24 thoughts on “Happy 57th Birthday Sheryl Lee”

1. An excellent tribute to a most excellent actress!

2. Why thank you for the kind words Michael 🙂 Sheryl Lee is indeed an excellent actress as you so eloquently state 🙂 Did you have any particular favorite links or did all of them stand out for you? 🙂

3. I enjoyed Twin Peaks a lot, but I am not a superfan like you! I thought all the cast did a great job in both the TV series and film.

   Best wishes, Pete.

4. Best wishes to you as well Pete 🙂

5. Sheryl Lee was sublime in Twin Peaks

6. You got that right Jack 🙂 Sheryl Lee gave everything she had with that performance as Laura Palmer. Our hearts truly ache for her as she descends into madness. I actually read somewhere that Sheryl Lee has gotten thank you letters from survivors of sexual abuse, who identified with everything that her character Laura Palmer went through. Interesting isn’t it? While watching Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me, one can’t help but want to become part of the story and serve as Laura Palmer’s knight in shining armor. At the same time, we all want to reach out to Laura Palmer and console her.

7. Twin Peaks was one of those shows that I somehow missed out on! Usually I’m kept in the loop entertainment-wise due to captioning all different sorts of shows, but I only recall captioning a few episodes–I’m not sure we had them as a regular client. I DO, however, remember the furor over the show AND, of course, Ms. Lee. It was like a firestorm of madness how much people adored her and that show! I remember it well.
   Did you see her in Vampires and/or like her role in that? I thought that movie was extremely misogynistic but thought she did a great job with the little she had to work with.

8. Stacey, I did see Vampires and I absolutely loved that film and I do not see it as misogynistic at all. I am aware of that bedroom scene where Sheryl Lee’s character is being restrained (tied up at the same time), but to call it misogynistic on a whole is (with all due respect) a tad misguided. I also feel that Sheryl Lee had a lot to work with as Katrina. Lee’s performance in Vampires was fantastic. As I have said before and I will say again, as an actress, Lee is extremely beautiful and talented 🙂 Thoughts? 🙂

9. Uh-oh! Where’d my comment go? And your response?! Uh-oh……! lol

10. Stacey, your comment is above my reply, I just visited your site to let you know that I replied to it cause you asked me whether I saw Vampires or not and I just wanted you to know that I answered it 🙂

11. Hi, John. Thanks for the heads up! But you know what? I came in here yesterday and responded to your response–a big, long paragraph–saying I loved the fact that we had opposite perspectives on the (potential) misogyny in Vampires and then went on to explain why it struck me that way, and the whole frigging thing disappeared! So I’m not gonna repeat what I said in case THIS paragraph disappears too, lol. If this goes through, though, I might try again tomorrow…. 🙂

12. Thank you for the reply Stacey 🙂 I sincerely apologize that your longer response did not get accepted. I tried looking in the spam folder to see If it ended up there, but it did not. A shame because I was very interested in hearing your thoughts. In the past, I have had that same trouble, albeit occasionally. I do want to reassure you though that If your original reply appeared, I would not have hesitated to accept it. If you feel comfortable repeating that original reply, be my guest 🙂

13. It was probably something I did, John. Who knows?! lol At any rate, though, the second comment above went in, so I’ll give it a go again, especially since you said you’re curious. 🙂

    I think the reason why Vampires struck me as misogynistic was due to two things combined: there were no lady roles in the movie except for hookers and evil vamps. And the way Lee was viewed was sort of as “less than human” even before she was turned. All the hookers were. And even though prostitution is one of the oldest professions on earth, they’re always looked down on for some reason.

    Then once Lee was turned, they were SO rough and violent with her. I understand that she was the enemy and they’re calloused, cold vampire killers. But she didn’t ask for it. She didn’t turn herself or ask to be turned.

    Now, the weird thing is is I LOVE “man” movies. I don’t mind at all if women don’t feature in movies or it’s mostly men, because I love more action and less talking and “emotion,” personally. And I’m completely against modern-day movies, especially Marvel-type stuff, where willowy little women are beating the crap out of men constantly and generally acting like men too. I don’t care if you had “special training” and know how to fight. That’s fine! You could probably get away with a few specific moves against a man. But unless you pump iron or you’re a cage fighter (Gina Carano–yes, SHE can punch a man and probably knock him out!) a hand-to-hand fight against a guy most likely will not go your way.

    That’s why it was a combo, in my opinion, of no lady roles except for men using the hookers for pleasure and Lee being shoved around later that things felt off to me. But it is only my opinion, and really, in the end, I don’t care if it is or isn’t, because I liked the movie a lot. It’s one of my faves. You know what it is? Maybe they did such a good job of being hardened, calloused, “eff you” vampire hunters and Lee did such a good job of looking so vulnerable and pathetic that I felt for her completely and it was just the result of the actors doing a great job at their roles, right?

    Also, to be fair, Woods did beat the crap out of the Father AND smash him upside the head with a phone (one of my favorite scenes ever. Woods: “Excuse me,” as he takes the phone from the Father. Then–SMASH !!!! lol ) So, yeah, they WERE just tough and in a bad mood all the time, the guys. And Lee was just in the wrong place at the wrong time. I can recant misogyny and downgrade to emotional and physical abuse, which both men AND women received from them and which Woods also received, himself, from the biggest betrayer of all, the cardinal, who was willing to murder him, and leave it at that! lol

14. I understand your point-of-view Stacey 🙂 I also share your view that sex workers should not be looked down upon simply because of the profession they are involved in. Sex workers are human too. In fact, there are those involved in the profession simply for money alone.

    You are also right that Sheryl Lee’s character Katrina never asked to be a vampire. Truth be told, I always wished her character could have had a blood transfusion similar to the one Jonathan Harker’s girl got in the 1958 Hammer version of Dracula 🙂

    I too LOVE “man” movies as well Stacey 🙂 But then again, I love all types of films 🙂 I am aware of all that Marvel stuff and I could go either way with it, but I hear what you are saying about a man’s strength vs. a woman’s in a situation involving hand-to-hand combat. I am aware that Gina Carano was a cage fighter – I remember her from that Stephen Soderbergh action film Haywire 🙂

    Your view is entirely understandable 🙂 Glad to hear that Vampires is one of your favorites 🙂 It is one of my favorites as well and you are very likely to see it in my list of my favorite John Carpenter films 🙂 I too felt completely for Sheryl Lee’s character and as I mentioned earlier, really wanted to see her back to her normal self. I think that is what draws us (men and women alike) to Sheryl Lee’s characters. In other words, we root for her and If she had not been bitten by a vampire, we would want to hug and console her. As Laura Palmer in Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me, we feel the same sentiments there as well. When we see how messed-up Palmer had become, we want to reach out to hug, console her and call for an ambulance. The main difference between Lee’s Katrina in Vampires and her Laura Palmer in Fire Walk with Me lies in that her horrible treatment by everybody is central to the content of the film – it is meant to be tragic and we are not allowed to be let off the hook. In other words, we are intended to weep for Laura Palmer and I truly did while watching. FWWM is truly a masterful and powerful film.

    Yeah I remember the scene where James Woods smashed that priest with the phone – I do understand that it was played for comedic effect (subtle or otherwise). You are right that everybody was tough and in a bad mood. Also, yes, Woods character gets betrayed by the cardinal character and that must have been painful. I also hear ya that when men and women are both getting the severe treatment, it is much easier to take 🙂 Great film 🙂 Any further insightful thoughts Stacey? 🙂

15. Do you think someone could enjoy FWWM without having seen much of Twin Peaks, maybe only one or two episodes? I really need to see it. You have me so curious. My only issue is time–like when I could do it. But it’s definitely on my list, John.

    Thanks for our deep dive into Vampires too. That was fun. We both wrote a novel up there! lol And you caused me to rethink my position on sexism in that movie because, in the end, can a movie about vampires and vampire killers really fall under any “normal” constraints or labels? Probably not. It’s just good entertainment, and any surfacing emotions are due to convincing performances.

    I have a question for you, though, about John Carpenter now. In your opinion, do you think he’s a better director when he collaborates with people instead of trying to do it all himself–writing, directing, even music? I think this is hubby’s point of view on that. What do you think? :) 

16. Stacey, you can do whatever you want regarding watching FWWM first or after the first two seasons of Twin Peaks 🙂 Of couse, after all of that, you should watch 2017’s Twin Peaks: The Return (the third season that aired on Showtime) 🙂 As for when you are available to watch it, only do so when you are ready because we are all concerned with time right now 🙂

    I am glad that you enjoyed me and yours informative talk about John Carpenter’s Vampires 🙂 I echo your sentiment about films regarding vampires and all 🙂

    As for your question regarding John Carpenter, I think he is equally masterful at both. Then again, I am a huge fan of just about every film he directed. Carpenter’s 1979 TV film Elvis, 1992’s Memoirs of an Invisible Man and his 1995 remake of Village of the Damned were good, but nothing extraordinary. Having said that, every single other film that Carpenter directed has been great 🙂 Interesting that your hubby seems to prefer Carpenter collaborating with others. I have been aware that collaborating with others had become (to an extent) the norm for him after 1981’s Escape from New York. Do you ever wonder what good ol’ Jack Burton thinks? 🙂 wink wink 🙂

17. Ah, yes, time time time. I WILL see it one day. I will. I just don’t know when. In the past I may have blown by anything concerning Twin Peaks without consideration. Now after our discussion, I, of course, will not!

    As for Mr. Carpenter, yeah, I DO wonder what Jack B. thinks! I guess Carpenter really likes working with Kurt R., huh? We love watching Big Trouble every five or six years or so, maybe ten, lol, just for that zany, corny humor. So much fun.

    It would be great if Kurt could do one more Carpenter “Escape” movie, like he’s an old man now, and who knows what the story line would be, but it would be an interesting return. Kurt played a solider in Solider when he was getting “up there” in age and did a good job in that, I thought. Did you see that? Not Carpenter, but a good Kurt movie. And Kurt’s in that sort of sci-fi “monster” series right now and does a little action, so I think he COULD pull off one more “Escape,” lol. We should contact him and let him know. 🙂

18. I did see Soldier Stacey and it was good 🙂 I too would like to see Carpenter do another film with Kurt Russell, but it all of us should not be surprised If it does not happen 🙂

19. Excellent dedication to the one and only Laura Palmer – as you know I’m a huge Twin Peaks fan, and fan of Sheryl. It quietly breaks my heart that she’s 57. 57! I suppose it reminds me that we’re all getting older, but I always think of her as Laura, in that picture frame, forever young.
    It seems like every month or so another Twin Peaks alumni passes away, but here’s hoping Sheryl has many more decades and performances in her (and fingers always crossed for more Twin Peaks, as unlikely as that is).

20. Thank you for the kind words carlosnightman 🙂 As you probably know, I too am a huge fan of director David Lynch, Twin Peaks and actress Sheryl Lee of course 🙂 I do not know If you are aware of this, but Sheryl Lee has been living with neutropenia since 2007, which is a rare blood disorder and although she is doing better now, every day is a struggle for her. You can do a google search typing the words “Sheryl Lee” and “neutropenia” and you will get a lot of results.

    I too always think of Sheryl Lee as Laura Palmer and yes eternally youthful courtesy of that picture frame. I think I may have told you this before, but every time I watch Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me, it never fails to move me. I find myself teary eyed watching Laura Palmer’s descent into madness. One wants to just reach into the screen and fight BOB to rescue Laura Palmer and then hug her. In addition, we all want her to survive and get her to a hospital so she can be cured emotionally. Any film that makes one feel all of these emotions is doing something right. Speaking of Sheryl Lee, did you know that she was in John Carpenter’s Vampires? 🙂 Thoughts? 🙂 Btw, click below to read this essay or maybe more of a review of Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me courtesy of Michael at Starfire Lounge 🙂

    From the Vault: Fire Walk with Sheryl Lee

21. Yes, I like JC’s Vampires though it’s not one of his best. Woods and Lee are good in it.
    I was writing a review of the Ju-On TV series (it may have posted today) and as I was writing and remembering the show (a few years since I’ve watched it) it struck me that it and the movie series have a lot in common with Twin Peaks, from playing with concepts of time, to demonic entities infecting people, to some of the sets and shots. I tried to see if the directors were fans of TP, but couldn’t find anything online. I know FWWM was big in Japan, so every chance the Ju On guys were inspired..

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