Godspeed Lenny Von Dohlen

Lenny Von Dohlen, who starred in the movie Electric Dreams (1984) and played diarist, orchid lover, and agoraphobe Harold Smith on Twin Peaks, died on July 5 2022 at the age of 63 following a long illness.

Lenny Von Dohlen was born on December 22 1958 in Augusta, Georgia. He grew up in Goliad, Texas. As a child he wanted to become a jockey. He attended the University of Texas where he majored in drama. After graduating from college he moved to New York City to pursue acting.

Lenny Von Dohlen made his television debut in the television movie Kent State in 1981. It was in 1990 that he appeared as Harold Smith on Twin Peaks. He also appeared in the prequel movie, Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me (1992). In the Eighties he guest starred on the shows Miami Vice, American Playhouse, ABC Afterschool Specials, Tales from the Darkside, The Equalizer, Thirtysomething, The Young Riders, and Grand. He made his film debut in Tender Mercies in 1983. In the Eighties he appeared in the films Electric Dreams (1984), Billy Galvin (1984), and Dracula's Widow (1988).

In the Nineties Mr. Von Dohlen played Mr. Cox on the TV show The Pretender. He guest starred on the shows The Flash; Red Dwarf; Picket Fences; Walker, Texas Ranger; The Lazarus Man; Chicago Hope; and The Magnificent Seven. He appeared in the movies Cold Heaven (1991), Leaving Normal (1992), Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me; Blind Vision (1992), Eyes of the Beholder (1992), Jennifer Eight (1992), Tollbooth (1994), Amberwaves (1994), Bird of Prey (1995), One Good Turn (1996), Entertaining Angels: The Dorothy Day Story (1996), Cadillac (1997), Home Alone 3 (1997), and Frontline (1999).

In the Naughts he guest starred on the shows CSI: Miami, Ghost Whisperer, Criminal Minds, and Psych. He appeared in the movies Breathing Hard (2001), Teeth (2007), Beautiful Loser (2008), and Downstream (2010). In the Teens Lenny Von Dohlen appeared in the movies Choose (2011), Camilla Dickinson (2012), Annie and the Gypsy (2012), Dark Power (2013), Broken Horse (2015), Threshold (2016), Ray Meets Helen (2017), Just Within Reach (2017), The Maestro (2018), Near Myth: The Oskar Knight Story (2018), and For the Weekend (2020). He guest starred on The Orville.

 Lenny Von Dohlen was extremely talented. As Miles Harding in Electric Dreams he bought new life to the age-old trope of the sweet guy who falls in love with a beautiful woman (although his rival was a computer...). Harold Smith, with all his eccentricities, could easily have been a one-note character on Twin Peaks, but Mr. Von Dohlen turned him into one of the show's most memorable characters. On The Pretender he played a character as far from Miles Hardin in Electric Dreams as one could get. Mr. Cox was a truly sinister figure, certainly one of the show's creepiest villains. Lenny Von Dohlen played a wide array of characters in leading roles and in roles that only appeared for a few minutes on the screen. And he turned in a good performance every time.