| Mike Yanagita | |
 | |
|---|---|
| Vital statistics | |
| Occupation: |
Engineer |
| Status: |
Alive |
| Portrayer: | |
| Appears in: |
Fargo (film) |
| Mike Yanagita Gallery | |
Mike Yanagita is a high school friend of Marge Gunderson.
Early life[]
Mike Yanagita went to high school with Marge Gunderson (then Olmsted) and Linda Cooksey, both whom he had secret feelings for. Little can be taken for granted about Yanagita's life since he's a compulsive liar and suffers from psychiatric problems. What is known is that, by 1987, he was living with his parents, possibly in Eden Prairie, Minnesota and, supposedly, had had a job working as an engineer for Honeywell. In 1986, he was obsessively stalking Linda which lead to her cutting off contact with him. In response to the heartbreak, Yanagita created a lie that Linda was his late wife and that she had died from leukemia.
Fargo[]
In February 1987, Yanagita called Marge Gunderson at her home in Brainerd, Minnesota after seeing her interviewed on the 10 o'clock news regarding a local homicide. Marge decided to reconnect with Yanagita over dinner at the Radisson while visiting Minneapolis. Yanagita used the opportunity to seduce Marge, but was quickly rebuffed. Feeling guilty, Yanagita attempted again to woo Marge by telling her how lonely he was following his wife, Linda's, death, leaving Marge feeling awkward and wanting to reschedule their dinner.
Before leaving Minneapolis the following day, Marge learned from a friend that Yanagita had lied to her about his marriage and on Linda's death. Her friend recommended that Marge should get back in touch with Linda.