David Lynch Dies: Legendary Director of ‘Twin Peaks’ & ‘Blue Velvet’ Was 78

Legendary director David Lynch has died at the age of 78. His death was announced by his family on his official Facebook page on Thursday, January 16, just four days before his 79th birthday on January 20. Lynch was known for creating works such as Twin Peaks, Blue Velvet, Mulholland Drive, Eraserhead, The Elephant Man, the 1984 Dune movie, and more.

“It is with deep regret that we, his family, announce the passing of the man and the artist, David Lynch,” the Facebook statement reads. “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.”

A cause of death was not shared, but Lynch had been living with emphysema, a chronic lung condition.

Lynch was a multidisciplinary artist known for his surrealist style and ability to translate experimental and avant-garde film techniques into box office successes. His work as a director and screenwriter earned him four Oscar nominations in his lifetime, three for directing (for Blue Velvet, Mulholland Drive, and The Elephant Man) and one for Best Adapted Screenplay (for The Elephant Man). He was awarded an honorary Oscar in 2019. The award was presented to him by Laura Dern, Kyle MacLachlan, and former romantic partner Isabella Rossellini, his frequent collaborators, at the Governors Awards that year.

Lynch was also a painting, photographer, and musician. He began studying filmmaking at Los Angeles’ AFI Conservatory in 1971. It was during this time that he started working on what would become his first feature film, 1977’s Eraserhead, which become an underground sensation.

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The Elephant Man became his second feature film in 1980, receiving eight total Oscar nominations including his two for Best Director and Best Adapted Screenplay (he wrote the script with Christopher De Vore and Eric Bergren). His next Oscar nomination was for 1986’s Blue Velvet, a quasi-autobiographical thriller that established his thematic aesthetic that was dubbed “Lynchian.”

His most famous TV venture was the creation of Twin Peaks, the legendary TV series that first debuted in 1990. The ABC drama, which Lynch co-created with Mark Frost, received 14 Emmy nominations for its debut season, winning two (for costume design and editing). Lynch directed and wrote the series in addition to composing the opening theme music and writing its lyrics. He received Emmy nominations for all of these endeavors in the show’s first year.

David Lynch behind the scenes of Twin Peaks (ABC / Courtesy Everett Collection)

Twin Peaks ran for two seasons from 1990-1991 and was revived in 2017 with star MacLachlan returning. The series received 27 Emmy nominations in total, winning two. There was also a film based on the series, Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me, in 1992 that Lynch wrote, directed, and acted in. Steven Spielberg recruited Lynch to play director John Ford in 2023’s The Fabelmans.

Other works include 1990’s Wild at Heart, 1997’s Lost Highway, 1999’s The Straight Story, and 2006’s Inland Empire.

Lynch revealed in August 2024 that he had been diagnosed with emphysema in 2020, the result of decades of smoking. He told Sight & Sound at the time that he was “homebound whether I like it or not. I can’t go out. And I can only walk a short distance before I’m out of oxygen.”

“Smoking was something that I absolutely loved, but in the end, it bit me,” he shared, noting that this illness prevented him from working on new projects. “It was part of the art life for me: the tobacco and the smell of it, and lighting things and smoking and going back and sitting back and having a smoke and looking at your work, or thinking about things.”

“Nothing like it in this world is so beautiful. Meanwhile, it’s killing me. So I had to quit,” he added.

The auteur was born David Keith Lynch on January 20, 1946 in Missoula, Montana. He spent his youth in Idaho, Washington, and later, Alexandria, Virginia. He was married four times — to Peggy Lentz (married 1968, divorced 1974)​, Mary Fisk (married 1977, divorced 1987), Mary Sweeney (married 2006, divorced 2007)​, and Emily Stofle (married 2009). Lynch was also in a relationship with Rossellini from 1987 to 1991. Stofle filed for divorce in 2023.

He’s survived by four children: Jennifer Lynch, Austin Jack Lynch, Riley Sweeney Lynch, and Lula Boginia Lynch.