Lil The Dancer - Horne Family - Ben Horne

Ben Horne is one of the two richest and most powerful individuals of Twin Peaks; according to Sheriff Truman, Horne "owns half the town", including the Great Northern Hotel, the town's only apparent travel lodgings; the Great Northern also acts, on occasion, as a de facto town hall, and the only place in Twin Peaks suitable for a wedding reception, making it one of the hubs of the community. In addition to the Great Northern, Ben owns and runs Horne's, the town's only department store, and One Eyed Jacks, a casino/brothel just over the Canadian border. He is a highly devious figure involved in drug and prostitution rings and even orders and orchestrates murders. His would-be monopoly on the town's economy is challenged only by Josie Packard, the owner of the Packard Saw Mill, one of the few major businesses in town which Horne doesn't own. At the outset of the series, Horne has been involved in an affair for some time with Catherine Martell, as part of an intricate plot to kill her, destroy the mill, become the beneficiary of her life insurance, and take sole ownership of the land on which the mill sits, which he intends to turn into a luxury country club. There is also speculation about Horne's previous involvement with Eileen Hayward, which leads to the suspicion as to whether he is Donna Hayward's biological father. During the second season he is briefly arrested on the suspicion of being the Laura Palmer's murderer. Due to the collapse of his business endeavours during his arrest, he suffers a nervous breakdown, falling into a delusional state for much of the season during which he imagines himself a Civil War general. When he recovers from his mental breakdown, he attempts somewhat to right some of his prior wrongs but does not completely keep himself out of trouble.