A little over a month after Mark Frost and David Lynch’s wonderful and strange show debuted on the ABC Television network in 1990, People Weekly magazine offered what they described as a “complete guide to Twin Peaks” in their May 14 issue. This guide contained several stories about the show’s first season, including a two-page map detailing “Who’s Who” in the show.
COMPLETE GUIDE TO TWIN PEAKS IN PEOPLE WEEKLY MAGAZINE ON MAY 14, 1990
People Weekly was first published on March 4, 1974. In the premier issue, Richard Stolley, a former assistant managing editor at Life and first managing editor of People Weekly, described the weekly magazine as “getting back to the people who are causing the news and who are caught up in it, or deserve to be in it. Our focus is on people, not issues.”
By mid-May, Twin Peaks was the talk at water coolers across the United States. Reporters at People Weekly capitalized on the moment by publishing a “complete guide” offering insights and interviews about the show.
PEOPLE WEEKLY ON MAY 14, 1990 – TABLE OF CONTENTS – PAGES 2-3
The May 14 issue was Volume 33, No. 19 of the magazine. The table of contents highlights a number of stories about two children suffering a rare genetic disorder, John Tesh, Jane Goodall, Liz Taylor and Zap from American Gladiators.
The Twin Peaks content would begin on page 83 with a description that read, “Who did in poor Laura Palmer? And what’s going on here anyway? David Lynch’s Twin Peaks dishes up dwafs, evil doings and killer cherry pie.”
Along with bureau reports, contributing reporters for the Twin Peaks coverage included Susan Schindehette, Lissa August in Washington, D.C., John Griffiths, Kristina Johnson and Craig Tomashoff in Los Angeles.
The Table of Contents also included a small square photo of Special Agent Dale Cooper dictating a memo to Diane via his tape recorder.
PEOPLE WEEKLY ON MAY 14, 1990 – TABLE OF CONTENTS – PAGE 83
On page 83, the Twin Peaks coverage began in the “Tube” section with a story titled, “Cryptic Dreams, A Dead Prom Queen, Dwarf Balk Talk – Here, At Last, Is A Guide To What Twin Peaks Is All About.” The reporter sets the stage for the show’s central mystery and says that it has “the most buzzed-about plot line since J.R. [Ewing] got plugged in a 1980 Dallas cliff-hanger.”
Lynch and Frost’s story about FBI Special Agent Dale Cooper investigating Laura Palmer’s murder is filled with “doughnuts, deer heads and even percolated fish” along with “off-the-wall characters – a dwarf who shows up in a dream .. and the mysterious Log Lady.” The show’s writing is “crammed with dialogue that’s “sometimes witty, sometimes opaque, sometimes both.”
At the time of publishing, there was a notion floating in the air that the Laura Palmer’s would be revealed in the first season finale.
“So not only do aficionados want to solve the murder (a solution may pop up in the season finale Wed. May 23 at 10 p.m.),” wrote the People Weekly reporter. This is another article waiting to happen as there was some critical response when episode 1.007 didn’t answer the question, “Who killed Laura Palmer?” But that’s for another time.
“I was totally charmed by the idea of this small town being riddled by nasty secrets,” says Patricia Aufderheide, as assistant professor of communication at Washington D.C.’s American University, “because that was my experience growing up in a small Minnesota town.”
The article contains a fantastic shot of Sheriff Harry S. Truman and Agent Cooper opening the curtain at the morgue while the body of Laura Palmer is waiting to be examined. They also include a small image from the pilot where Cooper examines Laura’s fingernails.
“The cloying, horrid normalcy of the Cosby generation has finally fed up those of us who never bought it anyway,” says L.A. disc jokey Boyd Britten. “Hopefully we’re going to have TV for people who like things just a little weirder.”
PEOPLE WEEKLY ON MAY 14, 1990 – TWIN PEAKS WHO’S WHO – PAGE 84-85
Before the story continues on page 87, there is a double-page spread containing a “Twin Peaks Who’s Who” chart found on pages 84-85. The chart maps relationships about who is married, related, dealing drugs, having an affair, working together or friends. The image are either publicity photos or character shot captured from the television broadcast.
The background image was taken by Washington-based photographer Dale Wittner who supposedly still has a studio in downtown Seattle. It appears the shot may be captured above Snoqualmie Falls, looking back at the snowcapped mountains.
The relationship map contains some interesting descriptions for characters (Norma Jennings “Slings Hash” or Sarah Palmer “Psychic Shrieker”). An image of Teresa Banks is missing since we wouldn’t seen actress Pamela Gidley’s portrayal of the character until Lynch’s 1992 film.
PEOPLE WEEKLY ON MAY 14, 1990 – PEAKSPEAK – PAGE 87
The main article picks up on page 87 with a quote from David Lynch after comparing the show’s “stylish surrealism” to his other films.
“I still don’t see what the great difference is,” Lynch has said. “To me, it’s a regular television show.”
Director John Waters, however, loved it saying, “It’s like Peyton Place gone nuts … it’s my favorite thing on TV.” While Kooky comedian Julie Brown expressed her love for Lynch and Frost’s work – “Any show that ends an episode with a vibrating dwarf is my kind of TV.”
The reporters call out some of the show’s nods to other works like The Fugutive or the 1944 film Laura. This was by design responded co-creator Mark Frost.
“I call the show a cultural compost heap. There are symbols and characters and expressions from all the shows we saw growing up that echo and ping down the hallways of Twin Peaks.”
The is also a sidebar article that contains “Peakspeak” or memorable dialogue from the pilot episode through episode 1.003.
Page 87 contains two images – one with James Hurley and Audrey Horne in the Double R Diner (something that isn’t seen in the series).
The second is a shot of Cooper and Truman indulging in “a deputy’s dream” of doughnuts. The report should have called it a “policeman’s dream” which is what Cooper called the doughnut lineup in the pilot.
PEOPLE WEEKLY ON MAY 14, 1990 – WOMAN OF MYSTERY LOGROLLS TO FAME – PAGE 89
The overall article picks up on page 89 with details about the show’s viewership – “In the month since the show first landed on the airwaves, an estimated 30 million viewers have gotten ensnared in Twin Peaks’ sub-rosa complexity.”
A Philadelphia deejay named Harvey said the Red Room dream sequence was “the strangest six minutes of TV America ever saw.”
“The big debate the callers had was how the dialogue was done,” continued Harvey. The article explains how it was recorded by having actors speak lines backward and then reverse the tape.
The article continues with updates of viewing parties across the U.S.
“In Denver, 200 fans turn out for a viewing party at the local Deadbeat Lounge, and spend the post-show wee hours drinking ‘Blue Velvets’ and watching Eraserhead on a 30-foot video screen.”
During one pre-press conference debriefing at the U.S. Capitol, Assistant Press Secretary Deborah Brunton said Twin Peaks was discussed.
“We started analyzing the dream while the press corp waited,” said Brunton.
Twenty-three year old Mila Roschwalb was labeled “most loyal fan” as the first thing she asked after waking from a tonsillectomy was “Did I miss Twin Peaks?”
The most interesting part of this story is a recap from a Twin Peaks crew viewing party held at the now defunct Los Angeles’ Home Plate Bar.
“As many as 80 of the show’s cast, crew and friends have gathered for Thursday-night viewings. Two weeks ago, there was nothing but silence as actors Michael Horse (Deputy “Hawk”) and Kimmy Robertson (Lucy Moran) watched the plot unfold. Then as Agent Cooper makes an inquiry about Twin Peaks real estate, Charlotte Stewart (Mrs. Briggs) broke the tension. ‘Oooh!,’ she squealed, clapping her hands together. ‘Agent Cooper’s moving to Twin Peaks!”
They were watching episode 1.003 just after Cooper dismissed Agent Albert Rosenfield at the Twin Peaks Sheriff’s Department. He makes a memo to Diane asking her to look into his pension plan for outside real estate options.
The International Pilot was then discussed, which contains an “18-minute dream sequence” and “the true identity of Laura’s killer. Washington Post’s film critic Hal Hinson posted synopsis of this alternate ending which was only available in Europe at the time Twin Peaks aired in the United States.
A sidebar article on page 89 includes an interview with Catherine Coulson who played Margaret Lanterman, the Log Lady. The photo of her carrying the log was captured by Jim McHugh from Visages.
There are several interesting quotes from Coulson and tidbits about her and her character
“I don’t see [the Log Lady] as being unusual,” she explained. “A log is such a solid thing to carry.”
Coulson was 44 at the time she made Twin Peaks. She was supposedly the “only cast member who is not a professional actor. She normally works as a camera operator, having abandoned her theatrical calling long ago.”
The article continues stating she played a neighbor in Eraserhead but I believe they are confusing Lynch’s 1977 film with The Grandmother short film.
Lynch told Coulson in 1972, “When you put on your glasses, I just saw a log in your arms. Someday I’ll do a series and you’ll play a girl with a log.”
The short article ends with a fun anecdote about Catherine’s then three-year-old daughter Zoey who asked, “Mommy, if you’re the Log Lady, can I be the Log Girl?”
PEOPLE WEEKLY ON MAY 14, 1990 – WOMAN OF MYSTERY LOGROLLS TO FAME – PAGE 89
The final page of coverage picks up on page 90 with Mark Frost explaining why the International Pilot was created – “the foreign version was whipped up to meet a contractual obligation and has no bearing on what U.S. viewers will eventually see.”
A former FBI special agent of 30 years named Herb Clough chimed in about Cooper’s unique investigative techniques.
“It sounds weird, but there really were people who thought about cases in their sleep. The facts in your subconscious really would all fit together,” he stated.
At the time of press, ABC Television’s “33-share for the [Twin Peaks] pilot” had “fallen off to 18” but that didn’t concern then ABC Entertainment President Robert A. Iger.
“Even if it loses a little steam, it’s still a wave,” said Iger. This led to speculation for a fall renewal which wouldn’t be announced for another nine days or so.
Actor Dennis Hopper, who played Frank Booth in Blue Velvet, closed the article by saying the “real responsibility for bumping off Laura Palmer falls on one man: David Lynch.” It seems the he, like Twin Peaks, is a real killer.
There is a behind-the-scenes shot from Richard Foreman from ABC of David Lynch directing Dana Ashbrook and Mädchen Amick outside the Mar-T Cafe in North Bend, Washington during the first day of filming on February 21, 1989.
There’s also an image by on-set photographer Kimberly Wright of Laura Palmer’s bedroom captured at a private residence located in Everett, Washington.
The final side bar article highlight the Real Twin Peaks, particularly the Mar-T Cafe which was home to Twin Peaks pies. The photo of pie-maker Garnet Cross was captured by Dale Wittner, the same photographer who provided the background image of the “Who’s Who?” page. If you look carefully, you’ll spot Pat Cokewell sitting at the counter along with two local townsfolk.
I was particularly excited to see the wooden “No Shoes” sign just below Garnet in the black-and-white photo. It’s the same wooden sign found in this interior shot of the Double R Diner from Lynch’s 1992 masterpiece. It means that sign was something people saw every day when visiting the diner. I wonder where it went and how I can find a replica.
Snoqualmie Police Chief Don Isley is quoted in the article stating he fell asleep during the two-hour pilot. The article also states the “show’s murder scene took place in a Snoqualmie graveyard,” which I believe the author meant to add “train graveyard.” There was one once located off the Snoqualmie Parkway.
For baker Garnet Cross, the new found fame after Cooper explains the Double R Diner is where pies go when they die “embarrasses her to death.”
“I’ve been making the pies all my life, and now I’m afraid I’ll do something wrong.”
There was also a quote from Big Edd Larson, owner of Big Edd’s Family Dining in Snoqualmie (now home to India Belly). He capitalized on the town’s new fame by selling the “Twin Peaks Burger” for $2.85. He rarely watched the show as he was too busy coaching Little League team.
This article was an interesting snapshot of a time when Twin Peaks was new and the world still didn’t know who killed Laura Palmer. I’m glad to have this a part of the permanent archive about my favorite show.
Download high-resolution images from this People Weekly magazine on my Flickr account: https://www.flickr.com/photos/aloha75/albums/72177720323319843
