Vitals

David Lynch as Gordon Cole, hearing-impaired FBI regional bureau chief

Twin Peaks, Washington, March 1989

Series: Twin Peaks
Episodes:
– “Demons”, aka “Episode 13” (Episode 2.06, dir. Lesli Linka Glatter, aired 11/3/1990)
– “Lonely Souls”, aka “Episode 14” (Episode 2.07, dir. David Lynch, aired 11/10/1990)
– “On the Wings of Love, aka “Episode 25” (Episode 2.18, dir. Duwayne Dunham, aired 4/4/1991)
– “Variations on Relations”, aka “Episode 26” (Episode 2.19, dir. Jonathan Sanger, aired 4/11/1991)
Created by: Mark Frost & David Lynch
Costume Designer: Sara Markowitz

WARNING! Spoilers ahead!

Background

Today would have been the 80th birthday of David Lynch, the celebrated filmmaker whose surrealist productions often blended elements of humor and horror. Born January 20, 1946 in Missoula, Montana, Lynch died just four days before his 79th birthday last year when his emphysema was exacerbated from his Hollywood Hills home during the destructive wildfires that ravaged southern California.

In addition to the ten feature films he directed, Lynch co-created the TV series Twin Peaks with Mark Frost. On its surface, this mystery series centered around FBI Special Agent Dale Cooper (Kyle MacLachlan) investigating the death of homecoming queen Laura Palmer (Sheryl Lee) in a small Washington town, while more surreal elements focused on the supernatural realm presented through Coop’s bizarre dreams and the interactions among the quirky Twin Peaks townsfolk that lean into the characteristically Lynchian references to mid-century Americana.

Lynch himself would finally appear on screen during the second season as Coop’s hearing-impaired supervisor: “Federal Bureau of Investigation Regional Bureau Chief Gordon Cole,” as he introduces himself to local sheriff Harry S. Truman (Michael Ontkean), adding, “that’s a real mouthful, but I can’t hear myself anyway.”

Following his self-stated philosophy to “jump right up and pay a visit… when an agent goes down in the field,” Gordon makes his first visit to Twin Peaks after Cooper was shot, proudly—if confusingly—informing the agent that “Cooper, you remind me today of a small Mexican chi-wow-wow.”

Gordon later returns from Bend, Oregon (where there was “a whole lot of shakin’ goin’ on”) to reinstate Coop’s FBI employment status and, like anyone else who ever watched Twin Peaks, immediately grows enamored with Double R Diner waitress Shelly Johnson (Mädchen Amick), whose beauty alone seems to temporarily restore his hearing during their interactions. Although the latter half of the second season is often criticized for wandering too far from what made Twin Peaks popular to begin with, Gordon meeting Shelly in “On the Wings of Love” may be one of my favorite scenes from the series:

Hello! I was wondering if I might trouble you for a cup of strong black coffee and, in the process, engage you with an anecdote of no small amusement. The name is Gordon Cole and I couldn’t help but notice you from the booth, and, well, seeing your beauty now, I feel as though my stomach is filled with a team of bumblebees!

Lynch would reprise his role as Gordon Cole in the 1992 prequel film Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me and the 2017 revival series Twin Peaks: The Return, in which Gordon has been elevated to FBI Deputy Director.

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What’d He Wear?

Dale Cooper and his more abrasive colleague Albert Rosenfield (Miguel Ferrer) established black business suits with conservative shirts and ties as the de facto uniform for FBI agents on Twin Peaks, and Gordon Cole is no exception when he arrives in town in the unvarying ensemble of a black worsted wool suit, ice-blue shirt, and straight black tie. When reinstating Coop into the FBI in “On the Wings of Love” (Episode 2.18), Gordon gestures to his own jacket when telling him “you better dust off your own black suit… we need you back on the team!”

Gordon’s black wool suit reflects circa-1990 tailoring, defined by heavy shoulder padding that frames a fully cut jacket while preventing the drape from following Lynch’s natural lines. A pro like Gordon never removes his jacket in any of his original Twin Peaks screen-time, but we see enough of his trousers to know they have a flat front and plain-hemmed bottoms. He holds them up with a plain black leather belt that closes through a curved silver-toned single-prong buckle.

The single-breasted jacket has notch lapels, and Gordon dresses the left lapel with a small waving American flag pin and a gold crest with a gold “L”. The lapels roll to a two-button front that Gordon always wears open. The ventless jacket also has three-button cuffs and straight flapped hip pockets, though the flaps often tuck themselves into his pockets.

Gordon wears a hearing aid in each ear, wired to a bronze sound amplification device (“cranked up to the max!”) that he clips onto his welted breast pocket. The website Welcome to Twin Peaks credits fan and fest organizer Jared Lyon with identifying the specific model as the Acousticon model A-120, developed in 1948 for stage 1 and 2 deafness.

Gordon’s poplin shirts range between pale-blue and an icy shade of white, only wearing the latter in “On the Wings of Love” (Episode 2.18). All of his shirts are styled with a spread collar, plain button-up front, breast pocket, and button-fastened mitred cuffs. In real life, Lynch often wore shirts designed by his friend Agnès b., though I’m not sure if any of these made it to the screen in Twin Peaks.

Gordon’s tie across all four episodes may be the exact same tie that Coop wore for his arrival in the pilot episode: a narrow swath of black fabric, subtly detailed with black tonal rectangles scattered down the tie’s narrow blade.

David Lynch wore many interesting wristwatches in real life, including a rectangular-cased Longines watch auctioned by his estate and a rare, asymmetrical Hamilton Altair that recalls the triangular Hamilton Ventura that Kyle MacLachlan wore in Blue Velvet four years prior. Of course, Gordon Cole wouldn’t wear anything quite as flashy or expensive—opting for a simple gold-plated dress watch, with non-numeric gold baton hour indices against a round silver dial, secured to a brown leather strap.

In case the straightforwardness of Gordon’s attire didn’t make it obvious, the Bureau’s regional chief dresses solely for function over form. His shoes are hefty, heavy-duty black matte leather plain-toe derbies, worn with plain black socks—which he is only figuratively claiming to be on fire when introducing himself to Shelly—the kind of girl that makes you wish you spoke a little French.

Further drawing the parallel between both colorful G-men, Gordon pulls on a knee-length light-brown wool gabardine twill (not vicuña!) overcoat that’s nearly identical to Coop’s coat. Their coats echo wool Korean War-era overcoats authorized in July 1952 for U.S. Army officers, produced to spec MIL-0-3219A by contractors like The Barrister Corp. and Sigmund Eisner Co. beginning in January 1953.

Styled like a military-informed cross between a greatcoat and a trench coat, these knee-length coats feature broad ulster collars, shoulder epaulets, storm flaps over the upper right chest, and slanted side pockets. The widely spaced 6×3-button double-breasted front of two parallel columns are reinforced by a full waist-belt designed to close through a tall metal buckle. The set-in sleeves are finished with two-button square-ended straps.

Though Lynch’s personal style was generally anchored to black tailored jackets, khaki slacks from Sears, and white Agnès b. shirts buttoned to the neck, the auteur regularly demonstrated an appreciation for the power of costumes in his narrative, even incorporating a clothing-forward plot point and gag into Gordon’s first conversation with Harry:

Gordon: Item: a vicuña coat. Albert found fibers in the hall outside of Cooper’s room from a vicuña coat.
Harry: The coat was vicuña…
Gordon: Sounds real good, sheriff, but I already ate.

Gordon wears an updated version of the same look in the 2017 revival season, albeit with the similar hearing aid device now refurbished with wireless ear-buds.

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The Gun

The only handgun that Gordon Cole handles in the original two seasons is a stainless Smith & Wesson 4506 semi-automatic pistol when he pulls it from his waistband to give Agent Cooper following his reinstatement into the Bureau:

Brand new issue. More accurate and efficient. Smith & Wesson 10 mm, Model 1076. All stainless steel! It’s a beautiful weapon, Coop, and it’s all yours.

Gordon’s dialogue clearly identifies the pistol as a Smith & Wesson 1076, which was indeed chambered in 10 mm Auto, but the IMFDB article cites the five-inch barrel and slide-mounted decocking/safety lever as evidence that the screen-used weapon is actually a cosmetically similar model 4506 (chambered in .45 ACP), as opposed to the 4.25″-barreled model 1076 with its frame-mounted decocker.

Still, this is an extremely detailed example of a TV show striving to accurately portray the sidearms actually used by an agency depicted on screen, as the FBI had actually developed the Model 1076 in collaboration with Smith & Wesson following an April 1986 gunfight in Miami that left two agents dead. Believing the agents outgunned with their .357 Magnum and .38 Special revolvers, the FBI adopted the a reduced-velocity variant of the then-new 10 mm Auto round.

Though the Bureau ultimately received only about 2,400 of the 10,000 pistols ordered before canceling the contract—prompting Smith & Wesson to spin the concept into the shorter .40 S&W—Twin Peaks remains strikingly precise in depicting the agency’s actual, brief flirtation with what was then known as “the FBI pistol,” grounding its surreal world in an unusually authentic procedural reality.

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How to Get the Look

Gordon Cole’s wardrobe may be the only thing that isn’t loud about the affable FBI Regional Bureau Chief who comes to Twin Peaks, dressed in the black suit, pale shirt, and dark tie that became Twin Peaks‘ sartorial shorthand for Bureau agents.

• Black wool suit:
  • Single-breasted 2-button jacket with narrow notch lapels, welted breast pocket, straight flapped hip pockets, 3-button cuffs, and ventless back
  • Flat-front trousers with belt loops and plain-hemmed bottoms
• Ice-white poplin shirt with spread collar, plain front, breast pocket, and button-fastened mtired cuffs
• Black narrow tie with black tonal rectangular pattern
• Black matte leather plain-toe derby shoes
• Black socks
• Light-brown wool gabardine twill knee-length Army-style officer’s greatcoat with wide ulster collar, shoulder epaulets, upper right storm flap, 6×3-button double-breasted front, full waist-belt, slanted side pockets, and two-button square-ended cuff straps
• Gold dress watch with round silver dial and gold non-numeric hour indices on brown leather strap
• U.S. flag lapel pin
• Gold “L” crest lapel pin
• Bronze old-fashioned hearing aid device with wired ear-buds

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Do Yourself a Favor and…

Check out the series.

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The Quote

The word “linkage” reminds me of sausage! Never cared much for the links, preferred the patties, but breakfast is a real good idea!