Twin Peaks star Al Strobel has died. The actor, best known for his role Phillip Gerard/Mike on the hit series, was 83 years old.
Strobel died at home in Eugene, Ore over the weekend. Right now no cause of death has been shared. The star’s death was confirmed by Twin Peaks producer Sabrina Sutherland who shared a statement for his family.
“Through the darkness of future past and much sadness we say goodbye to Al Strobel. He is an irreplaceable human being and will always be an important part of our Twin Peaks family.”
Phillip Gerard — the one-armed man in Twin Peaks — was Strobel’s most notable and longest-running roles. The star first played this character in 1990 during 10 episodes of the original Twin Peaks run. He reprised the role two years later for Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me and later in 2014 during Twin Peaks: The Missing Pieces. In 2017 he would reprise the role again for nine episodes during the Twin Peaks reboot series.
At just 17 years of age, Strobel lost his arm in a car accident. This became a key plot point for his iconic Twin Peaks character with the in-universe explanation being that he removed his own arm to avoid being possessed by a sinister being.
Following the news, Twin Peaks alumni took to social media to post tributes to the late star.
Alongside Twin Peaks Strobel appeared in productions including Megaville, Child of Darkness, Child of Light, Sitting Target, and Shadow Play.