Director David Lynch Dies at 78

David Lynch, the maverick, unconventional filmmaker who made classics such as Blue Velvet and Twin Peaks, has died. He was 78.

The news was shared on Lynch’s Facebook page on Thursday. “It is with deep regret that we, his family, announce the passing of the man and the artist, David Lynch,” it noted. “We would appreciate some privacy at this time. There’s a big hole in the world now that he’s no longer with us. But, as he would say, ‘Keep your eye on the donut and not on the hole.’

“It’s a beautiful day with golden sunshine and blue skies all the way.”

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Lynch had said last year that he had been diagnosed with emphysema and would not be able to leave the house to direct anymore. The filmmaker was a longtime smoker, which was confirmed on film in the 2106 documentary David Lynch: The Art Life, in which a cigarette was consistently present throughout its 90-minute running time.

In addition to his screen work, Lynch had also recorded several music albums. The latest, Cellophane Memories, was a collaboration effort with Twin Peaks‘ Chrystabell that came out in 2024.

He also directed music videos for Chris Isaak, Nine Inch Nails and others. His movies have included acting roles for major music stars such as Sting and David Bowie.

What Movies Did David Lynch Direct?

Lynch’s breakthrough feature film arrived in 1977 with Eraserhead, a black-and-white experimental work about a misformed child and the man charged with caring for them. That acclaimed work led to Lynch being given the film adaptation of The Elephant Man in 1980, which netted eight Academy Award nominations.

His 1984 adaptation of Dune was one of the few missteps in his career. Two years later he rebounded with Blue Velvet, his masterpiece of a sadistic kidnapper and the young man who gets caught in a small-town mystery.

Lynch further explored small-town drama in the groundbreaking 1990 TV series Twin Peaks, a critical and commercial hit that aired for two seasons. In 1992 he expanded the universe with the feature film Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me and revived the series in 2017 for Twin Peaks: The Return, one of the ’10s’ most acclaimed TV shows.

Throughout his career, Lynch made some of the past half-century’s most challenging and greatest work, including 2001’s Mulholland Drive and 2006’s Inland Empire, his last big-screen feature. He also helmed many short films over the decades.

He was nominated for four Oscars, three of them for his work as a director. In 2020, he was given the Academy’s Honorary Award for his lifetime of work. His dark, surrealistic films were awarded at major festivals across the globe, from Cannes to Venice, as well as favorites on the midnight-movie cult circuit.