An instant cult celebrity as the star of David Lynch's nightmarish directorial debut "Eraserhead" (1977), Jack Nance lived a life every bit as bizarre as any scenario Lynch ever lensed. An alcoholic for much of his life, he recognized in Dennis Hopper on the set of Lynch's "Blue Velvet" (1986) a man who had battled and defeated similar demons and asked for his help. Hopper personally took him to the rehab center Studio 12, out in the valley, and when he emerged he was sober for the first time in memory and had a new friend, Kelly Jean Van Dyke, the troubled daughter of actor Jerry Van Dyke,
Began acting career at the Dallas Theater Center; toured doing childrens' theater
Moved to Los Angeles; relocated to San Francisco and performed with the American Conservatory Theater; met first wife Catherine Coulson while performing in a stage adaptation of Kafka's Amerika at SFSU; she was a student, he a guest artist
Starred in radical West Coast stage hit, "Tom Paine" in the late 1960s; director David Lindemann would actually introduce Nance to David Lynch when he was casting "Eraserhead"
Began associating with Francis Ford Coppola in San Francisco
