[Photo courtesy of Lucan Furio]

By Rocco Prioletti, News Editor & Copy Editor

Prolific filmmaker and musician, David Lynch, has died at the age of 78. Lynch’s passing was announced via Facebook, where Lynch’s family wrote: 

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

In the latter-half of 2024, Lynch shared that he was diagnosed with emphysema, a chronic lung condition causing shortness of breath. Lynch stated to The Guardian, “I can hardly walk across a room. It’s like you’re walking around with a plastic bag around your head”. Despite his worsening health, Lynch was adamant on returning to filmmaking within a remote setting. Lynch relayed his optimistic outlook in a post on X, saying “Recently I had many tests and the good news is that I am in excellent shape except for emphysema. I am filled with happiness, and I will never retire”.

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Lynch’s directoral debut Eraserhead was released in 1977, which introduced Lynch’s idiosyncratic surrealism to the masses. His follow-ups, 1983’s The Elephant Man and 1986’s Blue Velvet, earned Lynch several Academy Award nominations. Lynch would again imprint his work on popular culture’s memory with his television debut, Twin Peaks, co-created with Mark Frost. 

Lynch’s final feature-film, 2007’s Inland Empire, saw the filmmaker at his most experimental: filmed on digital handheld cameras without a finished script. After 25 years, Lynch would return to television for one last time with 2017’s Twin Peaks: The Return. The limited series premiered on Showtime, featuring 18 episodes directed exclusively by Lynch, written in collaboration by Lynch and Frost. 

Plans to return to television circulated throughout 2020, as Lynch worked with Netflix on developing a 13-part series dubbed Wisteria or Unrecorded Night. In April 2024, Lynch pitched an animated project titled Snootworld. However, Lynch was unable to receive sufficient funding for the film, as the project was rejected by Netflix according to Deadline.