Leland Palmer (actress)

Leland Palmer (born June 16, 1945, Port Washington, New York) is an American actress, dancer, and singer who has appeared on stage, in motion pictures, and on television. She appeared on Broadway in Bajour, A Joyful Noise, Hello, Dolly!, Applause, and Pippin. Palmer received two Tony Award nominations: in 1967 for featured actress in a musical (Miss Jimmie in A Joyful Noise), and in 1973 for actress in a musical (Fastrada in Pippin). She appeared as Viola in the rock musical "Your Own Thing" during a highly regarded run at the Huntington Hartford Theater in Los Angeles in August 1968.

Her U.S. television appearances include guest roles on Love, American Style; Laverne & Shirley; and Rhoda. She was also a regular on Dinah Shore's summer variety television show, Dinah and Her New Best Friends in 1976. She played Aŕlene in the 1976 television movie "James Dean". To motion-picture audiences, Palmer is known best for Bob Fosse's All That Jazz (1979), in which she played Audrey Paris, a character believed to be modeled on Fosse's wife, Gwen Verdon.

Leland Palmer

Leland Palmer is a fictional character from the television series Twin Peaks, created by David Lynch and Mark Frost. He also appears in the prequel, Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me.

Leland (played by Ray Wise) is an attorney, with his primary client being local businessman Ben Horne. He is well-known and respected in the town of Twin Peaks. Together with his wife Sarah and his daughter Laura, his family seems to be perfect. When Laura is murdered, Leland’s psychological foundations begin to crumble. He experiences multiple nervous breakdowns and during Laura's funeral flings himself into her grave and must be pulled out. He remains unstable for some time.

Biography

When Jacques Renault is arrested as a suspect for the murder of Laura, Leland loses control and murders him. After killing Jacques, Leland's hair turns white overnight. Leland is arrested, but released on a personal recognizance bond pending trial due to personal assurances made by Sheriff Harry S. Truman that he does not pose any danger to the community. Leland's behavior at times appears abnormal- manically happy at times, exhibited by singing the 1940s popular nonsense song Mairzy Doats before crashing into grief. The arrival of his niece, Madeleine Ferguson, who looks almost exactly like Laura (both roles are played by Sheryl Lee), is of great help to him in learning how to deal with his daughter’s death.