Marvin John Nance (December 21, 1943 – December 30, 1996) was an American actor. A longtime collaborator of filmmaker David Lynch, Nance portrayed the lead in Lynch's directorial film debut Eraserhead (1977). He continued to work with Lynch throughout his career, including as a series regular on the ABC mystery drama Twin Peaks (1990–1991). Early life Nance was born in Boston, Massachusetts and was raised in Dallas, Texas. He graduated from South Oak Cliff High School. Nance worked for some time with the American Conservatory Theater in San Francisco. In the 1970s, Nance met David Lynch, who cast him as the lead in Eraserhead. Later career After Eraserhead, he remained on good terms with Lynch, who cast him in nearly all of his projects: Dune (1984): a small role as the Harkonnen Captain Iakin Nefud. Blue Velvet (1986): a supporting role as Paul, a friend of Frank Booth. The Cowboy and the Frenchman (1988): plays Pete, one of the cowboys. Wild at Heart (1990): a small role as "00 Spool". Twin Peaks (1990–91): as Pete Martell, the henpecked sawmill gaffer. Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me (1992): reprised his role as Pete Martell, but his scenes were deleted. Lost Highway (1997): a small role as a garage mechanic named Phil (his final acting role). Twin Peaks: The Missing Pieces (2014): deleted scenes from Fire Walk with Me were released in 2014 as its own film. Twin Peaks (2017): footage featuring Nance from the pilot episode of the original series was used in "Part 17", which was dedicated to Nance. Nance guest-starred on a 1995 episode of My So-Called Life entitled "Weekend", in which he played an innkeeper. He appeared with actress Mary Woronov in Suicidal Tendencies' 1983 "Institutionalized" music video. Personal life Nance married Catherine E. Coulson in 1968. They divorced in 1976. In May 1991, he married Kelly Jean Van Dyke, who worked in the adult film industry under the name Nancee Kelly. Van Dyke was the daughter of Jerry Van Dyke (briefly making Nance his son-in-law) and niece of Dick Van Dyke. Second wife's suicide Van Dyke died by suicide on November 17, 1991. According to her younger brother Ronald, Nance, who was in Bass Lake, California, filming Meatballs 4 at the time, attempted to console her on the phone as she threatened suicide. After a lightning storm knocked out the phones in Bass Lake, Nance and the