Lenny Von Dohlen

An off-center character lead of stage, film, and TV since the early 1980s, Lenny Von Dohlen's angular, oddly handsome looks and strikingly blue eyes were somewhat reminiscent of the young Anthony Perkins. He tended to be cast accordingly: as obsessive hitmen ("Love Kills" 1991); deceptively wholesome child molesters (a 1985 ABC Afterschool Special entitled "Don't Touch"); and weird yet sympathetic neighbors ("Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me" 1992). He was a strangely apt choice to play an extraterrestrial TV enthusiast in "Distant Signals," a superior installment of the syndicated "Tales From the Dark Side." The Georgia-born actor worked hard to lose his southern accent before pursuing an acting career. Ironically, Von Dohlen would make his film debut playing the leader of a C&W band in "Tender Mercies" (1982). More typically, as the star of the fanciful "Electric Dreams" (1984), he found himself in a love triangle with his computer.

Von Dohlen may be best known for the recurring role of Harold Smith, a reclusive confidante of the slain Laura Palmer, on the cultish "Twin Peaks." He also worked on stage, mostly in regional theater. He co-starred in "Entertaining Angels: The Dorothy Day Story" (1996) and was among the group of thugs attempting to wrest a computer chip hidden in a child's toy from an enterprising tot in "Home Alone 3" (1997). Lenny Von Dohlen died on July 5, 2022 in Los Angeles, CA at the age of 63.