David Lynch: Catherine Coulson, Log Lady of ‘Twin Peaks,’ was ‘solid gold’

One day the log will have something to say about this: Catherine Coulson, the “Log Lady” of “Twin Peaks” fame, has died at 71.

Coulson’s death on Monday was confirmed by her agent, Mary Dangerfield, who declined to provide a cause. Some news outlets reported that Coulson had suffered from cancer.

Coulson was a character actor and camera operator who earned a spot in the pop-culture pantheon as Margaret Lanterman, a local eccentric who toted around a log as a sort of prophetic talisman on David Lynch’s groundbreaking murder-mystery/soap satire, originally broadcast on ABC in 1990-91.

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“My log has something to tell you,” the Log Lady, cradling a piece of firewood, told one law-enforcement officer on the show. “Do you know it?”

“I don’t believe we’ve been introduced,” came the reply.

Coulson, who worked with Lynch on the director’s breakthrough art film, the surrealistic “Eraserhead,” was reported to have been planning an appearance in the reboot of “Twin Peaks” that is currently being made for Showtime.

On Monday, Lynch provided a statement to fans: “Today I lost one of my dearest friends, Catherine Coulson,” he wrote.

“Catherine was solid gold. She was always there for her friends -- she was filled with love for all people -- for her family -- for her work,” Lynch wrote. “She was a tireless worker. She had a great sense of humor -- she loved to laugh and make people laugh. She was a spiritual person -- a longtime TM [transcendental meditation] meditator. She was the Log Lady.”

As a camera operator or assistant, Coulson worked on “Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan,” “Modern Romance,” “The Killing of a Chinese Bookie” and other features.

What’s your memory of the Log Lady?

Twitter: @scottcollinsLAT