Sad news for Twin Peaks fans and lovers of classic TV. Actress Catherine E. Coulson passed away on Monday at the age of 71. She succumbed to cancer. She was perhaps best known as the Log Lady on David Lynch's cult series.

Twin Peaks is being revived on Showtime, with all-new episodes shooting later this year. Pre-production is happening now in Washington state. Varitey confirms that Catherine E. Coulson was set to reprise her role as the Log Lady, a character which she also played in director David Lynch's film Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me, which served as a prequel to the canceled ABC show.

More recently, Catherine E. Coulson appeared in a fan-favorite role as proprietor of Marionberry farm on Portlandia, which reunited her with Twin Peaks star Kyle MacLachlan, who plays the Mayor of Portland. She also starred in the movie Redwood Highway opposite Shirley Knight and Tom Skerritt. The actress is an Oregon native, and often worked on films and TV shows being shot in and around the state.

Catherine E. Coulson, who also worked as a camera assistant, first met David Lynch when she served as an assistant director on his feature film debut Eraserhead. It was here that they began discussing the idea of a woman who carried around a log. About the character, who was actually named Margaret Lanterman, Catherine E. Coulson had this to say.

[She was the] only normal person on the show. [She] had some trauma and bonded with this ponderosa pine."

Catherine E. Coulson also acted for David Lynch in a short film he directed titled 'The Amputee'. In it, she played a woman who had both her legs amputated. She appeared at an event in Philadelphia last December. When asked what her Log Lady plans were for the Twin Peaks revival, she had this to say.

"[David Lynch] suggested I talk about sustainable forestry."

Catherine E. Coulson worked on some very popular movies throughout the 80s and 90s as a first or second assistant camera operator. Her credits include Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan, Youngblood starring Rob Lowe and Patrick Swayze, and {FIrBHdJLRX4Wvy starring Gena Rowlands and Winona Ryder. On the acting side, she would often return to her birthplace of Ashland, Oregon, where she appeared in numerous plays of the Oregon Shakespeare Festival. The same festival is notable for launching the career of Kyle MacLachlan. Catherine E. Coulson was married to Eraserhead and Twin Peaks star Jack Nance. They would later divorce, and she would marry actor Marc Sirinsky. The couple share a daughter. There is no update yet on how Twin Peaks will move forward without the Log Lady. Though, her absence should affect the story very minimally.