Kenneth Welsh, a Canadian actor best known as villainous FBI agent Windom Earle in the original Twin Peaks, has died. His death was confirmed by ACTRA, the Canadian film and television union. No cause of death was given.
Welsh had more than 200 screen credits during his long career.
“Ken was one of Canada’s all-time great performers, with hundreds of memorable roles spanning decades,” ACTRA wrote in a statement. “He will be greatly missed. Our condolences to his loved ones.”
Welsh portrayed several historical figures on the screen, including Harry S. Truman, Thomas E. Dewey, Colin Thatcher, and Thomas Edison, among others.
Born in 1942 in Edmonton, Alta., Welsh studied at the National Theatre School of Canada in Montreal. His early work was with the Stratford Festival, which specialized in Shakespeare.
Welsh’s first screen credit was in “Shoestring Theatre,” a 1963 CBC anthology series. He went on to several more CBC television appearances.
In the ’70s and ’80s, Welsh worked mostly in Canada, with roles in such television films such as Hedda Gabler, Brethren, Reno and the Doc, Love & Larceny, The Cuckoo Bird, Murder Sees the Light, Loose Ends, A Stranger Waits and Love and Hate.
In 1988, he played a supporting role in Crocodile Dundee II and starred in an episode of theTwilight Zone.
After Twin Peaks, Welsh appeared on such television shows as The X-Files, Law & Order The Outer Limits, Soul Food, and more.
Welsh is survived by his son, Devon Welsh. Details on memorial plans were not immediately available.
