UPDATE 02/08/2025 3:05 P.M. PST: A cause of death for David Lynch has been revealed. According to a Los Angeles County Department of Public Health document obtained by TMZ on Friday, the legendary director died from cardiac arrest with the chronic obstructive pulmonary disease listed as the underlying condition. The paperwork also noted dehydration as a significant contributor to his death.
———-
Cinema has lost a true titan. David Lynch has passed away at the age of 78.
His family made the sad announcement on Facebook, writing:
“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.'”
Lynch revealed last year that after decades of smoking he’d developed emphysema — and was in such bad health he would likely no longer be able to leave his home. Apparently it was worse than we realized…
And the news comes just after the major wildfires broke out in his beloved Los Angeles, too… Damn.
The truly iconic director was one of a kind. In addition to co-creating Twin Peaks, he made the films Blue Velvet, Eraserhead, The Elephant Man, Mulholland Drive, Lost Highway, and more. His use of surreal, dreamy vibes and ability to turn the mundane into something haunting was so unique, it even led to the coining of the term “Lynchian” by film critics. He’s probably your favorite cinephile’s favorite filmmaker.
If you’re a fan of Sex and the City, you undoubtedly know the actor Kyle MacLachlan. But well before he portrayed Charlotte York’s first husband Trey MacDougal he was Lynch’s go-to guy — starring in both the ’80s film Blue Velvet and the ’90s TV series Twin Peaks (including the 2010s revival season). Thursday afternoon he took to Instagram to write one of the most touching entertainment tributes we have ever read:
“Forty-two years ago, for reasons beyond my comprehension, David Lynch plucked me out of obscurity to star in his first and last big budget movie. He clearly saw something in me that even I didn’t recognize. I owe my entire career, and life really, to his vision.
What I saw in him was an enigmatic and intuitive man with a creative ocean bursting forth inside of him. He was in touch with something the rest of us wish we could get to.
Our friendship blossomed on Blue Velvet and then Twin Peaks and I always found him to be the most authentically alive person I’d ever met.
David was in tune with the universe and his own imagination on a level that seemed to be the best version of human. He was not interested in answers because he understood that questions are the drive that make us who we are. They are our breath.
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.
I can see him now, standing up to greet me in his backyard, with a warm smile and big hug and that Great Plains honk of a voice. We’d talk coffee, the joy of the unexpected, the beauty of the world, and laugh.
His love for me and mine for him came out of the cosmic fate of two people who saw the best things about themselves in each other.
I will miss him more than the limits of my language can tell and my heart can bear. My world is that much fuller because I knew him and that much emptier now that he’s gone.
David, I remain forever changed, and forever your Kale. Thank you for everything.”
Wow, right? When was the last time you read a caption like that? Kyle isn’t the only one mourning, though. Naomi Watts, who starred in the twisty, dreamy Mulholland Drive had this to say about the acclaimed director:
“My heart is broken. My Buddy Dave… The world will not be the same without him. 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. 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?!
It wasn’t just his art that impacted me – his wisdom, humor, and love gave me a special sense of belief in myself I’d never accessed before.
Every moment together felt charged with a presence I’ve rarely seen or known. Probably because, yes, he seemed to live in an altered world, one that I feel beyond lucky to have been a small part of. And David invited all to glimpse into that world through his exquisite storytelling, which elevated cinema and inspired generations of filmmakers across the globe.
I just cannot believe that he’s gone. I’m in pieces but forever grateful for our friendship. I’m yelling from the bullhorn: Godspeed, Buddy Dave! Thank you for your everything. —Buttercup xox”
We once read Naomi was just about to quit Hollywood altogether when the casting call for the 2001 mystery came in. Dave clearly saw something in her, too.
And of course, fans everywhere are in disbelief, sharing their own tributes on social media as well:
“no one has ever understood the world like david lynch did. how lucky we are that he showed us what he saw”
“David Lynch always seemed like one of those guys who just couldn’t die, like the concept was alien to him, he’d always just be out there complaining about shit and making excellent movies, and time would never touch him … RIP GOAT”
“Shoutout to everybody at Netflix who decided not to move forward with all the projects David Lynch wanted to do in his final years. I’m sure all the other stuff you greenlit instead was much better.”
“To me, one of the best lessons we could learn from David Lynch is to stop demanding explanations of every piece of art from the artist who made it and instead let the art talk and decide what it means individually to you. What a richer way to experience the world.”
“Cinema today feels a little less magical and dreamlike with the passing of David Lynch. RIP, Maestro” – this one is by Antonio Banderas, btw
“Goodnight to a truly once-in-a-lifetime artist, who not only changed cinema forever but altered how we experience the world and showed us what it really means to dream. No more blue tomorrows.”
This is an inestimably huge loss for the movies. #RIP
[Image via Nicky Nelson/WENN.]
Related Posts
CLICK HERE TO COMMENT-
Categories