David Lynch, the filmmaker celebrated for his uniquely dark and dreamlike vision in such movies as 鈥淏lue Velvet鈥� and 鈥淢ulholland Drive鈥� and the TV series 鈥淭win Peaks,鈥� has died just days before his 79th birthday.
His family announced the death in a Facebook post on Thursday. The cause of death and location was not immediately available, but Lynch had been public about his emphysema.
鈥淲e would appreciate some privacy at this time. There鈥檚 a big hole in the world now that he鈥檚 no longer with us. But, as he would say, 鈥楰eep your eye on the donut and not on the hole,鈥欌�� the post read. 鈥淚t鈥檚 a beautiful day with golden sunshine and blue skies all the way.鈥�
Last summer, Lynch had revealed to Sight and Sound that he was diagnosed with emphysema and would not be leaving his home because of fears of contracting the coronavirus or 鈥渆ven a cold.鈥�
鈥淚鈥檝e gotten emphysema from smoking for so long and so I鈥檓 homebound whether I like it or not,鈥� Lynch said, adding he didn鈥檛 expect to make another film.
鈥淚 would try to do it remotely, if it comes to it,鈥� Lynch said. 鈥淚 wouldn鈥檛 like that so much.鈥�
Lynch was a onetime painter who broke through in the 1970s with the surreal 鈥淓raserhead鈥� and rarely failed to startle and inspire audiences, peers and critics in the following decades. His notable releases ranged from the neo-noir 鈥淢ulholland Drive鈥� to the skewed Gothic of 鈥淏lue Velvet鈥� to the eclectic and eccentric 鈥淭win Peaks,鈥� which won three Golden Globes, two Emmys and even a Grammy for its theme music.
鈥溾�楤lue Velvet,鈥� 鈥楳ulholland Drive鈥� and 鈥楨lephant Man鈥� defined him as a singular, visionary dreamer who directed films that felt handmade,鈥� Steven Spielberg said in a statement. Spielberg noted that he had cast Lynch as director John Ford in the 2022 film 鈥淭he Fabelmans.鈥�
鈥淗ere was one of my heroes (Ford) 鈥� David Lynch playing one of my heroes. It was surreal and seemed like a scene out of one of David鈥檚 own movies,鈥� Spielberg said. 鈥淭he world is going to miss such an original and unique voice.鈥�
Lynch never won a competitive Academy Award. He received nominations for directing 鈥淭he Elephant Man,鈥� 鈥淏lue Velvet鈥� and 鈥淢ulholland Drive鈥� and, in 2019, was presented an honorary Oscar for lifetime achievement.
鈥淭o the Academy and everyone who helped me along the way, thanks,鈥� he said at the time, in characteristically off-beat remarks. 鈥淵ou have a very nice face. Good night.鈥�
His other credits included the crime story 鈥淲ild at Heart,鈥� winner of the Palme d鈥橭r at the Cannes Film Festival; the biographical drama 鈥淭he Elephant Man鈥� and the G-rated, aptly straightforward 鈥淭he Straight Story.鈥� Actors regularly appearing in his movies included Kyle McLachlan, Laura Dern, Naomi Watts and Richard Farnsworth.
Lynch was a Missoula, Montana, native who moved around often with his family as a child and would long feel most at home away from the classroom, free to explore his fascination with the world. He had an early gift for visual arts and a passion for travel and discovery that led to his enrollment in the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts and the beginning of a decade-long apprenticeship as a maker of short movies.
鈥淒avid鈥檚 always had a cheerful disposition and sunny personality, but he鈥檚 always been attracted to dark things,鈥� a childhood friend is quoted as saying in 鈥淩oom to Dream,鈥� a 2018 book by Lynch and Kristine McKenna. That鈥檚 one of the mysteries of David.鈥�
