Visiting the Grave of G. Kenneth Davidson, Old Guy at Hap’s

The first half hour of David Lynch’s Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me is a dreamland full of my favorite characters, scenes and dialogue. During their late night (or is that early morning?) to get something to eat, Special Agents Chet Desmond and Sam Stanley encounter the Old Guy at Hap’s who inquires about a “little girl that got murdered.” Played by the G. Kenneth Davidson, his brief scene is something I still quote 33 years after the film’s original theatrical release. During a visit to Washington state, I paid my respects to the late insurance agent-turned-actor by visiting his grave located in a historical memorial park north of Seattle.

WHO IS G. KENNETH DAVIDSON, OLD GUY AT HAP’S?

G. Kenneth Davidson was born October 20, 1919, in Great Falls, Montana.  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, where he served from September 1942 to February 1946. When the war ended he returned to Great Falls to be with his family and his wife, Winifred.

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. 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,” explained Ken Davidson, G. Kenneth’s son.  “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.”

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 that year. In lieu of flowers, the family requested donations to Alzheimer’s Association.

During the scene at Hap’s Diner, Davidson is seen sitting at the end of the bar counter drinking coffee. He overhears the FBI Agents discussing Teresa Banks and asks if they are “talking about that little girl that got murdered?”

In the script, Special Agent 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.”  The script continues with unheard dialogue, “Gets me along way down the road.”

I can’t get enough of this moment and can watch the entire exchange again and again.

VISITING G. KENNETH DAVIDSON’S GRAVE 

Davidson is buried in Evergreen Washelli Memorial Park, located at 11111 Aurora Ave N in Seattle, Washington. The 144-acre memorial park has existed for over 135 years and is renowned for being the largest, most scenic and historic cemetery in Seattle.

When I arrived, I had the ambitious idea to search for the grave on my own. I had a photo reference from FindAGrave.com with the code MGB-2214-4, but I quickly discovered that was an impossible task.

I stopped in the funeral home office where the front desk provided a map and specific directions on how to find the grave. He was buried in the Memory Glen section (henc the “MG” code on his headstone).

The office even provided a locator map with specific headstones and adjacent names. I was impressed with the level of detail and their willingness to help me.

I originally drove by the Memory Glen area as the gazebo didn’t look like the gazebo I pictured in my mind (yes, I was expecting a white gazebo like the one from Twin Peaks).

G. Kenneth is buried in a plot with his long time wife Winifred who passed in January 2008.

I left an unused can of brown Shinola polish on his side of the headstone as a token of gratitude for delivering a line I’ve quoted countless times since 1993.

You can see the Shinola can in the bottom center of this photo, which may help you locate the headstone if you visit.

I wish I could have met Mr. Davidson. He sounds like a wonderful human who enjoyed performing. His son Ken told me that his Dad was quite modest about his acting career and rarely talked about it with 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,” explained 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 G. Kenneth for leaving an indelible mark on David Lynch’s wonderful and strange world.