Dale Cooper
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FBI Special Agent Dale Bartholomew Cooper was the lead character in the popular television series Twin Peaks, created by Mark Frost and David Lynch. The character was played throughout both seasons by Kyle MacLachlan, who also reprised the role for the prequel film Fire Walk With Me.
Special Agent Cooper, or "Coop" as he was known to Sheriff Harry S. Truman, became one of the most popular characters from a dramatic television series. This was mainly thanks to his quirky mannerisms, sense of humour and a number of trademark phrases, along with his love for a good cherry pie and a "damn fine cup of coffee".
Cooper was born on April 19, 1954, and graduated from Haverford College. He is highly introverted, and somewhat mystical, having a particular interest in Tibet, and Native American mythology. Much of his work is based on intuition and even dreams; this is in complete contrast to many fictional detectives who use logic to solve their cases. Like many fictional detectives however, he sometimes bends the rules or goes outside the law.
He enjoys eating and drinking, and is told he "must have the metabolism of a bumblebee". He also appreciates nature, and falls in love with Twin Peaks, despite the problems there, and gains a great deal of acceptance within a tight knit community. Around the Great Northern Hotel, Agent Cooper is famous for giving a 'thumbs up' when satisfied, and nothing satifies him more than a "damn good cup of coffee."
Love life
Cooper was initially fitted up with Audrey Horne as a love interest, and is indeed obviously attracted to her. But when she turns up in his bed, he is forced to try and explain the situation, and turn her down. MacLachlan didn't want the two to have a relationship, as he felt his character wouldn't have a relationship with a high school girl.
In the second season, he meets Annie Blackburn, the sister of Norma Jennings, whom he falls in love with. However, she is taken to the Black Lodge by Windom Earle, who also murdered Coop's first love (and Earle's wife), Caroline by stabbing her in the aorta.
Trivia
- Special Agent Dale Cooper grew up in Philadelphia (according to Season 2, Episode 18). This is no coincidence, since this is where David Lynch lived in the Eraserhead era. Lynch has claimed many times that Philadelphia has had a strong influence on his ideas.
- Kyle MacLachlan apparently could not stand cherry pie, unlike his character.
- The name of Dale Cooper might have been inspired by the mysterious "D.B. Cooper" who, in 1971, hijacked an airliner leaving Seattle and jumped from the plane with $200,000 dollars strapped to his chest, never to be seen again.
Cultural references
- In a Sesame Street "Monsterpiece Theater" skit, the Cookie Monster played a Dale Cooper-esque character investigating how the town of Twin Beaks got its name, unable to connect this to the fact that all the town's inhabitants (including "David Finch") are birds with two beaks.
- In The Simpsons episode "Who Shot Mr. Burns? Part Two" (2F20, 17 September 1995), Chief Wiggum has a dream that resembles Dale Cooper's dream in which Lisa talks backwards to reveal clues. The chief awakens from his dream with his hair mussed like Cooper's bed hair after his awakening. In the episode "Lisa's Sax" (3G02, 19 October 1997), a flashback to 1990 shows Homer watching the show as Dale Cooper remarks, "That's some damn fine coffee you got here in Twin Peaks... and damn good cherry pie." The Giant is then shown waltzing with a horse, under a tree with a traffic light hanging from a branch. Homer's opinion of the show is "Brilliant!... I have absolutely no idea what's going on."
References
- The Autobiography of F.B.I. Special Agent Dale Cooper: My Life, My Tapes as heard by Scott Frost (1991, ISBN 0671744003)
External link
- [Photo and brief bio] as a Castmember & Character in Twin Peaks
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