Catherine Coulson, David Lynch’s Log Lady, Has Died at Age 71

Twin Peaks screencap via Propaganda Films / Spelling Television

Catherine E. Coulson, the actress who played Margaret Lanterman, more commonly referred to as “The Log Lady,” on David Lynch’s TV masterpiece Twin Peaks, has passed away, Coulson’s agent confirmed to VICE on Monday evening. Coulson was 71 years old.

The agent did not provide a cause of death.

The Log Lady, whose log famously “saw something” the night Laura Palmer died, was far and away Coulson’s most beloved character. One of the many eccentrics from the eponymous town in Lynch’s 1990 series and subsequent films, the character initially appeared to be a weirdo clutching a log like a baby, but she turned out to be a figure of immense power and significance in the plot, and a definite fan favorite.

Coulson was reportedly set to reprise her role in the new iteration of the TV series, having been cast in over half of the episodes for the show’s belated third season, set to air in 2017. According to The Wall Street Journal, Coulson had kept her original log, and was planning to bring it back to the set.

Having only filmed a few small parts in B-movies prior to 1990, The Log Lady was Coulson’s breakthrough performance. Between that role, and the new Twin Peaks series, she had made a few notable TV appearances, often with some kind of plant in her character’s name. She appeared in an episode of Psych as someone called “Wood Woman,” and as “Marionberry Farmer” in an episode of Portlandia.

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