Catherine E. Coulson
Encyclopedia
Catherine E. Coulson is an American stage and screen actress who also works behind the scenes on various independent films. She is best known for her role as the Log Lady in the David Lynch
TV series Twin Peaks
.
Coulson met Lynch in the 1970s and performed various behind the scenes functions during the five year filming of his low budget classic Eraserhead
(1977). She also appeared in Lynch's short film The Amputee (1974), in which she played a woman with no legs. During the filming of Eraserhead, Lynch told Coulson that he had an image in his head of her holding a large log. Fifteen years later, he created such a role for her in Twin Peaks, on which she guest starred for 12 episodes through seasons 1 and 2. Coulson went on to reprise her role in the film prequel, Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me, and in Dual Spires
(2010), an episode of Psych
.
Coulson was married to actor Jack Nance
(who played Henry Spencer in Eraserhead, and Pete Martell
in the Twin Peaks saga) in 1968, but they divorced in 1976. She is married to Rabbi Marc Sirinsky.
Coulson is now primarily a theatre actor and has worked with the Oregon Shakespeare Festival
for the last decade. She will be appearing in the upcoming 'Calvin Marshall' directed by Gary Lundgren. Lundgren was a huge fan of Twin Peaks, and even created a short version while at First Baptist San Mateo in the early '90s.
David Lynch
David Keith Lynch is an American filmmaker, television director, visual artist, musician and occasional actor. Known for his surrealist films, he has developed his own unique cinematic style, which has been dubbed "Lynchian", and which is characterized by its dream imagery and meticulous sound...
TV series Twin Peaks
Twin Peaks
Twin Peaks is an American television serial drama created by David Lynch and Mark Frost. The series follows the investigation headed by FBI Special Agent Dale Cooper , of the murder of a popular teenager and homecoming queen, Laura Palmer...
.
Coulson met Lynch in the 1970s and performed various behind the scenes functions during the five year filming of his low budget classic Eraserhead
Eraserhead
Eraserhead is a 1977 American surrealist film and the first feature film of David Lynch, who wrote, produced and directed. Lynch began working on the film at the AFI Conservatory, which gave him a $10,000 grant to make the film after he had begun working there following his 1971 move to Los Angeles...
(1977). She also appeared in Lynch's short film The Amputee (1974), in which she played a woman with no legs. During the filming of Eraserhead, Lynch told Coulson that he had an image in his head of her holding a large log. Fifteen years later, he created such a role for her in Twin Peaks, on which she guest starred for 12 episodes through seasons 1 and 2. Coulson went on to reprise her role in the film prequel, Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me, and in Dual Spires
Dual Spires
"Dual Spires" is the 12th episode of the fifth season of the American comedy-drama television series Psych, and the 75th episode overall. The episode was directed by Matt Shakman and written by Bill Callahan and series star James Roday...
(2010), an episode of Psych
Psych
Psych is an American detective comedy-drama television series created by Steve Franks and broadcast on USA Network. It stars James Roday as Shawn Spencer, a young crime consultant for the Santa Barbara Police Department whose "heightened observational skills" and impressive detective instincts...
.
Coulson was married to actor Jack Nance
Jack Nance
Marvin John Nance , known professionally as Jack Nance and occasionally credited as John Nance, was an American actor of stage and screen, primarily starring in offbeat or avant-garde productions...
(who played Henry Spencer in Eraserhead, and Pete Martell
Pete Martell
Peter Martell is a character from the television series Twin Peaks, created by David Lynch and Mark Frost.Pete , born on June 28, 1943, is a lumberjack who married his boss' sister Catherine. What started as a "summer's indiscretion", developed into a marriage on the rocks, a marriage that from...
in the Twin Peaks saga) in 1968, but they divorced in 1976. She is married to Rabbi Marc Sirinsky.
Coulson is now primarily a theatre actor and has worked with the Oregon Shakespeare Festival
Oregon Shakespeare Festival
The Oregon Shakespeare Festival is a regional repertory theatre in Ashland, Oregon, United States. The festival annually produces eleven plays on three stages during a season that lasts from February to October...
for the last decade. She will be appearing in the upcoming 'Calvin Marshall' directed by Gary Lundgren. Lundgren was a huge fan of Twin Peaks, and even created a short version while at First Baptist San Mateo in the early '90s.
Oregon Shakespeare Festival roles
- Mrs. Van Daan in The Diary of Anne FrankThe Diary of Anne Frank (play)The Diary of Anne Frank is a stage adaptation of the book The Diary of a Young Girl. The play is a dramatization by Frances Goodrich and Albert Hackett. It opened at the Cort Theatre, Broadway, on October 5, 1955, in a production by Kermit Bloomgarden, directed by Garson Kanin and designed by Boris...
- Lucetta in The Two Gentlemen of VeronaThe Two Gentlemen of VeronaThe Two Gentlemen of Verona is a comedy by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written in 1590 or 1591. It is considered by some to be Shakespeare's first play, and is often seen as his first tentative steps in laying out some of the themes and tropes with which he would later deal in more...
- Catherine in By the Waters of Babylon
- Donna Peppenella in Napoli Milionaria!
- Emilia and Ensemble in The Comedy of ErrorsThe Comedy of ErrorsThe Comedy of Errors is one of William Shakespeare's earliest plays. It is his shortest and one of his most farcical comedies, with a major part of the humour coming from slapstick and mistaken identity, in addition to puns and word play. The Comedy of Errors is one of only two of Shakespeare's...
- Rose Schell in The VisitThe VisitThe Visit is a 1956 tragicomic play by Swiss dramatist Friedrich Dürrenmatt.-Plot summary:...
- Elaine, Hoola-Hoop, et al. in Continental Divide
- Snug in A Midsummer Night's DreamA Midsummer Night's DreamA Midsummer Night's Dream is a play that was written by William Shakespeare. It is believed to have been written between 1590 and 1596. It portrays the events surrounding the marriage of the Duke of Athens, Theseus, and the Queen of the Amazons, Hippolyta...
- Alice in Handler
- Emilia in The Winter's TaleThe Winter's TaleThe Winter's Tale is a play by William Shakespeare, originally published in the First Folio of 1623. Although it was grouped among the comedies, some modern editors have relabelled the play as one of Shakespeare's late romances. Some critics, among them W. W...
- Gertie in Fuddy MeersFuddy MeersFuddy Meers is an American play by David Lindsay-Abaire. It tells the story of an amnesiac, Claire, who awakens each morning as a blank slate on which her husband and teenage son must imprint the facts of her life. One morning Claire is abducted by a limping, lisping man who claims her husband...
- Mistress Quickly in The Merry Wives of WindsorThe Merry Wives of WindsorThe Merry Wives of Windsor is a comedy by William Shakespeare, first published in 1602, though believed to have been written prior to 1597. It features the fat knight Sir John Falstaff, and is Shakespeare's only play to deal exclusively with contemporary Elizabethan era English middle class life...
- E.M. Ashford in WitWit (play)Wit is a play written by American playwright Margaret Edson. Edson used her work experience in a hospital as part of the inspiration for her play. Wit received its world premiere at South Coast Repertory, Costa Mesa, California, in 1995...
- Player Queen in HamletHamletThe Tragical History of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark, or more simply Hamlet, is a tragedy by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written between 1599 and 1601...
- Mrs. Morton in ChicagoChicago (play)Chicago is a 1926 play written by Maurine Dallas Watkins. It was based on two unrelated 1924 cases of two women, Beulah Annan and Belva Gaertner, who were both suspected and later acquitted for murder, that Watkins had covered for the Chicago Tribune as a reporter...
- Ursula in Much Ado about NothingMuch Ado About NothingMuch Ado About Nothing is a comedy written by William Shakespeare about two pairs of lovers, Benedick and Beatrice, and Claudio and Hero....
- Clara Stepaneck in the OSF and Kennedy Center productions of The Magic Fire
- Shulamis in Vilna's Got a Golem
- Maryina in Uncle VanyaUncle VanyaUncle Vanya is a play by the Russian playwright Anton Chekhov. It was first published in 1897 and received its Moscow première in 1899 in a production by the Moscow Art Theatre, under the direction of Konstantin Stanislavski....
- Marina in Pentecost
- Outlaw in The Two Gentlemen of VeronaThe Two Gentlemen of VeronaThe Two Gentlemen of Verona is a comedy by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written in 1590 or 1591. It is considered by some to be Shakespeare's first play, and is often seen as his first tentative steps in laying out some of the themes and tropes with which he would later deal in more...
- Virginia in Three Viewings
- Duchess of York in Richard IIRichard II (play)King Richard the Second is a history play by William Shakespeare believed to be written in approximately 1595. It is based on the life of King Richard II of England and is the first part of a tetralogy, referred to by some scholars as the Henriad, followed by three plays concerning Richard's...
- The Mother-in-Law in Blood WeddingBodas de sangreBlood Wedding is a tragedy by the Spanish dramatist Federico García Lorca. It was written in 1932 and first performed in Madrid in March 1933 and later that year in Buenos Aires...
- Penny in You Can't Take It with YouYou Can't Take It with YouYou Can't Take It with You is a comedic play in three acts by George S. Kaufman and Moss Hart. The original production of the play opened at the Booth Theater on December 14, 1936, and played for 837 performances...
- Evelyn in Tales of the Lost Formicans
- Big Mama in Cat on a Hot Tin RoofCat on a Hot Tin RoofCat on a Hot Tin Roof is a play by Tennessee Williams. One of Williams's best-known works and his personal favorite, the play won the Pulitzer Prize for Drama in 1955...
- Mattie Fae Aiken in August: Osage CountyAugust: Osage CountyAugust: Osage County is a darkly comedic play by Tracy Letts. It was the recipient of the 2008 Pulitzer Prize for Drama. The play premiered at the Steppenwolf Theatre in Chicago on 28 June 2007, and closed on 26 August 2007. Its Broadway debut was at the Imperial Theater on 4 December 2007 and...
Other theatrical roles
- Hilda in Wintertime, The Elephant ManThe Elephant Man (play)The Elephant Man is a 1977 play by Bernard Pomerance. The production's Broadway debut in 1979 was produced by Richmond Crinkley and Nelle Nugent, and directed by Jack Hofsiss...
(San Jose Repertory TheatreSan Jose Repertory TheatreThe San Jose Repertory Theatre was founded in 1980 by James P. Reber as the first resident professional theatre company in San Jose, California, and is currently the largest non-profit, professional theatre company in the South Bay...
) - Major BarbaraMajor Barbara (play)Major Barbara is a three act play by George Bernard Shaw, written and premiered in 1905 and first published in 1907.-Setting:*London*Act I: Lady Britomart's house in Wilton Crescent*Act II: The Salvation Army shelter in West Ham...
(Mark Taper ForumMark Taper ForumThe Mark Taper Forum is a 739 seat thrust stage at the Los Angeles Music Center built by Welton Becket and Associates on the Bunker Hill section of downtown Los Angeles...
, Los Angeles) - Anna in Old TimesOld TimesOld Times is a play by the Nobel Laureate Harold Pinter. It was first performed by the Royal Shakespeare Company at the Aldwych Theatre in London on June 1, 1971. It starred Colin Blakely, Dorothy Tutin, and Vivien Merchant, and was directed by Peter Hall...
(Encore Theatre, Los Angeles) - Polly Peachum in The Threepenny OperaThe Threepenny OperaThe Threepenny Opera is a musical by German dramatist Bertolt Brecht and composer Kurt Weill, in collaboration with translator Elisabeth Hauptmann and set designer Caspar Neher. It was adapted from an 18th-century English ballad opera, John Gay's The Beggar's Opera, and offers a Marxist critique...
(New Committee Theater, San Francisco) - The DevilsThe DevilsThe Devils is a name for:* The Devils , the 1960 play by John Whiting based on the book The Devils of Loudon by Aldous Huxley* The Devils , the 1971 Ken Russell film...
(Circle TheatreCircle TheatreCircle Theatre or Circle Theater may refer to:*Armstrong Circle Theatre*Actors Circle Theatre*Magic Circle Theatre*Circle in the Square Theatre*Circle X Theatre*Circle in the Square Theatre School...
, San Francisco) - The BalconyThe BalconyThe Balcony is a play by the French dramatist Jean Genet. Since Peter Zadek directed its first production at the Arts Theatre Club in London in 1957, the play has attracted many of the greatest directors of the 20th century, including Peter Brook, Erwin Piscator, Roger Blin, Giorgio Strehler, and...
, Muzeeka, Tom Paine (Circus Theatre, San Francisco)
TV and film roles
- The Log Lady in Twin PeaksTwin PeaksTwin Peaks is an American television serial drama created by David Lynch and Mark Frost. The series follows the investigation headed by FBI Special Agent Dale Cooper , of the murder of a popular teenager and homecoming queen, Laura Palmer...
and in PsychPsychPsych is an American detective comedy-drama television series created by Steve Franks and broadcast on USA Network. It stars James Roday as Shawn Spencer, a young crime consultant for the Santa Barbara Police Department whose "heightened observational skills" and impressive detective instincts... - Another YouAnother YouAnother You is a 1991 American comedy film. It was the final film pairing Richard Pryor and Gene Wilder. Co-stars included Mercedes Ruehl and Vanessa Williams and Kevin Pollak as Phil.-Plot:...
, Femme FataleFemme fataleA femme fatale is a mysterious and seductive woman whose charms ensnare her lovers in bonds of irresistible desire, often leading them into compromising, dangerous, and deadly situations. She is an archetype of literature and art...
, Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me, The Four DiamondsThe Four DiamondsThe Four Diamonds is a fantasy short story written by Chris Millard in 1972 shortly before succumbing to cancer at the age of 14.-Story:After returning from summer vacation, his teacher told Chris' class to write a story about what they did during their vacation... - Host of Twin PeaksTwin PeaksTwin Peaks is an American television serial drama created by David Lynch and Mark Frost. The series follows the investigation headed by FBI Special Agent Dale Cooper , of the murder of a popular teenager and homecoming queen, Laura Palmer...
for the Bravo Network - Guest roles in numerous Movies of the Week