The excitement surrounding the first season of David Lynch and Mark Frost’s Twin Peaks extended into every corner of life in spring 1990. Fans held watch parties and media outlets covered the latest news from the small Pacific Northwest town in newspapers and magazines across the nation. Coverage of the show also turned up in some unexpected places like the June 1990 issue of “Teen Beat” magazine. Thanks to my fellow Twin Peaks fan 1400 River Road, I scanned the clippings she saved from this magazine long ago.
WHAT IS TEEN BEAT MAGAZINE?
Sterling’s Magazines introduced “Teen Beat” magazine in 1967 as as a sister publication of “16 Magazine” (first published in 1956) and “Tiger Beat” (introduced two years earlier in 1965). Ownership of this American magazine created for teenagers changed hands in 1985 with Macfadden Publications assuming control. Michael Liben served as the magazine’s publisher when the June 1990 issue was released.
The magazine changed hands again in 1998 when Macfadden’s youth music publications were sold to Primedia. As interest in teen magazines wained in the new millennium, “Teen Beat” switched to a quarterly publication in October 2001. By May 2007, Primedia sold its magazines to Source Interlink Cos. for $1.2 Billion and “Teen Beat” ceased publication.
The June 1990 issue (Vol. 13 No. 4) offered extensive coverage on the New Kids on the Block. It’s wild to think they were the hottest pop band at a time when the nation was asking, “Who killed Laura Palmer?”
I wonder who won the NKOTB autographed cuddle-pillow.
“TAKE A SNEAK PEAK AT TWIN PEAKS” | DOUBLE R DINER PUBLICITY PHOTO
Coverage for Twin Peaks began on page 30 with a full-page image of Donna, James and Audrey pictured on the set of the Double R Diner in Van Nuys, California.
The photo’s caption read: “Clockwise from top left: Lara Flynn Boyle (plays the dead Laura’s best friend, Donna Hayward), James Marshall (plays motor cycle loner James Hurley) and Sherilyn Fenn (plays Audrey Horne, a sensual and cunning beauty who enjoys manipulating people).”
The black-and-white image is cropped from this full-color publicity photo from Dec. 12, 1989.
There were several alternate shots from this sequence used in other publications such as the “TV Guide” from April 7-13, 1990.
THE TEEN BEAT TIMES | SNEAK PREVIEW – “TAKE A SNEAK PEAK AT TWIN PEAKS”
On page 31, the Teen Beat Times section offered a “Sneak Preview” of Lynch and Frost’s new show in an article titled, “Take a Peak at Twin Peaks.” Here is a transcription of the article with actors and stars’ names in bold.
If you’re a fan of the offbeat, the oddball and the mysterious, then hold on tight for this new prime-time TV series! Director and writer David Lynch (Eraserhead and Blue Velvet) is known for the bizarre brilliance of his films and, his latest soap opera-ish creation, Twin Peaks, is no exception!
Welcome to Twin Peaks, a picturesque rural town that conjures images of apple pie cooling on a windowsill and clean laundry blowing in the wind. Located in the Pacific Northwest, Twin Peaks is surrounded by magnificent Douglas firs and beautiful mountain scenery. On the surface, it’s a quiet town and the residents lead wonderful lives.
However, things and people are not at all what they seem. Twin Peaks presents an unsettling, sometimes darkly comic vision of the unknown lurking beneath the ordinary. When the nude body of Laura Palmer, the high school homecoming queen, emerges from beneath the surface of a nearby lake, the town is shaken up. When another girl is found, viciously tortured, but still alive, Sheriff Truman (Michael Ontkean) and F.B.I. agent Dale Cooper (Kyle MacLachlan) intensify their investigation. The truth about Twin Peaks’ residents is slowly revealed, bit by bit, and seeds of passion, greed, jealousy and intrigue are uncovered.
Soon, many secrets are uncovered and many questions add to the mystery pile. Was Laura leading a sordid double life? Did she find out that her boyfriend, Bobby Briggs (Dana Ashbrook) was having an affair with a married woman?
What roles did rebel James Hurley (James Marshall) and Laura’s best friend, Donna Hayward (Lara Flynn Boyle) have in the murder of Laura?
Tune into Twin Peaks on ABC weekly and find out for yourself!
The black and white photo of Special Agent Dale Cooper and Sheriff Harry S. Truman with two bloodhounds was taken during location production at a now-demolished train graveyard in Snoqualmie, Washington in Feb. 1989. There are several shots from this sequence when never appear in the pilot episode.
The image caption reads: The local law (Michael Ontkean, right) and the F.B.I (Kyle MacLachlan, left) join forces to help restore peace in Twin Peaks, only to find themselves deeper in the mystery of the town!
The second black and white image is a cropped shot of this publicity photo taken on Nov. 30, 1989 on the set of the Great Northern Hotel in Van Nuys, California.
The caption reads: Left to right: Sheryl Lee (Madeleine Ferguson), Lara Flynn Boyle (Donna Hayward) and James Marshall James Hurley). As the sheriff and FBI agent start their investigation, Donna and James decide to confide in newcomer, Madeleine, about evidence in the mysterious death of their friend, Laura.
Thank you again to 1400 River Road for adding this unique clipping to the ever growing Twin Peaks archive about my favorite show.
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