Mark Frost (born November 25, 1953) is an American novelist, screenwriter, television producer, film producer and director. He is best known as the co-creator of the surrealist mystery horror drama television series Twin Peaks (1990–1991, 2017) which won a Golden Globe Award in 1990. He was also a writer and executive story editor of the police drama series Hill Street Blues (1982–1985). He also directed the 1992 film Storyville. He has also published novels beginning with The List of Seven (1993) as well as several non-fiction works, including The Greatest Game Ever Played (2002), which was adapted as a 2005 film.
Early life Mark Frost was born on November 25, 1953 in Brooklyn, New York City, to Mary Virginia Calhoun and actor Warren Frost. He is the elder brother of actress Lindsay Frost and writer and photographer Scott Frost. During his childhood, Frost was raised in Los Angeles, California, and spent his adolescence in Minneapolis, Minnesota, where he attended Marshall-University High School. As a high-school student, he spent two years on an internship program studying and working at Minneapolis' Guthrie Theater.
Frost subsequently enrolled in Carnegie Mellon University (CMU) in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, studying acting, directing and playwriting. During his time in college, he worked as a member of the lighting crew on PBS Mister Rogers' Neighborhood alongside actor Michael Keaton. Frost graduated from CMU in 1975 with a Bachelor of Fine Arts. After his graduation, he returned to the Guthrie Theater in Minneapolis, where he was a literary associate until 1978.
Career Frost was a writer for the NBC television series Hill Street Blues. He co-created the ABC television series Twin Peaks with David Lynch. The show developed from the initial setup of Lynch having been hired by Warner Bros. to develop a film based on the life of Marilyn Monroe that saw Lynch and Frost write a screenplay. While it didn't lead anywhere, they became good friends and it was Lynch who eventually got an "idea of a small-town thing", before Frost expressed interest in doing "a sort of Dickensian story about multiple lives in a contained area that could sort of go perpetually." First pitched during the 1988 Writers Guild of America strike, the show eventually premiered in 1990. They maintained control of the show for the first season but each had varying control over the second season, in which both later expressed regret at resolving the murder. The show first ended on June 10, 1991; Frost was not involved with the prequel film Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me (1992). They then developed On the Air, which aired from June 20 to July 4, 1992. He co-wrote and directed the film Storyville, co-wrote Fantastic Four (2005) and wrote The Greatest Game Ever Played, based on his 2002 book of the same name.
He has written several books on golf, including The Match: The Day the Game of Golf Changed Forever, about a 1956 match pitting pros Ben Hogan and Byron Nelson against amateurs Harvie Ward and Ken Venturi, and The Grand Slam, about the 1930 golf season of Bobby Jones. His fictional works include The List of Seven, The Six Messiahs, and The Second Objective.
Frost returned to co-write the third season of Twin Peaks alongside Lynch that aired in 2017.
Personal life Frost has lived in Ojai, California, since 2011 with his wife Lynn and their son, Travis.
His nephew is Major League Baseball player Lucas Giolito.
Bibliography Fiction The List of Seven (1993) The Six Messiahs (1995) Before I Wake (1997) The Second Objective (2009) The Paladin Prophecy (2012) The Paladin Prophecy 2: Alliance (2013) The Paladin Prophecy 3: Rogue (2015) The Secret History of Twin Peaks (2016) Twin Peaks: The Final Dossier (2017) The Yankee Sphinx (2026)
Non-fiction The Greatest Game Ever Played: A True Story (2002) The Grand Slam: Bobby Jones, America, and the Story of Golf (2006) The Match: The Day the Game of Golf Changed Forever (2007) Game Six: Cincinnati, Boston, and the 1975 World Series (2009)
Filmography Film Year Title Credit Notes 1987 The Believers Writer and associate producer Uncredited cameo: Locker Room Cop Scared Stiff Co-writer No Man's Land Writer Uncredited 1990 Nightbreed Writer Uncredited 1992 Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me Executive producer Storyville Director and co-writer Once Upon a Time Executive producer Documentary film 2005 Fantastic Four Co-writer The Greatest Game Ever Played Writer and producer Adaptation of Frost's book of the same name 2007 Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer Co-writer
Television Year Title Credit Notes 1975 Lucas Tanner Writer Sunshine Writer The Six Million Dollar Man Writer 2 episodes 1982 Gavilan Writer 2 episodes 1982–1985 Hill Street Blues Writer, story editor and executive story editor 28 episodes (as writer)21 episodes (as story editor)22 episodes (as executive story editor) 1986 The Equalizer Writer 2 episodes 1990–1991 Twin Peaks Co-creator, writer, director and executive producer 11 episodes (as writer)"Episode 7" (as director)Uncredited cameo appearances: "Pilot" (voice only) and "Episode 8" 1990 American Chronicles Creator, writer, director and executive producer 13 episodes (as writer)Episode: "Farewell to the Flesh" (as director) 1992 On the Air Co-creator, writer and executive producer 2 episodes (as writer) 1998 The Repair Shop Creator, writer and executive producer Unaired pilot Buddy Faro Creator, writer and executive producer 11 episodes (as writer) 1999 Forbidden Island Writer and executive producer Unaired pilot 2000 The Deadly Look of Love Co-writer and co-executive producer Television film 2001 All Souls Writer and executive producer Episode: "Bad Blood" 2017 Twin Peaks: The Return Co-creator, co-writer and executive producer 18 episodesCameo: "Part 15"
Accolades Bram Stoker Awards Year Nominated work Category Result 2017 Twin Peaks Superior Achievement in a Screenplay (for "Part 8")
Deauville American Film Festival Year Nominated work Category Result 1992 Storyville Prix de la Critique Internationale (International Critics Award)
Golden Globe Awards Year Nominated work Category Result 1991 Twin Peaks Best Television Series – Drama
Primetime Emmy Awards Year Nominated work Category Result 1984 Hill Street Blues Outstanding Writing for a Drama Series (for "Grace Under Pressure") 1990 Twin Peaks Outstanding Drama Series Outstanding Writing for a Drama Series (for "Pilot") 2018 Outstanding Writing for a Limited Series, Movie or a Dramatic Special
The Stinkers Bad Movie Awards Year Nominated work Category Result 2005 Fantastic Four Worst Screenplay for a Film Grossing More Than $100 Million
Writers Guild of America Awards Year Nominated work Category Result 1985 Hill Street Blues Episodic Drama (for "Grace Under Pressure") Episodic Drama (for "Death by Kiki") Episodic Drama (for "Parting Is Such Sweep Sorrow")
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