David Lynch has died at 78, according to a statement shared by his family. The artist had revealed a diagnosis of emphysema, which kept him mostly at home. The family’s Facebook post said it was “with great sadness” that they shared the news, asking for privacy while recalling one of his sayings, “Keep your eye on the doughnut and not on the hole.” It talked of a world made much emptier but also of “golden sunshine and blue skies all the way.”
His films, such as Blue Velvet, The Elephant Man, and Mulholland Drive, were a path to a genre of filmmaking that reached into the dark corners of American life. From 1977’s Eraserhead to the cult classic TV show Twin Peaks, Lynch became a name associated with surrealist imagery, plot twists nobody saw coming. Though he stepped back from major film projects after Inland Empire in 2006, he remained active in music, painting, and posting weather updates online.
Tributes poured in from colleagues and admirers across Hollywood. Nicolas Cage praised Lynch as a “singular genius,” while Steven Spielberg remembered him as one of his heroes. Many noted that Lynch’s singular vision left a deep impression on cinema, and his body of work will continue to inspire new generations of filmmakers and fans worldwide.
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