David Robert Jones (8 January 1947 – 10 January 2016), known professionally as David Bowie, was an English musician, actor, record producer and arranger who appeared as FBI Agent Phillip Jeffries in Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me. Extended footage of Bowie as Jeffries was featured in the deleted scenes compilation Twin Peaks: The Missing Pieces.
Bowie is best known for his highly-influential music career that spanned over five decades, and is regarded as one of the most influential musicians of the 20th century. Frequently reinventing his music and mage, Bowie was widely regarded as an innovator and was known for the intellectual depth of his work.
Aside from music, Bowie was also an avid painter and art collector, and appeared in films and television shows. In 1976, Bowie starred in the cult film The Man Who Fell to Earth. His other roles included Major Jack Celliers in Merry Christmas, Mr. Lawrence (1983), Jareth the Goblin King in Labyrinth (1986), Pontius Pilate in The Last Temptation of Christ (1988), Phillip Jeffries in Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me (1992), and Nikola Tesla in The Prestige (2006), among other film and television appearances and cameos.
Throughout his lifetime, Bowie sold roughly 140 million records worldwide, making him one of the best selling music artists of all time. On 17 January 2022, Bowie was announced as the best-selling vinyl artist of the 21st century.
History[]
Early life[]
Born in Brixton, South London, Bowie developed an interest in music as a child. He studied art, music and design before embarking on a professional career as a musician in 1963.
Music career[]
Bowie released his debut album in 1967. "Space Oddity", released in 1969, was his first top-five entry on the UK Singles Chart. After a period of experimentation, he re-emerged in 1972 during the glam rock era with his flamboyant and androgynous alter ego Ziggy Stardust. The character was spearheaded by the success of Bowie's single "Starman" and album The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars, which won him widespread popularity. In 1975, Bowie's style shifted towards a sound he characterised as "plastic soul", initially alienating many of his UK fans but garnering him his first major US crossover success with the number-one single "Fame" (a duet with John Lennon) and the album Young Americans. In 1976, Bowie released Station to Station. In 1977, he further confounded expectations with the electronic-inflected album Low, the first of three collaborations with Brian Eno that came to be known as the "Berlin Trilogy". "Heroes" (1977) and Lodger (1979) followed; each album reached the UK top five and received lasting critical praise.
After uneven commercial success in the late 1970s, Bowie had UK number ones with the 1980 single "Ashes to Ashes", its album Scary Monsters (and Super Creeps), and "Under Pressure", a 1981 collaboration with Queen. He reached his commercial peak in 1983 with Let's Dance; its title track topped both the UK and US charts. Throughout the 1990s and 2000s, Bowie continued to experiment with musical styles, including industrial and jungle. He stopped touring after 2004 and his last live performance was at a charity event in 2006. In 2013, Bowie returned from a decade-long recording hiatus with The Next Day. He remained musically active until his death from liver cancer in New York City, two days after his 69th birthday and the release of his final album, Blackstar (2016).
Bowie's song "I'm Deranged" from the 1995 album Outside was featured in David Lynch's 1997 film Lost Highway.
Acting career[]
In his acting career, Bowie was known for various roles, such as John Merrick in a Broadway production of The Elephant Man (the basis of which was adapted into an otherwise unrelated film by David Lynch), The Man Who Fell to Earth, Labyrinth, and The Prestige.
Work with David Lynch[]
David Bowie as Phillip Jeffries in Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me
Bowie portrayed FBI Agent Phillip Jeffries in Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me. Extended footage of Bowie as Jeffries was featured in the deleted scenes compilation Twin Peaks: The Missing Pieces.
Bowie was approached to reprise his role in the 2017 revival series, but he declined due to his liver cancer diagnosis, which was not known to the public until his death. However, Bowie did give permission for his scenes in the film to be re-used as long as his voice was dubbed by a Louisianan actor.[1] Footage from his scene in the FBI headquarters was re-used in the series, in which his voice was dubbed by Nathan Frizzell, who also provided Jeffries' voice in new scenes featuring the character. Part 14 of the revived series was dedicated to Bowie's memory.
Discography[]
Studio albums[]
- David Bowie (1967)
- David Bowie/Space Oddity (1969)
- The Man Who Sold the World (1970)
- Hunky Dory (1971)
- The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars (1972)
- Aladdin Sane (1973)
- Pin Ups (1973)
- Diamond Dogs (1974)
- Young Americans (1975)
- Station to Station (1976)
- Low (1977)
- "Heroes" (1977)
- Lodger (1979)
- Scary Monsters (and Super Creeps) (1980)
- Let's Dance (1983)
- Tonight (1984)
- Never Let Me Down (1987)
- Black Tie White Noise (1993)
- Outside (1995)
- Earthling (1997)
- 'hours...' (1999)
- Heathen (2002)
- Reality (2003)
- The Next Day (2013)
- Blackstar (2016)
External links[]
David Bowie at the Internet Movie Database
David Bowie at Wikipedia
David Bowie (@DavidBowieReal) on Twitter
References[]
- ↑ Wray, Daniel Dylan. "David Lynch on Bowie and the Music that Inspired the New “Twin Peaks”." Pitchfork. 19 September 2017.