‘Twin Peaks’ Actor Kenneth Welsh Dead at 80

Actor Kenneth Welsh has died at the age of 80. MSN reports that the Canadian actor was best known for portraying the villain Windom Earle in the second season of David Lynch’s Twin Peaks. Welsh’s son Devon Welsh, formerly a member of the electropop duo Majical Cloudz, wrote on Twitter, “My dad passed away on Thursday peacefully at home. I will always love him beyond words. He lived a wonderful life, he was the best father I could have asked for, and he touched so many lives.” He asked fans, “Please make a toast, watch a film/TV show he was in, celebrate a giant of acting.”

Credit: J. Countess via Entertainment Weekly

Kenneth Welsh’s Appearances on Twin Peaks and More

Welsh was born in Edmonton, Alberta, on March 30, 1942. He moved to Montreal to attend the National Theater School. After graduating, he joined the Stratford Festival in Ontario, spending the first seven years of his career as a stage actor. He then went on to make many TV and film appearances in his career. He played several historical figures and even won a Daytime Emmy for playing Thomas Edison in Edison: The Wizard of Light. He was nominated for four of Canada’s Genie Awards, winning in 1996 for Margaret’s Musem. Other notable appearances include playing the vice president in The Day After Tomorrow and playing Katherine Hepburn’s father in Martin Scorsese’s The Aviator. 

Some of Welsh’s other film credits include Legends of the Fall, The Exorcism of Emily Rose, and Fantastic Four: The Rise of the Silver Surfer. His many TV appearances include The X Files, Smallville, and The Outer Limits. He recently had recurring roles on Lodge 49, Star Trek: Discovery, and the CW’s reboot of Charmed. His role on Twin Peaks as a killer tying his murders to a game of chess is the one he will be remembered for.

Kenneth Welsh’s cause of death has not been revealed.

Do you remember Kenneth Welsh on Twin Peaks? Were you a fan of his other work? Comment on The Nerd Stash Facebook page and @TheNerdStash on Twitter.