RIP Pamela Gidley (1965 - 2018)

I'm particularly saddened to see this one go.

A former Wilhelmina fashion model, she won the crown in the second annual Most Beautiful Girl in the World competition in Sydney, Australia, in 1985 at the age of 19, making her an instant draw for the movies. She was unforgettably sexy in Steve De Jarnatt's CHERRY 2000 (1987) and Mike Figgis' LIEBESTRAUM (1991 - a masterpiece, I thought) and unforgettably tragic as Teresa Banks in David Lynch's TWIN PEAKS FIRE WALK WITH ME (1992). Has anyone ever played a more believable corpse? Outwardly cool and mysterious, with a kittenish demeanor, she had an intimate voice, an aura of danger, and a taunting look that suggested she was amused to find out whether you would succeed or fail with her - she’d get her kicks either way.

As feature options dwindled, she gravitated to series television with continuous roles in STRANGE LUCK, THE PRETENDER, CSI: CRIME SCENE INVESTIGATION (covering the first three seasons) and SKIN, and she also directed a short film of her own (I JUST FORGOT) in 2004. Unfortunately, her screen credits end about 12 years ago, though she was included in the recovered deleted scenes of FIRE WALK WITH ME.

She had a rare magnetism - strong, even street-tough, yet somehow otherworldly and ethereal too - and I often wondered what had become of her. Looking over her filmography, I see that I have some catching up to do. It has been reported on her Wikipedia page that she died in her New Hampshire home on April 16, at the age of only 52. No cause mentioned.

(c) 2018 by Tim Lucas. All rights reserved.