David Lynch, the director of groundbreaking films and shows including “Twin Peaks” and “Blue Velvet,” has died at the age of 78, his family announced Thursday.
He added: “It is with great regret that we and his family announce the death of the man and artist David Lynch.” statement It was posted on Lynch’s social media. “We appreciate some privacy at this time. There’s a big hole in the world now that he’s no longer with us. But, he says, ‘Keep your eye on the cake and not the hole.’ It’s a beautiful day with golden sunshine and blue skies all the way.”
Lynch, who would have been 79 on Monday, It was unveiled in August 2024 He was diagnosed with emphysema, a chronic lung disease, after years of smoking.
Lynch, who was born in Montana in 1946, was a writer, director and artist who studied at the American Film Institute. He first entered the world of film in 1977 when he turned his thesis project into his first feature film, “Eraserhead”, a surreal black-and-white independent film that quickly gained fame as a midnight movie.
“Eraserhead” caught the attention of producer Mel Brooks, who brought Lynch in to direct “The Elephant Man,” an adaptation of the life and times of the badly disfigured Joseph Merrick, telling the younger director: “You’re a crazy man. You’re set.”
“The Elephant Man” earned Lynch the first of three Academy Award nominations for Best Director, followed by “Blue Velvet” in 1986 and “Mulholland Drive” in 2001, the latter of which earned him the Best Director award at the Cannes Film Festival. He previously won the festival’s top prize – the Palme d’Or – for “Wild at Heart” in the 1990s.
Lynch also directed the ill-fated 1984 film adaptation of Frank Herbert’s science fiction novel Dune.
But for many, Lynch’s most famous contribution to popular culture was his collaboration with Mark Frost on the ABC prime-time drama “Twin Peaks,” which instantly captivated viewers with its unique blend of mystery and weirdness, prompting legions to tune in weekly to find out Who killed Laura Palmer, played by Sheryl Lee?
The show initially lasted only two seasons in the early 1990s and won three Golden Globe Awards in 1991, including Best Television Series and Best Actor for Kyle MacLachlan. In 2017, the show was revisited to widespread critical acclaim in the Showtime limited series “Twin Peaks: The Return.”
The style of his films coined the term “Lynchian”, In reference to the juxtaposition of “surreal or sinister elements with mundane, everyday environments.”
In 2019, Lynch He received an honorary Academy Award At the Academy of Motion Pictures Governors Awards, and in 2012, he received an Academy Award He received honorary degrees From the American Film Institute.