The strange origins of character names in David Lynch’s ‘Twin Peaks’
When Twin Peaks first aired in 1990, television changed forever. David Lynch and Mark Frost’s blend of mystery, soap opera, surrealism, and slight campiness made for a new kind of TV-watching experience for many viewers. As various plot points unravelled and merged, and bizarre characters spoke backwards or randomly burst out into song, audiences came to love the show, as much as it was often hard to decipher.
There is so much detail to be found in the world of Twin Peaks, which was followed by a prequel film, Fire Walk With Me, in 1992, and then a third season set 25 years later, released in 2017. Additionally, various books, including The Secret Diary of Laura Palmer, written by Lynch’s daughter, Jennifer, have been published to grant fans further access into the web of secrets lurking at the heart of the town.
Lynch and Frost’s attention to detail even extended to the carefully chosen names of the characters, most of which are ripe with symbolism. While some are fairly obvious, other characters are named after films that have inspired Lynch, or even carry significance in relation to the plot of Twin Peaks.
Let’s start with FBI Special Agent Dale Cooper, whose middle name is said to be Bartholomew. Played by Kyle MacLachlan, the charming agent was named after D.B. Cooper, the pseudonym used by an unknown man who hijacked an aircraft in 1971 and demanded a significant ransom fee before inevitably jumping out of the plane, never to be seen again. While Twin Peaks’ Cooper certainly wouldn’t do such a thing, the fact that the real D.B. Cooper was at the centre of one of America’s most famous unsolved cases makes him the perfect namesake to reflect themes of mystery and danger.
What about Laura Palmer? The high-schooler who is found dead in the first episode of the series is predominantly shown using the image of her school portrait, which is a reference to Laura from the 1944 movie of the same name by Otto Preminger. The film is about a male detective investigating the death of a young woman named Laura, which certainly draws parallels to Twin Peaks, and a portrait of Laura, portrayed by Gene Tierney, plays an important role in the movie, too. That’s not the only reference to the film within the show, however; Waldo the bird and Bob Lydecker (owner of The Lydecker Veterinary Clinic) are named after Clifton Webb’s character Waldo Lydecker.
Sheryl Lee not only played Laura, but she also played Maddy Ferguson, Laura’s cousin who comes to Twin Peaks and befriends Donna and James. She looks exactly like Laura, only with dark hair, and ultimately this leads to her demise. Her name was inspired by Kim Novak’s Madeleine and James Stewart’s Scottie Ferguson from Alfred Hitchcock’s Vertigo. Doppelgangers are a prominent theme in the film, which sees Novak play the blonde Madeleine and the brown-haired Judy (a name that is also used in season three), with ‘both’ characters inevitably dying.
Besides Vertigo and Laura, Lynch also paid tribute to his all-time favourite film, Sunset Boulevard, with several character names, including his own. The movie tells a tragic Hollywood story, and one of the minor characters is called Gordon Cole, with Cooper even watching a scene from the film – in which Cole’s name is spoken – during season three. Additionally, Gloria Swanson played Norma Desmond in Sunset Boulevard, who has the same first name as the character portrayed by Peggy Lipton, while Chris Isaak played Agent Chester Desmond in Fire Walk With Me.
Lynch honoured another one of his favourite movies, The Wizard of Oz, with the name Garland Briggs, named after Judy Garland. The classic film is one that has deeply inspired Lynch’s career, and many fans have even drawn parallels between Twin Peaks and The Wizard of Oz, especially within season three’s pivotal episode eight.
This episode also features the detonation of an atomic bomb, and who was the U.S. President who oversaw the atomic bombing of Nagasaki and Hiroshima in 1945? President Harry S Truman. It was certainly no coincidence then that Lynch called one of the main characters in Twin Peaks Sheriff Harry S. Truman, tying together ideas that wouldn’t come to fruition until years later in season three.
How about Windom Earle? A name like that surely has meaning behind it, and sure enough, one of Twin Peaks’ showrunners, Harley Peyton, once confirmed that ‘Windom’ is taken from the actor William Windom, while ‘Earle’ comes from Roy Earle, played by Humphrey Bogart in High Sierra.
When it came to naming characters, sometimes Lynch and Frost picked subtle references that bridged a character and their namesake together, like using the last name Hurley for the motorcycle-riding James, which sounds remarkably similar to Harley, as in Harley Davidson. Then there’s Ben and Jerry Horne, a cheeky nod to the beloved ice-cream brand, while BOB is said to have been inspired by Lynch’s favourite lunch joint, Bob’s Big Boy Burgers. Additionally, the name Leland Palmer was possibly inspired by the actor of the same name who starred in All That Jazz, while Leo is likely named after his animalistic and violent nature.
To be a fan of Twin Peaks is to find endless rabbit holes to fall down regarding everything from character names to unanswered questions and theories. This is exactly why Lynch and Frost’s show has remained popular for so long – you never know what you’re going to discover about it next, even if you’ve already watched it several times.
