Al Strobel, the actor best known for his role as Philip Gerard, the gunman on “Twin Peaks,” died Friday in Eugene, OR, at the age of 83.
Sabrina Sutherland, producer of Twin Peaks and frequent collaborator with David Lynch, released a statement on behalf of his family: “Through the darkness of a future past and a lot of grief we say goodbye to Al Strobel. He is an irreplaceable human being who will always be an important part of the Twin Peaks family.”
Strobel, who lost his left arm in a car accident at the age of 17, was a mainstay in “Twin Peaks,” which first appeared in the series pilot in 1989. He played Gerard, a man who takes off one of his arms to prevent evil due to his being from Possessing his body, Strobel appeared across 10 episodes of the two original seasons of “Twin Peaks”. He delivered one of the show’s most memorable moments, performing a heartwarming ode reciting the words “fire walks with me.”
This would be the subtitle of the prequel series, 1992’s “Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me”. Strobel reprized his role for this feature. After retiring from acting after the turn of the century, Strobel returned to the screen for the Showtime revival series, ‘Twin Peaks: The Return’.
Besides “Twin Peaks,” Strobel has also worked on a few other projects, such as the 2001 movie “Ricochet River” and the 1991 TV movie “Child of Darkness, Child of Light.”
Twin Peaks co-creator Mark Frost wrote, “Oh no… dear Al… because whoever you’ve been so lucky to meet over the years, what a friendly and wonderful gentleman.”
“Sad, Sad News,” was written by series actress Dana Ashbrook, who portrayed Bobby Briggs as bad boy-turned-confused cop across iterations of “Twin Peaks.” “He was the sweetest of men. A wonderful storyteller…and to watch him roll a cigarette with one hand—pure magic.”
[ad_2]
