Agent Cooper’s affinity for handheld gadgets is established very quickly in the Twin Peaks pilot episode. His arsenal contains a trusty microcassette recorder, a lighted magnifying glass, and a pocket calculator. But the calculator is more than meets the eye.
Sharp Dial Master EL-6250H
This prop is a Sharp Dial Master EL-6250H. According to Calcuseum, an online archive of vintage electronic calculators, Sharp introduced the Dial Master EL-6250 in 1986. The EL-6250H was released shortly thereafter, boasting 8 kilobytes of memory versus the earlier model’s 4 kilobytes, but functionally identical.
The Twin Peaks prop department painted over the identifying text across the top of the device, but considering that newspapers started advertising the EL-6250H in the fall of 1988, I have to assume that they sourced the newest available model when they began filming the pilot a few months later.
While the Dial Master does have both calculator and memo functions, its primary purpose was to store telephone numbers and aid users in placing their calls, like a portable speed dial.
The user would select a stored contact and place the speaker located on the back of the device against their telephone’s receiver. The Dial Master would play the dial tones to place the call.
As you can see from my replica, the Dial Master is housed inside a faux-leather wallet that folds out with a pocket for paper notes.
PILOT EPISODE
We first see this prop during Agent Cooper’s drive into Twin Peaks in the pilot episode. He pulls the device from his pocket to verify Sheriff Harry S. Truman’s name while recording a message to Diane. Interestingly, the orientation of the Dial Master’s wallet would indicate that he is reading the contact upside down. Talk about distracted driving.
The gadget sits on the table, wallet open, as Cooper and Truman interrogate Bobby Briggs.
Cooper types a message with one hand as though he’s had plenty of practice.
He passes the Dial Master to Harry to covertly communicate that Bobby is innocent. The area above the screen has been seamlessly painted to cover the identifying text.
NEAT STUFF
Greg McMickle, the prop master from the Twin Peaks pilot, appeared in an episode of the documentary series Neat Stuff which aired on TLC from 1996 to 1997. Host Jim Leinfelder traveled the country interviewing people about the interesting items they collect. McMickle showcased a few of his screen-used props, including Cooper’s Dial Master.
He only worked on the pilot episode of Twin Peaks, so it seems likely that if he owned the prop in the late 1990s, a second Dial Master may have been sourced for its appearances in later episodes.
SUBSEQUENT APPEARANCES
In episode 1001, the Dial Master returns as Cooper types a memo, oblivious to the fish-flavored coffee coming his way.
The prop’s only appearance in the second season comes in episode 2004 just before Cooper asks Andy about his Circle Brand boots.
We see Cooper flip the wallet shut, offering a brief but clear view of the speaker on the back.
It’s a shame Cooper would miss out on the next 25 years of technological advancements. I can only imagine how much he would’ve enjoyed the progression of cell phones.
