The maverick US director was well-known for his dark, surrealistic artistic visions and his successful mainstream career.
ADVERTISEMENT
Director-writer David Lynch, well known for cinematic giants such as Twin Peaks and Mulholland Drive, has died aged 78.
His family announced his death on Facebook on Thursday, 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.'”
In 2024, Lynch revealed he had been diagnosed with emphysema and would not be able to leave his house to direct any longer.
The director leaves behind a celebrated body of work that melded elements of horror, film noir and classical European surrealism.
Lynch, who originally studied painting, made his mark on the film industry in the 1970s with the surreal Eraserhead. His wide-ranging body of work spanned from neo-noir Mulholland Drive to the eclectic “Twin Peaks.”
Other famous work of his included the crime drama Wild at Heart, which won the Palme d’Or at the Cannes Film Festival, and The Elephant Man.
He was nominated for an Oscar four times over the course of his life, eventually receiving an honorary Oscar for lifetime achievement in 2019.
Lynch's last major project was 2017's Twin Peaks: The Return which continued the TV series which ran for two seasons in the 1990s.