Los Angeles: David Lynch, the filmmaker celebrated for his uniquely dark vision in movies such as Blue Velvet and Mulholland Drive and the TV series Twin Peaks, 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.
David Lynch in Brisbane in 2015. The American filmmaker has died, his family has announced.Credit: Michelle Smith
“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’,” the post read. “It’s a beautiful day with golden sunshine and blue skies all the way.”
Lynch was a one-time artist who broke through in the 1970s with the surreal Eraserhead and rarely failed to startle and inspire audiences and peers in the following decades. His notable releases ranged from the neo-noir Mulholland Drive to the skewed gothic of Blue Velvet to the eclectic and eccentric Twin Peaks.
His other credits included the crime story Wild at Heart, winner of the Palme d’Or at the Cannes Film Festival; the biographical drama The Elephant Man; and the G-rated, straightforward The Straight Story.
A scene from TV series Twin Peaks, which starred Kyle MacLachlan (far right).Credit: Getty
Tributes to the visionary filmmaker poured in from industry heavyweights.
Kyle Maclachlan, who made his film debut in Lynch’s Dune before going on to star in Blue Velvet and as Special Agent Dale Cooper in Twin Peaks, posted on Instagram that he owed his career to the director.
“David was in tune with the universe and his own imagination on a level that seemed to be the best version of human,” he wrote.
“While the world has lost a remarkable artist, I’ve lost a dear friend who imagined a future for me and allowed me to travel in worlds I could never have conceived on my own.”
In a statement to Variety, director Steven Spielberg praised Lynch as a “singular, visionary dreamer who directed films that felt handmade.”
Actress Naomi Watts, whose role in Mulholland Drive proved to be a turning point in her Hollywood career, said her heart was broken at the news of his death.
“His creative mentorship was truly powerful. He put me on the map. The world I’d been trying to break into for ten plus years, flunking auditions left and right,” she posted on Instagram.
“Finally, I sat in front of a curious man, beaming with light, speaking words from another era, making me laugh and feel at ease. How did he even “see me” when I was so well hidden, and I’d even lost sight of myself?!”
Director Steven Soderbergh described him as a filmmaker who was influential but impossible to imitate.
“People would try but he had one kind of algorithm that worked for him and you attempted to recreate it at your peril,” Soderbergh said.
“As non-linear and illogical as they often seemed, they were clearly highly organised in his mind.”
Smashing Pumpkins frontman Billy Corgan, who contributed to the Lost Highway soundtrack, posted on Instagram that working with him was “like a dream out of one of his movies”.
“I treasure the times I got to speak with him and hear first-hand his vision for a film. I truly encourage anyone who loves movies and television to watch all that David produced. He was a true artist, through and through,” he wrote.
Lynch directing Naomi Watts in Mulholland Drive (2001).Credit:
Director Ron Howard posted on X: “#RIPDavidLynch, a gracious man and fearless artist who followed his heart & soul and proved that radical experimentation could yield unforgettable cinema.”
Drummer and record producer Questlove posted on Threads that “Lynch was the first human/creative that stressed the importance of not overworking and taking time out to breathe & meditate and searching for creative avenues not in my comfort zone”.
Director Jane Schoenbrun likened Lynch to visionaries Franz Kafka and Francis Bacon in his dedication to “opening a portal”.
“He was the first to show me another world, a beautiful one of love and danger I sensed but had never seen outside sleep. Thank you David your gift will reverberate for the rest of my life,” they said.
The American Film Institute posted on Instagram that Lynch’s impact on cinema across the decades was indelible in his films and his art, and paid tribute to his support of the AFI.
AP
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