Jack Nance

Marvin John Nance (December 21, 1943 – December 30, 1996), known professionally as Jack Nance, was an American actor. A longtime collaborator of filmmaker David Lynch, Nance portrayed the lead in Lynch's directorial film debut ''Eraserhead'' (1977). He continued to work with Lynch throughout his career, including as a series regular on the ABC mystery drama ''Twin Peaks'' (1990–1991).

Early life

Nance was born in Boston, Massachusetts and was raised in Dallas, Texas. He graduated from South Oak Cliff High School. Nance 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''.

Later career

After ''Eraserhead'', he 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 Frank Booth.
* ''The Cowboy and the Frenchman'' (1988): plays Pete, one of the cowboys.
* '' Wild at Heart'' (1990): a small role as "00 Spool".
* ''Twin Peaks'' (1990–91): as Pete Martell, the henpecked sawmill gaffer.
* '' Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me'' (1992): reprised his role as Pete Martell, but his scenes were deleted.
* '' Lost Highway'' (1997): a small role as a garage mechanic named Phil (his final acting role).
* '' Twin Peaks: The Missing Pieces'' (2014): deleted scenes from ''Fire Walk with Me'' were released in 2014 as its own film.
* ''Twin Peaks'' (2017): footage featuring Nance from the pilot episode of the original series was used in "Part 17", which was dedicated to Nance.

Nance guest-starred on a 1995 episode of ''My So-Called Life'' entitled "Weekend", in which he played an innkeeper. He appeared with actress Mary Woronov in Suicidal Tendencies' 1983 "Institutionalized" music video."Mary Woronov Interview" by Cynthia Rose
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Personal life

Nance married Catherine E. Coulson in 1968. They divorced in 1976. In May 1991, he married Kelly Jean Van Dyke, who worked in the adult film industry under the name Nancee Kelly. Van Dyke was the daughter of Jerry Van Dyke (briefly making Nance his son-in-law) and niece of Dick Van Dyke.

Second wife's suicide

Van Dyke died by suicide on November 17, 1991. According to her younger brother Ronald, Nance, who was in Bass Lake, California, filming ''Meatballs 4'' at the time, attempted to console her on the phone as she threatened suicide. After a lightning storm knocked out the phones in Bass Lake, Nance and the director, Bobby Logan, found a deputy sheriff who contacted Los Angeles police and the apartment manager. They broke in and found that she had hanged herself.

Death

On December 29, 1996, Nance lunched with friends Leo Bulgarini and Catherine Case. Nance had a visible "crescent shaped bruise" under his eye; and, when asked about it, he related to them the story about a brawl outside a Winchell's Donuts store that morning. He described the incident as, "I guess I got what I deserved." He went home, complaining of a headache.

The injuries he sustained caused a subdural hematoma, resulting in his death the following morning. His body was discovered on the bathroom floor of his South Pasadena, California apartment by Bulgarini, on December 30, 1996. An autopsy revealed that the actor's blood alcohol level was 0.24% at the time of his death.

Legacy

The song "I Gotta Move" by Frank Black and the Catholics, from their 1997 eponymous debut album, refers to the circumstances of Nance's death, as well as the murder of Peter Ivers, who composed and performed the song "In Heaven, Everything is Fine" from ''Eraserhead''.https://ew.com/music/2020/01/05/peter-ivers/

A documentary about Nance funded by Lynch, titled ''I Don't Know Jack'', was released in 2002.

Part 17 of '' Twin Peaks: The Return'' was dedicated to Nance.

Filmography

Film

* '' Fools'' (1970) – Hippie
* ''Jump'' (1971) – Ace
* ''Eraserhead'' (1977) – Henry Spencer
* ''Breaker! Breaker!'' (1977) – Burton
* '' Hammett'' (1982) – Gary Salt
* ''Dune'' (1984) – Nefud
* ''City Heat'' (1984) – Aram Strossell, the Bookkeeper
* ''Johnny Dangerously'' (1984) – Priest
* ''Ghoulies'' (1985) – Wolfgang
* '' Blue Velvet'' (1986) – Paul
* '' Barfly'' (1987) – Detective
* ''Colors'' (1988) – Officer Samuels
* ''The Blob'' (1988) – Doctor
* '' Wild at Heart'' (1990) – 00 Spool
* ''The Hot Spot'' (1990) – Julian Ward
* ''Whore'' (1991) – Man Who Helps Liz
* ''Motorama'' (1991) – Motel Clerk
* ''Meatballs 4'' (1992) – Neil Peterson
* '' Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me'' (1992) – Pete Martell (scenes deleted)
* '' Love and a .45'' (1994) – Justice Thurman
* ''The Demolitionist'' (1995) – Father McKenzie
* ''Across the Moon'' (1995) – Old Cowboy
* ''Voodoo'' (1995) – Lewis
* '' The Secret Agent Club'' (1996) – Doc
* ''Little Witches'' (1996) – Father Michael
* '' Lost Highway'' (1997) – Phil (final film role)
* '' Twin Peaks: The Missing Pieces'' (2014) – Pete Martell (deleted scenes from ''Fire Walk with Me'')

Television

* ''Weekend'' (1984)
* '' Crime Story'' (1 episode, 1987) – Charlie Green
* ''Tricks of the Trade'' (1988) – Al
* ''Twin Peaks'' (27 episodes, 1990–91) – Pete Martell
* ''Another Midnight Run'' (1994) – Reilly
* ''My So-Called Life'' (1 episode, 1995) – Warren
* ''Fallen Angels'' (1 episode, 1995) – Sheriff
* ''Assault on Dome 4'' (1996) – Mellow, Dome 4 Oldtimer
* ''Twin Peaks'' (1 episode, 2017) – Pete Martell (archive footage)

Music videos

* " Institutionalized" (Suicidal Tendencies music video, 1983)

References

External links

*

Jack Nance Eraserhead Interview

{{DEFAULTSORT:Nance, Jack
1943 births
1996 deaths
American male film actors
American male stage actors
Male actors from Boston
Male actors from Dallas
20th-century American male actors
American male television actors
Van Dyke family
Accidental deaths in California
Deaths from head injury