Jack Nance
Nance in Eraserhead, 1977
Birth name	Marvin John Nance
Born	December 21, 1943 Boston, Massachusetts, United States
Died	December 30, 1996 (age 53) South Pasadena, California, United States
Other name(s)	Jack Nance John Nance
Years active	1970-1996
Spouse(s)	Catherine E. Coulson (1968-1976)
Notable roles	Henry Spencer in Eraserhead Pete Martell in Twin Peaks

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 is best known for his work with film director David Lynch in Eraserhead and Twin Peaks, specialising in eccentric supporting roles. Jack Nance as Henry Spencer in Eraserhead File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... December 21 is the 355th day of the year (356th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1943 (MCMXLIII) was a common year starting on Friday (the link will display full 1943 calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_Massachusetts. ... Nickname: Location in Massachusetts, USA Coordinates: Country United States State Massachusetts County Suffolk County Government  - Mayor Thomas M. Menino (D) Area  - City  89. ... Official language(s) English Capital Boston Largest city Boston Area  Ranked 44th  - Total 10,555 sq mi (27,360 km²)  - Width 183 miles (295 km)  - Length 113 miles (182 km)  - % water 13. ... December 30 is the 364th day of the year (365th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 1 day remaining. ... Year 1996 (MCMXCVI) was a leap year starting on Monday (link will display full 1996 Gregorian calendar). ... Image File history File links Flag_of_California. ... Location of South Pasadena in California Coordinates: Country United States of America State California County Los Angeles Incorporated (city) March 2, 1888 [2] Government  - Mayor Philip Putnam [1] Area    - City  3. ... Official language(s) English Capital Sacramento Largest city Los Angeles Area  Ranked 3rd  - Total 158,302 sq mi (410,000 km²)  - Width 250 miles (400 km)  - Length 770 miles (1,240 km)  - % water 4. ... Catherine E. Coulson is an American stage and screen actress who also works behind the scenes on various independent films. ... Eraserhead (released in France as The Labyrinth Man) is a 1977 surrealist-horror film written and directed by David Lynch. ... Peter Martell is a character in the 90s TV show Twin Peaks. ... Twin Peaks is an American Emmy Award-nominated, Peabody and Golden Globe-winning serial drama created by David Lynch and Mark Frost, which first aired in the United States on April 8, 1990 and ended on June 10, 1991. ... December 21 is the 355th day of the year (356th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1943 (MCMXLIII) was a common year starting on Friday (the link will display full 1943 calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... December 30 is the 364th day of the year (365th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 1 day remaining. ... Year 1996 (MCMXCVI) was a leap year starting on Monday (link will display full 1996 Gregorian calendar). ... David Keith Lynch (born January 20, 1946, in Missoula, Montana) is an American filmmaker. ... Eraserhead (released in France as The Labyrinth Man) is a 1977 surrealist-horror film written and directed by David Lynch. ... Twin Peaks is an American Emmy Award-nominated, Peabody and Golden Globe-winning serial drama created by David Lynch and Mark Frost, which first aired in the United States on April 8, 1990 and ended on June 10, 1991. ...

Early life

Nance was born in Boston, Massachusetts on December 21, 1943, but raised in Dallas, Texas. His father was the CEO of Neiman Marcus. He worked for some time with the American Conservatory Theater in San Francisco. Nickname: Location in Massachusetts, USA Coordinates: Country United States State Massachusetts County Suffolk County Government  - Mayor Thomas M. Menino (D) Area  - City  89. ... December 21 is the 355th day of the year (356th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1943 (MCMXLIII) was a common year starting on Friday (the link will display full 1943 calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... Nickname: Motto: Live Large. ... American Conservatory Theater (A.C.T.) is a prestigious theater company in San Francisco, USA that offers both contemporary and classical theater productions and a wide range of classes. ... This page is a candidate for speedy deletion. ...

In the 1970s, Nance met David Lynch, who cast him as the lead in Eraserhead.^[1] At the time, Nance was married to the actress Catherine E. Coulson (the future Log Lady in Twin Peaks), but they divorced in 1976. The 1970s decade refers to the years from 1970 to 1979. ... Eraserhead (released in France as The Labyrinth Man) is a 1977 surrealist-horror film written and directed by David Lynch. ... Catherine E. Coulson is an American stage and screen actress who also works behind the scenes on various independent films. ... Twin Peaks is an American Emmy Award-nominated, Peabody and Golden Globe-winning serial drama created by David Lynch and Mark Frost, which first aired in the United States on April 8, 1990 and ended on June 10, 1991. ...

Later career

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: Eraserhead (released in France as The Labyrinth Man) is a 1977 surrealist-horror film written and directed by David Lynch. ...

• Dune: a small role as the Harkonnen Captain Nefud.
• Blue Velvet: a supporting role as Paul, a friend of Dennis Hopper's villain character.
• The Cowboy and the Frenchman: plays Pete, one of the cowboys.
• Wild at Heart: a small role as '00 Spool'.
• Twin Peaks: co-starring role as Pete Martell, the henpecked sawmill gaffer.
• Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me: reprised his role as Peter Martell, but his scenes were deleted.
• Lost Highway: a small role as a garage mechanic named Phil (and one of his final acting roles).

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.^[2] Dune is a 1984 science fiction film directed by David Lynch, based on the 1965 Frank Herbert novel of the same name. ... Emblem of House Harkonnen from Emperor: Battle for Dune For the novel of the same name, see Dune: House Harkonnen. ... It has been suggested that Blue Velvet in popular culture be merged into this article or section. ... Dennis Lee Hopper (born May 17, 1936) is an Academy Award-nominated American actor and film-maker. ... The Short Films of David Lynch is a DVD collection of the early student and commissioned film work of American film maker, David Lynch. ... Wild at Heart is a 1990 American film written and directed by David Lynch and based on Barry Giffords novel Wild at Heart: The Story of Sailor and Lula about a couple on the run from the mob. ... Twin Peaks is an American Emmy Award-nominated, Peabody and Golden Globe-winning serial drama created by David Lynch and Mark Frost, which first aired in the United States on April 8, 1990 and ended on June 10, 1991. ... Peter Martell is a character in the 90s TV show Twin Peaks. ... Fire Walk With Me is a 1992 movie directed by David Lynch and starring Sheryl Lee, Ray Wise, Chris Isaak, Kiefer Sutherland, Mädchen Amick, Phoebe Augustine and Dana Ashbrook. ... Lost Highway is a 1997 psychological thriller directed by David Lynch. ... The young cast of My So-Called Life. ... Mary Woronov (b. ... Suicidal Tendencies are a hardcore punk band formed in 1982 in Venice, California. ...

Wife's suicide

Nance was married to Kelly Jean Van Dyke in May 1991. Kelly was the daughter of Coach star Jerry Van Dyke. Kelly 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. While still connected on the phone, she hanged herself. At that moment, a lightning storm knocked out the phones in Oregon. It took Jack and the director over 45 minutes to find a deputy sheriff who contacted LA police and the apartment manager. They broke in and found her dead.^[3] Jerry Van Dyke (born July 27, 1931, in Danville, Illinois) is an American comedian and actor. ... Suicide (Latin sui caedere, to kill oneself) is the act of intentionally taking ones own life. ... Yosemite National Park (pron. ... Released in 1992 is the fourth installment to the Meatballs franchise. ...

Death

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."^[3] Location of South Pasadena in California Coordinates: Country United States of America State California County Los Angeles Incorporated (city) March 2, 1888 [2] Government  - Mayor Philip Putnam [1] Area    - City  3. ... December 30 is the 364th day of the year (365th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 1 day remaining. ... Year 1996 (MCMXCVI) was a leap year starting on Monday (link will display full 1996 Gregorian calendar). ... Winchells Donuts were founded by Verne Winchell on October 8, 1948 in Temple City, California. ... December 29 is the 363rd day of the year (364th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar, with 2 days remaining. ... // The term Latino is a linguistic identity that refers to an individual that has significant ancestry from a nation-state where a Latin derived language is spoken or is the offical language of the government. ... Species Sus barbatus Sus bucculentus Sus cebifrons Sus celebensis Sus domesticus Sus heureni Sus philippensis Sus salvanius Sus scrofa Sus timoriensis Sus verrucosus Pigs are ungulates native to Eurasia collectively grouped under the genus Sus within the Suidae family. ... Glasses, spectacles, or eyeglasses are frames bearing lenses worn in front of the eyes, sometimes for purely aesthetic reasons but normally for vision correction or eye protection. ...

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.^[4] A headache (cephalalgia in medical terminology) is a condition of pain in the head; sometimes neck or upper back pain may also be interpreted as a headache. ... A subdural hematoma (SDH) is a form of traumatic brain injury in which blood collects between the dura (the outer protective covering of the brain) and the arachnoid (the middle layer of the meninges). ... Blood Alcohol Content (or Blood Alcohol Concentration), often abbreviated BAC, is the concentration of alcohol in blood, measured, by volume, as a percentage. ...

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."^[4] 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.

References

1. ^ Potter, Maximillian. "Erased." Premiere Aug. 1993: 93+
2. ^ "Mary Woronov Interview" by Cynthia Rose
3. ^ ^{a b} Jack Nance on Find a Death
4. ^ ^{a b} Premier Magazine Article: Erased - Jack Nance. 1997. Retrieved on 2007-04-30.

2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the AD/CE era. ... is the 120th day of the year (121st in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ...

External links

• Jack Nance at the Internet Movie Database
• Jack Nance at Find A Death
• Jack Nance at Find-A-Grave