Ashlander earned cult-TV fame on ‘Twin Peaks’ and as a favorite on OSF stage. A documentary coming to the Ashland Independent Film Festival tells her story

By Jim Flint for Ashland.news

The Ashland Independent Film Festival is set to honor one of Ashland’s most beloved artists with the Oregon premiere of “I Know Catherine, the Log Lady,” a deeply personal documentary celebrating the life and legacy of Catherine E. Coulson.

The film will screen four times at the Varsity Theatre, debuting at 7 p.m. April 24. An audience Q&A will follow, led by director-producer Richard Green. Additional showings are scheduled for 1:30 p.m. April 25, 10:20 a.m. April 26 and 1:10 p.m. April 27. All AIFF films will be shown on the screens at the Varsity Theatre, 166 E. Main St.

Best known for her enigmatic and unforgettable role as the Log Lady in the TV series “Twin Peaks,” Coulson was much more than a cult television icon — she was a cherished member of the Ashland arts community, a seasoned performer with the Oregon Shakespeare Festival and a mentor to generations of actors and artists.

For 22 seasons, Coulson graced the OSF stages, bringing classical and contemporary works to life with her remarkable talent. Her presence in Ashland was more than professional — it was personal. She was a friend, a teacher and an advocate for the performing arts, leaving an indelible mark on the community. Now, through rare archival footage and intimate interviews with those who knew her best — including “Twin Peaks” creator David Lynch (who died in January), actors Kyle MacLachlan and Grace Zabriskie, and longtime OSF colleagues — the documentary offers a poignant glimpse into the life of a woman who lived for her art.

A ’force of nature’

“Catherine Coulson was more than an actress — she was a light, a force of nature, and a deeply beloved member of this community,” said AIFF managing director Nicole Gullixson. “Her contributions to film, television, and theater remain deeply woven into the fabric of Ashland. This premiere is not just a screening, it’s a homecoming.”

Director Green’s vision for the film is both celebratory and moving.

“You will hear from many of her friends, colleagues, and acquaintances who felt deeply loved and cared for by her,” Green said. “You will hear an amazing tale of toughness, kindness, goofiness and determination to live fully and create to the last moment of life. Because the show must go on.”

In an interview with Kickstarter when the funding campaign for the film was launched, Green was asked why he wanted to make the documentary.

“When I heard that Catherine had passed away four days after shooting the Log Lady sequences for “Twin Peaks: The Return” and that there were nondisclosure agreements signed and nobody was allowed to talk about what had happened (during the filming), I thought there’s an interesting story here,” Green told Kickstarter.

“Then, when I started finding out how Catherine lived and how separated her lives were from each other, I became seriously fascinated,” he said.

Jenny Sullivan, who shared producer responsibilities with Green, is a lifelong friend of Coulson’s. They met at San Francisco State in the mid-1960s, when Sullivan was an undergrad and Coulson was a graduate student. In the early days at the American Film Institute, Coulson worked with Sullivan on two films.

“Our lives continued to intersect after that,” Sullivan said. “I was even in her first and second weddings!”

Worked until the end

Coulson, who was born in Ashland, died in 2015 at the age of 71. That year, despite battling the cancer that took her life, she performed in OSF’s production of “Guys and Dolls” as Matilda Cartwright, the formidable leader of the Save-a-Soul Mission organization.

Sullivan sees that as a validation for living one’s fullest life to the end.

“I saw ‘Guys and Dolls’ twice,” she said, “and couldn’t believe what she was doing on stage with diminished capacity.”

Sullivan didn’t make the decisions about which aspects of Coulson’s life and career should be the focus of he film. As a longtime friend of Coulson’s, however, she helped Green connect with the people important in the actor’s life.

Coulson’s deep ties to Ashland and OSF influenced the storytelling in the documentary.

“People at OSF and in the Rogue Valley were a major part of her support team,” Sullivan said.

In the movie, Lynch, MacLachlan and Zabriskie share memories of working with Coulson.

“Kyle was at OSF early in his career and talks about Catherne a lot in the film — about OSF and their shared experiences in ‘Twin Peaks,’” Sullivan said.

Coulson and Zabriskie met Lynch at the American Film Institute while doing “Eraserhead,” a low-budget horror film that opened to little interest but became a cult favorite over time. It was Lynch’s directorial debut.

Coulson’s first husband Jack Nance, whom she met in college, portrayed the lead character. Coulson worked on the film as assistant director, prop mistress and camera operator. Zabriskie was an assistant cameraperson and Lynch’s assistant.

Pitched in where needed

Coulson did even more behind the scenes during the making of “Eraserhead.”

She contributed to the film’s budget when funds ran low, and she took on the role of script supervisor. She pitched in wherever needed — sanding down models of the deformed baby that is central to the movie, sourcing unusual props like dust balls, and teasing Nance’s hair into its signature tombstone-shaped bouffant. Throughout the long and sporadic shoot, Coulson also appeared in Lynch’s 1974 short “The Amputee.”

Later, MacLachlan, Zabriskie and Coulson all worked with Lynch on “Twin Peaks,” which debuted in 1990.

Coulson’s portrayal of the Log Lady became an iconic character, beloved by her fans.

“It had to do with her ability to speak the truth, be seen as wise beyond all,” Sullivan said. “A lot of people latched on to that notion.”

Her character, gifted a log by her late woodcutter husband, became a vital part of “Twin Peaks” signature strangeness. Off-screen, Coulson embraced the mystery just as much. She described the bond between the woman and her log as “one of mutual respect” and held deep affection for the role.

An obituary for Coulson published by the Guardian, a British daily newspaper, included a quote in which she expanded on the idea:

“The log gives her permission to be who she is. For the most part, I think she’s a pretty solid citizen who has an unusual but fairly well-grounded relationship with a good piece of ponderosa pine.”

Perhaps that’s the greatest legacy of both the Log Lady and Catherine Coulson herself — the courage to embrace the unusual, speak the truth, and leave the world a little more mysterious and beautiful than she found it.

For more information about AIFF and to purchase tickets, available beginning April 5, visit ashlandfilm.org.

Freelance writer Jim Flint is a retired newspaper publisher and editor. Email him at [email protected].