it to me. The same words that were in Harold Smith’s suicide note … 

COOPER
(ignoring Albert, suggesting a possibility)
Maybe the boy said the same thing to Harold. 

DONNA
Harold’s world was in words. The suicide note was a message, it has to be. And it leads back here … 

DONNA KNOCKS AT TREMOND HOUSE DOOR

Donna knocks on Mrs. Tremond’s door. A long beat.

DONNA
(as if explain the delay)
She’s pretty old. If her grandson isn’t here to open it … 

ANDY
(peering toward window)
There’s someone inside. 

Andy’s dialogue was cut from this scene.

ENTER MRS. TREMOND

We get a look inside the home which appears completely different than Episode 2002. I wonder if this was the actual homeowner’s furniture – I love the mid-century modern vibe. Is that a green formica table top I see?

Mrs. Tremond (played by the late Mae Williams) slowly approaches the door.

Just then: the door opens, revealing a WOMAN. Middle-aged. Pleasant in appearance. And most decidedly not Mrs. Tremond. 

WOMAN
(seeing Truman’s badge)
[Note – I wonder if an original draft had Sheriff Truman accompanying Donna, Cooper and Andy)
May I help you … ?

DONNA (confused)
Is Mrs. Tremond here? 

WOMAN
I’m Mrs. Tremond. 

DONNA
Maybe it was your mother I spoke to. 

TREMOND (friendly)
My mother passed away three years ago. I live alone. 

DONNA
No. I was here. I talked to her. And her grandson, he was here too. 

TREMOND
(confused, quietly apologetic)
But I have no children.

DONNA
But he was here. They were both here… 

MAE WILLIAMS AS MRS. TREMOND

Mae Williams who plays Mrs. Tremond was a singer and actor who broke into show business singing with big bands like Tommy Dorsey and Benny Goodman. You can hear her perform the 1947 song “L-L-L-L-A” with the Town Criers and Dorsey on Archive.org.

According to Variety.com, she created and starred in “Breakthrough” in the late 1950s which was  “a TV series inspired by her story of opening at the Copacabana, then being stricken with polio and battling to a successful comeback.”

Later on, she had onscreen roles in Foxes (1980), The Jerk (1979) and Coast to Coast (1980). Williams passed on January 19, 1999 in Studio City, California at the age of 79 following complications from a stroke.

NOTE FOR DONNA HAYWARD

After realizing Donna Hayward is at her door, she returns with a note. The scripted dialogue appears pretty much the same on screen.

Donna takes the note from Mrs. Tremond. There appears to be a shed in the distance but I don’t have any photo reference for it.

DONNA HAYWARD READING LAURA PALMER’S DIARY

Before leaving the property, Agent Cooper encourages Donna to read Harold Smith’s note.

“Read it.”

Images of the Red Room from Episode 1002 are super imposed over Cooper’s face as Donna reads the page. Note – on screen she says “February 22” but in the script, the first entry is dated February 21.

A long beat. Donna peering at the familiar handwriting. Finally, in a whisper. 

DONNA
(reading with sadness, disbelief)
February 21st. Last night I had the strangest dream. I was in a red room with a small man dressed in red and an old man, sitting in a chair. 

Cooper reacts. He had the same dream. Laura, the midget, forgotten secrets whispered in his ear. 

DONNA (CONTINUED)
I tried to talk to him. I wanted to tell him who Bob is because I thought he could help me. But my words came out slow and odd. It was so frustrating trying to talk. I got up and walked over to the old man. Like I was going to kiss him [Note – this line is omitted]. Then I leaned over and whispered the secret in his ear. I told him everything [Note – Also omitted]

(beat)
Somebody has to stop Bob. Bob’s only afraid of one man. He told me once. A man named Mike. I wonder if this was Mike in my dream. Even if it was only a dream, I hope he heard me. No one in the real world would believe me. 

Donna completes the page, now turns to the other side. She reads: 

DONNA
February 22nd [Note – On screen Donna says “February 23”]. Tonight is the night that I die. 

(quiet gasp, a look at Cooper)
I know I have to because it is the only way to keep Bob away from me. The only way to tear him out from inside. I know he wants me. I can feel his fire. But if I die he can’t hurt me anymore. 

The following dialogue is omitted on screen

(Donna begins to weep)
I’m not afraid. I’ll miss Donna and James. I’ll miss my home. But I’m tired and Bob won’t let me rest. Death will be like sleeping. I’m almost happy. And best of all … I’m free. 

I really need to examine the handwriting used for Laura’s diary pages in a different article. I wonder which crew member provided the handwriting.

Donna looks up at Cooper, tears on her face. Andy’s crying too. He puts his arm around her, comforts her.

COOPER
Laura and I had the same dream. But in her dream I was Mike.[Note – Cooper’s line about Mike is omitted on screen]

Andy has a voice over remarking that sharing the same dream with Laura is “impossible.” Cooper agrees.

TAKE DONNA HOME

Cooper directs Andy to take Donna home and departs the scene.

As Andy and Donna leave we can see the police car parked beneath the giant tree.

In Episode 2007, we can see that tree from Lake Vista Drive when an establishing shot of Harold’s home is used.

It’s all that remains of this location in Agoura Hills. I’m sad I never got to see it like Charles did. See below for how the page about the real Tremond residence once appears on InTwinPeaks.com.

INTWINPEAKS.COM