JACK NANCE
Name: Marvin John Nance
Born: 21 December 1943 Boston, Massachusetts, United States
Died: 30 December 1996 South Pasadena, California, United States
Marvin John Nance (December 21, 1943 – December 30, 1996), known professionally
as Jack Nance and occasionally credited as John Nance, was an American stage and
screen actor in offbeat or avant-garde film and theatre. He was known for his
work with film director David Lynch in a lead role in the film Eraserhead and
for his eccentric supporting roles in Blue Velvet and Twin Peaks.
Nance was born in Boston, Massachusetts and was raised in Dallas, Texas, where
he graduated from South Oak Cliff High School. His father was the CEO of Neiman
Marcus. He worked for some time with the American Conservatory Theater in San
Francisco. In the 1970s, Nance met David Lynch, who cast him as the lead in
Eraserhead. At the time, Nance was married to the actress Catherine E.
Coulson (the future Log Lady in Twin Peaks), but they divorced in 1976.
In his later years, Nance grew a small white moustache and was a distinctive
presence in many films with his peculiar twisted smile and bug eyes. After
Eraserhead, Nance remained on good terms with Lynch, who cast him in nearly all
of his projects:
Dune (1984): a small role as the Harkonnen Captain Iakin Nefud.
Blue Velvet (1986): a supporting role as Paul, a friend of Dennis Hopper's
villain character.
The Cowboy and the Frenchman (1988): plays Pete, one of the cowboys.
Wild at Heart (1990): a small role as '00 Spool'.
Twin Peaks (1990-1991): co-starring role as Pete Martell, the henpecked sawmill
gaffer.
Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me (1992): reprised his role as Peter Martell, but
his scenes were deleted.
Lost Highway (1997): a small role as a garage mechanic named Phil (his final
acting role).
Nance also guest-starred on a 1995 episode of My So-Called Life entitled "Weekend."
He played an innkeeper. Jack Nance also made a cameo appearance with actress
Mary Woronov in the 1983 Suicidal Tendencies Institutionalized music video.
Nance was married to Kelly Jean Van Dyke in May 1991. Kelly was the daughter of
Coach star Jerry Van Dyke. Van Dyke committed suicide by hanging on November 17,
1991. According to Nance's brother, Nance, who was at Yosemite filming Meatballs
4 at the time, attempted to console her on the phone as she threatened suicide.
Supposedly a lightning storm knocked out the phones in Oregon, eventually taking
over 45 minutes for Nance and the director to find a deputy sheriff who
contacted LA police and the apartment manager. They broke in and found that she
had hanged herself.
Nance died in South Pasadena, California on December 30, 1996 under mysterious
circumstances. Nance claimed to have been involved in a brawl outside a Winchell's
Donuts on the morning of December 29. It is unclear if he was still drunk from
the previous night, or if he had already begun drinking that morning, but it is
certain that he was intoxicated at the time. He would later tell friends that he
had "'popped-off' to a couple of Latino guys in the parking lot at 5am that day.
He told them to get a haircut and a job. One of them socked him in the eye, his
glasses flew off and he went down."
Later that day, he lunched with friends Leo Bulgarini and Catherine Case. Nance
had a visible "crescent shaped bruise" under his eye and when asked about it,
related to them the story about the fight. He soon went home, complaining of a
headache. The injuries he received caused a subdural hematoma, resulting in his
death the following morning. Nance died alone in his apartment. His body was
discovered on the bathroom floor by Bulgarini. An autopsy revealed that the
actor's blood alcohol level was .24 at the time of his death, three times the
legal limit for driving.
However, some are skeptical about the factuality of the fight. One police
investigator who worked on the case doubts that the scuffle ever happened, and
it was "more likely that Nance just got drunk and banged his head."
Acquaintances note that Nance was a notoriously late sleeper and was rarely ever
awake at the time he claimed the altercation took place, and that the
circumstances of his death were most unusual.
Name: Marvin John Nance
Born: 21 December 1943 Boston, Massachusetts, United States
Died: 30 December 1996 South Pasadena, California, United States
Marvin John Nance (December 21, 1943 – December 30, 1996), known professionally
as Jack Nance and occasionally credited as John Nance, was an American stage and
screen actor in offbeat or avant-garde film and theatre. He was known for his
work with film director David Lynch in a lead role in the film Eraserhead and
for his eccentric supporting roles in Blue Velvet and Twin Peaks.
Nance was born in Boston, Massachusetts and was raised in Dallas, Texas, where
he graduated from South Oak Cliff High School. His father was the CEO of Neiman
Marcus. He worked for some time with the American Conservatory Theater in San
Francisco. In the 1970s, Nance met David Lynch, who cast him as the lead in
Eraserhead. At the time, Nance was married to the actress Catherine E.
Coulson (the future Log Lady in Twin Peaks), but they divorced in 1976.
In his later years, Nance grew a small white moustache and was a distinctive
presence in many films with his peculiar twisted smile and bug eyes. After
Eraserhead, Nance remained on good terms with Lynch, who cast him in nearly all
of his projects:
Dune (1984): a small role as the Harkonnen Captain Iakin Nefud.
Blue Velvet (1986): a supporting role as Paul, a friend of Dennis Hopper's
villain character.
The Cowboy and the Frenchman (1988): plays Pete, one of the cowboys.
Wild at Heart (1990): a small role as '00 Spool'.
Twin Peaks (1990-1991): co-starring role as Pete Martell, the henpecked sawmill
gaffer.
Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me (1992): reprised his role as Peter Martell, but
his scenes were deleted.
Lost Highway (1997): a small role as a garage mechanic named Phil (his final
acting role).
Nance also guest-starred on a 1995 episode of My So-Called Life entitled "Weekend."
He played an innkeeper. Jack Nance also made a cameo appearance with actress
Mary Woronov in the 1983 Suicidal Tendencies Institutionalized music video.
Nance was married to Kelly Jean Van Dyke in May 1991. Kelly was the daughter of
Coach star Jerry Van Dyke. Van Dyke committed suicide by hanging on November 17,
1991. According to Nance's brother, Nance, who was at Yosemite filming Meatballs
4 at the time, attempted to console her on the phone as she threatened suicide.
Supposedly a lightning storm knocked out the phones in Oregon, eventually taking
over 45 minutes for Nance and the director to find a deputy sheriff who
contacted LA police and the apartment manager. They broke in and found that she
had hanged herself.
Nance died in South Pasadena, California on December 30, 1996 under mysterious
circumstances. Nance claimed to have been involved in a brawl outside a Winchell's
Donuts on the morning of December 29. It is unclear if he was still drunk from
the previous night, or if he had already begun drinking that morning, but it is
certain that he was intoxicated at the time. He would later tell friends that he
had "'popped-off' to a couple of Latino guys in the parking lot at 5am that day.
He told them to get a haircut and a job. One of them socked him in the eye, his
glasses flew off and he went down."
Later that day, he lunched with friends Leo Bulgarini and Catherine Case. Nance
had a visible "crescent shaped bruise" under his eye and when asked about it,
related to them the story about the fight. He soon went home, complaining of a
headache. The injuries he received caused a subdural hematoma, resulting in his
death the following morning. Nance died alone in his apartment. His body was
discovered on the bathroom floor by Bulgarini. An autopsy revealed that the
actor's blood alcohol level was .24 at the time of his death, three times the
legal limit for driving.
However, some are skeptical about the factuality of the fight. One police
investigator who worked on the case doubts that the scuffle ever happened, and
it was "more likely that Nance just got drunk and banged his head."
Acquaintances note that Nance was a notoriously late sleeper and was rarely ever
awake at the time he claimed the altercation took place, and that the
circumstances of his death were most unusual.