James Marshall in a 1990 Magazine Article by Carol Wolper

This spotlight article about actor James Marshall is the reason why I continue my quest to archive and document every aspect of David Lynch and Mark Frost’s Twin Peaks. Fellow fan 1400 River Road saved this article by Carol Wolper from a magazine published in 1990. Sadly, I’ve been unable to find where this short article was published nor has the photo of Marshall taken by legendary photographer Frank W. Ockenfels 3 been found on line … until now.

TALENT – JAMES MARSHALL BY CAROL WOLPER

According to her Simon and Schuster profile, Carol Wolper has wrote articles for several magazines including Vogue, Los Angeles Magazine (where she had her own column), “C” magazine, L.A. Confidential, Art Basel Magazine, and the Los Angeles Times Sunday magazine.”

Here is a transcript of the article:

James Marshall

At twenty-three, James Marshall is just starting to soar above Hollywood’s pack of actor wannabes, thanks to his role in David Lynch’s television series, Twin Peaks. The show has been called brilliant, innovative and, by one industry wit, “Knot’s Landing on crystal meth.” Marshall plays a motorcycle-riding teen heart-throb in Lynch’s fascinating take on love and death in a small American town. It’s pure Lynch that Marshall’s character is a prime murder suspect and the closest thing the series has to a romantic innocent.

Tagged “the new James Dean,” Marshall snorts. “They say that about everyone—it’s like, Garfield’s the new James Dean.” If Marshall resembles anybody, it’s his Twin Peaks character, James Hurley, the socially ambiguous (too cool to be nerdy, too shy to be hip) high school boy who actually likes talking to his girlfriend.

Marshall knew he wanted to be an actor in school, “But the popular kids got all the roles.” So he played guitar in a rock band “It kept my self-esteem from going to complete nothing”—and took to writing “about a poem a month. I was really, really in love with this girl at the time. I had to have some kind of release. Plus I could write down any evil thought I had and it wouldn’t hurt anybody.”

Despite years of acting class, Marshall says roles were scarce until Twin Peaks because he doesn’t audition well—”People say I’m too off-beat; they’re not sure what to make of me.” Lynch cast him on sight. He knows when he likes someone,” says Marshall gratefully. “And he’s an artist he likes to take risks.”

Wolper mentions James Marshall is 23 which means this was most likely published in 1990 (his birthday is Jan. 2, 1967). Internet searches have also not identified the “industry wit” who said Twin Peaks was like “Knot’s Landing on crystal meth.”

JAMES MARSHALL BY FRANK W. OCKENFELS 3

Frank W. Ockenfel 3 took James Marshall’s portrait for Wolper’s story. His hair and make-up was by Lizbeth Williamson (though we don’t see much of Marshall’s hair due to his fedora).

Ockenfells 3 is an “American photographer, artist, and director who is best known for his portraits of prominent celebrities like David Bowie, Angelina Jolie, Kurt Cobain and numerous others.”

Born in 1960 in West Chester, Pennsylvania, he grew up in Lockport, New York, a suburb of Niagara Falls. In high school, he served as the yearbook photographer and would later study School of Visual Arts in New York City. In 1988, he was hired take Tracy Chapman’s portrait for Rolling Stone, which ended up being a double-page spread. In the year that followed, he photographed David Bowie for the first time, and he would end up taking 15 more portraits of the rocker during his life.

In 2019, Frank took an incredible portrait of David Lynch which was part of a limited edition set offered  at Fahey/Klein Gallery in Los Angeles, California.

Ockenfels 3 continues taking photographs today and has provided publicity and marketing materials for shows like The Last of Us and Fargo or movies like Sinners, A Complete Unknown, The Fabelmans (starring Lynch as John Ford) and much more. See his website for even more images from his career.

I will update this article once the original magazine is located. Thank you again to 1400 River Road for saving this clipping!

Here are high-resolution scans of the article and James Marshall’s portrait.