Lenny Von Dohlen
About
Biography
Biography
An off-center character lead of stage, film, and TV since the early 1980s, Von Dohlen, angular, oddly handsome, and sporting strikingly blue eyes, is somewhat reminiscent of the young Anthony Perkins and tends to be cast accordingly: as obsessive hitmen ("Love Kills" 1991), deceptively wholesome child molesters (a 1985 ABC Afterschool Special entitled "Don't Touch"), and weird yet sympathetic neighbors ("Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me" 1992). He was a strangely apt choice to play an extraterrestrial TV enthusiast in "Distant Signals," a superior installment of the syndicated "Tales From the Dark Side."
The Texas-born actor worked hard to lose his southwestern accent before pursuing an acting career. Ironically, Von Dohlen would make his film debut playing the leader of a C&W band in "Tender Mercies" (1982). More typically, as the star of the fanciful "Electric Dreams" (1984), he found himself in a love triangle with his computer. Von Dohlen may be best known for the recurring role of Harold Smith, a reclusive confidante of the slain Laura Palmer, on the cultish "Twin Peaks." He has also worked on stage, mostly in regional theater. More recently, he co-starred in "Entertaining Angels: The Dorothy Day Story" (1996) and was among the group of thugs attempting to wrest a computer chip hidden in a child's toy from an enterprising tot in "Home Alone 3" (1997).
Filmography
Cast (Feature Film)
Cast (Special)
Life Events
1977
Stage debut as Romeo in Denver, Colorado
1980
NYC stage debut in the Off-Off-Broadway production, "Twister"
1981
TV acting debut, "Kent State", a NBC TV-movie
1982
Feature acting debut as a C&W bandleader in "Tender Mercies"
1982
Was featured in the Off-Broadway play "Cloud 9", directed by Tommy Tune
1984
First starring role, "Electric Dreams", a romantic computer fantasy
1986
Co-starred with Karl Malden as "Billy Galvin", an "American Playhouse" production (never aired on US TV)
1990
Played the recurring role of Harold Smith on the cult mystery soaper, "Twin Peaks"
1992
Reprised the role of Harold Smith for the feature, "Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me"
1997
Co-starred in "Home Alone 3"
2001
Acted in the PBS special "The Ponder Heart"
2002
Starred in a Southern California stage production of "The Blue Room"
Family
