There are so many delightful characters in David Lynch’s 1992 film Twin Peaks – Fire Walk With Me, particularly in the first 35 minutes of the film. During a visit to Deer Meadow, Washington, Special Agents Chet Desmond and Sam Stanley get food at Hap’s Diner really early (or really late) in the morning. While at the counter, they meet the “Old Guy at Hap’s” played by the late G. Kenneth Davidson. As it turns out, Mr. Davidson had a lifelong passion for theatre.
G. KENNETH DAVIDSON
After reading a 2002 tribute to Mr. Davidson in the Great Falls Tribune, I connected with his son Ken who graciously shared stories about his father.
G. Kenneth Davidson was born October 20, 1919, in Great Falls, Montana. In 1901, his grandparents, George and Isabelle Davidson, immigrated to Great Falls from Dundee, Scotland, and his family spent their entire lives in that city.
After graduating from Great Falls High School in 1937, he attended Reed College in Portland, Oregon. He became interested in drama in his freshman year at Reed College and left Reed after his freshman year to pursue his interest in theatre at the Pasadena Playhouse School of Theatre where he graduated in 1940. World War II interrupted his brief career in radio. He joined the Army and was nominated for Officer Candidate School and soon became an officer.
He served in World War II from September 1942 to February 1946, during which time spent two years training and working in Army communications before spending two years in the Philippine Islands with the American Infantry Division.
When the war ended he returned to Great Falls to be with his family and his wife, Winifred. He was discharged at the rank of captain.
“I presume that after the war he wanted a return to normalcy and decided to stay in Great Falls,” speculated his son Ken. “My dad had the gift of gab, loved getting to know people and talking with them on any topic. He was recruited to join an insurance agency where he thrived because of his people skills.”
However, Davidson still kept his hand in the theatre with involvement in community theatre in Great Falls and in Billings, after moving to that city with his family. He was particularly active in the Billings Studio Theatre after becoming an empty-nester.
Davidson spent his entire professional career as an insurance agent, attaining a Chartered Life Underwriter (CLU) degree in 1949. He worked for Lincoln National Life Insurance Co. in Billings, Montana from 1959 until his early retirement in 1981.
He then moved to Kirkland, Washington to be near his children, grandchildren and brother, but also to pursue professional acting.
A PASSION FOR THEATRE
While insurance was his job, theater was his lifelong passion and I found several articles from the Great Falls Tribune highlighting Ken’s involvement.
In particular, he directed and acted in many productions at the Great Falls Little Theater and the Billings Studio Theater in Montana.
Once in Washington state, Davidson found an agent and went to auditions for professional theatre productions, films shot in the area and commercials.
“Like [his role] in Twin Peaks, most of his roles were character actor parts,” continued Ken. “I only knew of one theatre production in Seattle where he was one of the leads. However, taking minor roles or even work as an extra in a moving never bothered him. He just loved being around the productions and playing his role.”
Davidson’s son also shared that his father loved getting to know other cast members and production folks, particularly chatting with and giving encouragement to young actors starting their careers.
This could explain how he landed the role in Lynch’s 1992 film, especially if they were looking for local talent. Casting in Seattle was handled by Susan Dixon and Heidi L. Walker Casting. Ms. Dixon was responsible for hiring the late Arnie Stenseth, who played Sven Jorgensen in the Twin Peaks pilot episode, so it could mean that she hired Davidson for the film as well. I still need confirmation on this point.
OLD GUY AT HAP’S
The first time we see Davidson’s character – Old Guy at Hap’s – is a wide-angle shot of the diner interior. Agents Desmond and Stanley approach the counter after speaking with Jack in a back room.
The Old Guy puts down his coffee as Irene, the only waitress at Hap’s, approaches the F.BI. Agents.
LITTLE GIRL THAT GOT MURDERED
While Irene and Agent Desmond discuss Teresa Banks, the scene cuts to a closer shot of the Old Guy at Hap’s with a French Girl at Hap’s played by Paige Bennett.
Ms. Bennett would later serve as a hair stylist on other films and television shows in the late 1990s and 2000s. I imagine she was somehow involved with make-up or cosmetology at the time of this scene. It appears to be her only acting credit.
The August 8, 1991 script provides a slightly different description for Davidson’s character: “An OLD GUY, long and skinny, smoking, get’s Desmond’s attention.” There is no mention of the French Girl.
In the film, the Old Guy at Hap’s then asks, “Are you talking about that little girl that got murdered?”
SHIT FROM SHINOLA
In the script, Desmond asks if he has something to tell them. The old guy responds “Yeah.”
But in the film, it cuts to his now famous line – “I know shit from shinola.” In the script he continues, “Gets me along way down the road.”
Shinola references shoe polish that was popular for the first half of the 20th Century. The company folded in the 1960s but today it manufactures timepieces. The phrase uttered by the Old Guy originated in Army barracks during World War II. It’s similar to a phrase like, “He doesn’t know his head from a hole in the ground.”
The French Girl then comforts the Old Guy by saying, “La nuit est le bon moment” (“Nighttime is a good time” or “Nighttime is the right time.”) Or at least that is what I believe she says.
There was some debate in 2008 on Dugpa.com about exactly what she says. Dugpa even made a video attempting to discern her line.
The Old Guy takes another sip of coffee while the French Girl turns her gaze toward the special agents.
REPETITION
The Old Guy is seen out-of-focus behind Chet Desmond who is smiling after Agent Stanley spilled coffee on his lap.
After Irene tells the Special Agents about Teresa’s nerve problem with her arm, the Old Guy asks again if the agents are “talking about that little girl that got murdered.” This doesn’t appear in the script and it is not the same take as the first time he asked. His inflection at the end of the sentence dips down on the word, “murdered.”
This is the only scene we see the Old Guy and the French Girl (until a different French Girl appears later in Season 3).
PASSING ON
Sadly, G. Kenneth Davidson died of natural causes in Kirkland, Washington on July 9, 2002 at the age of 82. A private family service was held July 13. In lieu of flowers, the family requested donations to Alzheimer’s Association.
He is buried in Evergreen-Washelli Memorial Park in Seattle, Washington.
His wife of 61 years, Winifred Davidson of Kirkland, passed a few years later on January 12, 2008.
I’m not exactly sure where Mr. Davidson is buried at Evergreen-Washelli Memorial Park, but next time I visit the Pacific Northwest, I’ll pay my respects.
His obituary ended with the following: “Ken was a performer at heart and was known for his jokes and stories, especially those with the Scottish accent of his grandparents. He was a loving and caring family man, gracious, kind and full of joy, humor and wit. He will be deeply missed by his family and vast number of friends.”
Ken said his father was quite modest about his acting and did not talk about it around the family.
“About eight years after he passed we got a frantic phone call from our then 25-year-old son in the middle of the night,” said Ken. “He asked if grandpa was ever in the movies. He had been watching Twin Peaks late at night and said that if grandpa was not in the movies he felt like he was seeing a ghost.”
Thank you to Ken Davidson for sharing stories about your dad. Many fans in the Twin Peaks community are grateful to his talents with creating such a memorable character nearly 30 years later.
