The writers and creators of Twin Peaks had some fun when they named certain characters and places in the show. These names were taken from classic movies and events which, besides being some favorites of David Lynch, also provide allusory content which one can use to help analyze the show. Below are some of the most obvious examples of this (read: the ones which I could figure out).
Names:
Ben and Jerry Horne: Obviously, these two wacky brothers' names come from legendary ice cream makers Ben and Jerry. Perhaps as further tribute to the Horne brothers' strange infatuation with food? Ben and Jerry's reportedly sent the cast and crew a good supply of ice cream for this; and a Twin Peaks ice cream flavor(coffee and cherry pie?) was in the works, although it never happened.
Special Agent Dale B. Cooper: Agent Cooper's namesake is a weird little tidbit of American history. The story goes that Dale B. Cooper was an army parachuter whose job it was to deliver some valuables. Instead, he decided to run off with it himself, and he parachuted out of his plane into the woods of Washington State below. He was never heard from again.
Laura Palmer: Laura's namesake is the title character in the 1944 movie Laura, directed by Otto Preminger. (See "allusions" below for more.)
Waldo: The minah bird who witnessed Laura's murder is named after another character from the movie Laura; out of the several
suspects for Laura's murder, her boy-toy Waldo Lydecker was one of them.
Dr. Lydecker:The veterinarian in whose office Waldo is found; obviously, if you read the above, Lydecker comes from the same Laura character's name as Waldo.
Dr. Jacoby: "Laura" again! Although we never meet him, it is reveled that Laura dated a man named Jacoby until Waldo got jealous and made her call it off.
Madeline Ferguson: Laura's identical cousin's name is made up of the first name of the Kim Novak character and the last name of the Jimmy Stewart character in the Alfred Hitchcock movie Vertigo. (See "allusions" for more.)
Gordon Cole:The name of the head of Paramount Studios, as seen in the movie Sunset Boulevard, which also happens to be David Lynch's favorite movie. The name is said a few times in S.B.-- "Get Gordon Cole on the line" and such. The plot of this movie really doesn't provide any allusions to the goings-on of Twin Peaks; I think Lynch picked it for himself just because he loves the movie. This movie is also referenced when Blackie and Battis are filming their drugging of Audrey, and Blackie says, "she's ready for her close-up now;" alluding to the most famous line from S.B: "I'm ready for my close-up now, Mr. DeMille".
Walter Neff: The insurance agent who comes to give Catherine Martel her policy in and early episode was named Walter Neff, which comes from the male lead character in the movie Double Indemnity, about an insurance agent who falls in love with a woman and susequently helps her kill her husband.
Harry S. Truman: Our noble Sheriff is named after former United States President Harry S. Truman. The dear head in the Sheriff's office with the tag around its neck that reads "The Buck stopped here" is another tribute to the former President, in whose office was a dear head with the quip "the buck stops here" (the Prez was the first to use this line).
Philip Gerard:In the 1960s TV show The Fugitive, Philip Gerard was the name of the detective pursuing Dr. Kimball.
Sgt. Preston King: The RCMP officer who causes Cooper's suspension is named after an old radio show which was called "Sgt. Preston and his loyal dog King." It must have been a favorite with one of the writers.
Barney and Fred: Cooper and Big Ed's code names for when they go to One Eyed Jacks is an obvious take from "The Flinstones."
Hester Prynne:The name that Audrey gives to Blackie when she goes in for her One Eyed Jacks interview is the name of the accused woman in "The Scarlet Letter". Fittingly, the literary Hester was on trial for sexual promiscuity, namely adultery.
Little Nicky: A common nickname for the devil, along with Lucifer and Beelzebub and the Prince of Darkness and all that. Obviously a showing of how 'evil' Andy and Dick think Nicky is (don't forget their mental image of him in full devil gear with flames and everything).
Allusions:
Laura: This 1944 movie is a classic of film noir. It tells the story of a detective, Mark McPherson, investigating the murder of a beautiful girl, Laura (sound familiar so far?)Hunt. A body is found in her apartment, in her clothes and stuff, but with no face due to the murdering blast of a shotgun. In her apartment, where she was killed, hangs a portrait of her, and Mark becomes enraptured and begins to fall in love with the dead girl (from the painting, things in her room, and stories from her friends). Out of several suspects, one is Waldo Lydecker, Laura's lover and mentor, who is jealous man. Then, Laura walks in and finds Mark in her apartment. It becomes clear that Laura's boyfriend's other girlfriend was in Laura's apartment the night of the murder, and was mistaken for Laura and so was killed. Eventually, it is discovered that Waldo, in his jealousy, killed the girl thinking it was Laura. McPherson's partner kills him at the end of the movie whe he is attempting to kill the real Laura (again). This allusion was used probably to get people geared up thinking that Laura Palmer wasn't really dead and all that (combined with Vertigo; see below). However, I think the more brilliant and subtle allusion is in McPherson falling in love with Laura's portrait and memories the same was Lynch has set up the Twin Peaks audience to fall in love with Laura Palmer from the shot of her beautiful dead face (with that hauntingly, tragically beautiful music playing), her Homecoming Queen picture, and all the little tidbits we learn about her unfortunate life from the other residents of Twin Peaks.
Vertigo: One of Alfred Hitchcock's best known films, the plot revolves around a detective (Scottie Ferguson) with a severe case of vertigo in high places, which makes him leave the force. His friend, Galvin, hires him anyway to follow his suicidal wife, Madeleine, around; he eventually falls in love with her. When she commits suicide, however, he gets upset. It turns out that she didn't really committ suicide: she was an actress pretending to be Galvin's wife, although she is having an affair with the Galvin, and the body Ferguson thought to be hers was really that of Galvin's real wife, who he had already murdered. Ferguson gets put into a mental institution, and when he gets out, he sees a girl who looks remarkably like his lost love. He goes on a date with her, dressing her up as Madeleine, then realizes it IS Madeleine (whose real name turns out to be Judy). After this discovery, she jumps to her "death" yet again (is she dead. . .?) When Twin Peaks first aired, the buzz around twinpeaks.alt.tv was that, due to this allusion to Vertigo, Madeleine Ferguson was really Laura in a (not so good) disguise, and that Laura wasn't really dead, and yadda yadda. WHen it was revealed that this was not the case, it is clear that the allusion to Vertigo, although possibly used to intentionally make people think that, is more for the sake of the whole doubles and look-alikes and mystery surrounding them thing going on in Twin Peaks.
The Fugitive: The show told the story of Dr. Richard Kimball, who has been accussed of murdering his wife-- only he is innocent. His only hope for proving his innocence is to find the one-armed-man, who
Dr. Kimball saw running from his house after the murder. Philip Gerard was the name of the relentless detective bent on finding and bringing to justice Dr. Kimball, who is running from the law while pursuing the elusive one-armed-man. Having the one-armed-man in Twin Peaks be named Philip Gerard was a clever device. People watching and analyzing the show when it was first aired who recognized the name probably then began to think that the Twin Peaks OAM was Laura's killer or somehow involved in the murder, since The Fugitive OAM was the killer.
Don't Look Now:In this movie by Nicholas Roeg, Donald Sutherland plays a man grieving over the death of his daughter, his wife is named Laura, and the movie was edited by Graeme Clifford, a later guest director for Twin Peaks. Moreover, he pursues a malevolent dwarf in a red suit, lending Lynch the idea for the Little Man From Another Place?
Glastonberry Grove: Duh, it's the name of my website. No, Glastonbury Grove is the legendary burial site of King Arthur. (Incidentally, it is spelled "berry" in Twin Peaks, according the Lynch-penned book "Twin Peaks: Access Guide to the Town.") See my theories page for more info on why this is a really clever allusion.
Easter Park: Easter is the Christian holiday celebrating the
rise-after-death of Jesus Christ. Three days after he died on the crucifix, the Bible tells us, Jesus rose again from his tomb and ascended to heaven. The writers of Twin Peaks thought this would be a clever name for the park where Maddy, pretending to be Laura, tells Dr. Jacoby to meet her; the I'm-back-from-the-dead allusion of Laura to Jesus is pretty blatant.
Twin Peaks and One-Eyed Jacks:Although I hate to admit that the title of this beautiful and artistic TV show is really a sexual euphimism, it is. For anybody who doesn't know, "twin peaks" is a crude slang term for breasts. Sherilyn Fenn is even quoted as playfully saying that "there were a lot of twin peaks on the show." One-Eyed Jacks is also a euphimism for male genatalia; another crude slang term which is used more humorously
as the name for Ben Horne's brothel.
Shakespeare: At least 3 of the Bard's plays are referenced when characters quote them. Romoeo and Juliet, Richard III, and Hamlet (with a quote I think pretty much sums up Twin Peaks in one line, if thats possible: "There is more in heaven and earth than is dreamt of in our philosophy.")
Musicals: Cheezy musicals are also alluded to, although I think its just because the songs used are recognizable rather than that they are trying to draw any connections between their plots and that of Twin Peaks: "getting to Know You" (The King and I), "Surry with the Fringe on Top" (Oklahoma!), and some others sung by Leland.
And of course, the musical most subtly alluded to is "West Side Story," as both Richard Beymer (Ben Horne) and Russ Tamblyn (Dr. Jacoby) starred in the classic 1960s version, Richard as Tony opposite Natalie Wood. (He was so cute!)
The Mod Squad: Similarly, the old 1960s TV show "The Mod Squad" was subtly alluded to when the casting agent of Twin Peaks decided to play a little inside joke. Peggy Lipton (Norma Jennings) played Julie on the show. When it came time to cast S.A. Roger Hardy, Clarence Williams III was cast for a little Mod Squad reunion (he played on the show).
