# David Lynch

| David Lynch |
| --- |
| Lynch in 1990 |
| Born | David Keith Lynch (1946-01-20)January 20, 1946 Missoula, Montana, U.S. |
| Died | January 15, 2025(2025-01-15) (aged 78) Los Angeles, California, U.S. |
| Nationality | American |
| Citizenship | United States |
| Education | School of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston |
| Alma mater | Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts, AFI Conservatory |
| Occupations | * Movie director
* painter
* visual artist
* musician
* author
* actor
 |
| Years active | 1967–2025 |
| Notable work | *Twin Peaks*, *Mulholland Drive*, *Blue Velvet*, *The Elephant Man*, *Eraserhead* |
| Style | * Surrealism
* mystery
* neo-noir
* thriller
* arthouse
* experimental
 |
| Spouse(s) | Peggy Lentz (1967–1974) Mary Fisk (1977–1987) Mary Sweeney (2006) Emily Stofle (2009–2025) |
| Partner | Isabella Rossellini (1986–1991) |
| Children | 4, including Jennifer |

**David Keith Lynch** (January 20, 1946 – January 15, 2025) was an American movie director and actor.

## Career

Lynch's movies include *Eraserhead*, *Blue Velvet*, *The Elephant Man* and *Mulholland Drive*. He was also responsible for a television series called *Twin Peaks*, his overall most famous work. *Eraserhead*, his first movie, is still his most famous theatrical movie. It was recently deemed socially important by the United States Library of Congress. He has done much work with Jack Nance, who has appeared in many of his movies. He has said that all his movies will be done using digital video from now on.

He is also famous for his early short movies. *The Alphabet* and *The Grandmother* are two of his best known. *The Alphabet* is about fear of education. *The Grandmother* is about a lonely boy who grows a grandmother like a plant from a seed.

Over his career, Lynch has received three Academy Award nominations for Best Director and a nomination for best screenplay. Lynch has twice won France's César Award for Best Foreign Film, as well as the Palme d'Or at the Cannes Film Festival. He also won a Golden Lion award for lifetime achievement at the Venice Film Festival.

## Death

In August 2024, Lynch said he was suffering from emphysema. In November 2024, Lynch told *People* that he quit smoking in 2022, following his emphysema diagnosis.

Lynch died on January 15, 2025 at his daughter’s home in Los Angeles, California from cardiac arrest caused by chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and emphysema at the age of 78.

## Discography

### Albums

* *BlueBob* (with John Neff, 2001)
* *The Air is on Fire: Soundscape* (2007)
* *Polish Night Music* (with Marek Żebrowski, 2008)
* Danger Mouse and Sparklehorse: *Dark Night of the Soul* (2010; Lynch is featured on two songs.)
* *This Train* (with Chrysta Bell, 2011)
* *Crazy Clown Time* (2011)

### Singles

* "Ghost of Love" (2007)
* "Good Day Today" / "I Know" (2010)

## Filmography

### Features

| Year | Movie | Oscars | BAFTA | Golden Globe | Cannes Film Festival |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Nominations | Wins | Nominations | Wins | Nominations | Wins | Nominations | Wins |
| 1977 | *Eraserhead* |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |
| 1980 | *The Elephant Man* | 8 |  | 7 | 3 | 4 |  |  |  |
| 1984 | *Dune* | 1 |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |
| 1986 | *Blue Velvet* | 1 |  |  |  | 2 |  |  |  |
| 1990 | *Wild at Heart* | 1 |  | 1 |  | 1 |  | Palme d'Or | Palme d'Or |
| 1992 | *Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me* |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |
| 1997 | *Lost Highway* |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |
| 1999 | *The Straight Story* | 1 |  |  |  | 2 |  | Palme d'Or |  |
| 2001 | *Mulholland Drive* | 1 |  | 2 | 1 | 4 |  | Palme d'Or | Best Director |
| 2006 | *Inland Empire* |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |
| 2006 | *Maharishi* |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |

### Short movies

| Year | Movie | DVD availability | Blu-ray availability |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1966 | *Six Men Getting Sick* | *The Short Films of David Lynch* | *Eraserhead* Blu-ray |
| 1967 | *Absurd Encounter with Fear* | *The Lime Green Set* |  |
| 1967 | *Fictitious Anacin Commercial* | *The Lime Green Set* |  |
| 1968 | *The Alphabet* | *The Short Films of David Lynch* | *Eraserhead* Blu-ray |
| 1970 | *The Grandmother* | *The Short Films of David Lynch* | *Wild at Heart* Blu-ray |
| 1974 | *The Amputee* | *The Short Films of David Lynch* | *Eraserhead* Blu-ray |
| 1988 | *The Cowboy and the Frenchman* | *The Short Films of David Lynch* |  |
| 1990 | *Industrial Symphony No. 1* | *The Lime Green Set* |  |
| 1995 | *Premonition Following An Evil Deed* | *The Short Films of David Lynch* | *Wild at Heart* Blu-ray |
| 2002 | *Darkened Room* | *Dynamic 1* | *Lost Highway* Blu-ray |
| 2002 | *Dumbland* |  | *Wild at Heart* Blu-ray |
| 2006 | *Ballerina* | Extra on *Inland Empire* DVD |  |
| 2007 | *Absurda* |  |  |
| 2007 | *Boat* | *Dynamic 1* | *Lost Highway* Blu-ray |
| 2007 | *Bug Crawls* | *Dynamic 1* | *Lost Highway* Blu-ray |
| 2007 | *Industrial Soundscape* | *Dynamic 1* |  |
| 2007 | *Lamp* | *Dynamic 1* |  |
| 2007 | *Out Yonder Neighbor Boy* | *Dynamic 1* |  |
| 2007 | *Intervalometer Experiments* | *Dynamic 1* |  |
| 2008 | *Scissors* | *The Lime Green Set* |  |
| 2010 | *Lady Blue Shanghai* |  |  |
| 2011 | *The 3 Rs* | Viennale's website |  |

### Television series

| Year | Series | Episodes |
| --- | --- | --- |
| 1990–1991 | *Twin Peaks* | 30 |
| 1992 | *On the Air* | 7 |
| 1993 | *Hotel Room* | 3 |
| 2012 | *Louie* | 2 |

### Online series

| Year | Series | Episodes | Available on DVD |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 2002 | *Rabbits* | 8 | The Lime Green Set DVD |
| 2002 | *Dumbland* | 8 | The Lime Green Set DVD |
|  | *Out Yonder* |  | The Lime Green Set DVD |
| 2009 | Interview Project Archived 2010-11-19 at the Wayback Machine |  |  |

### Music videos

| Year | Song | Musician |
| --- | --- | --- |
| 1990 | "Wicked Game" (movie version) | Chris Isaak |
| 1995 | "Longing" | X Japan |
| 1999 | "Thank You Judge" | David Lynch |
| 2009 | "Shot in the Back of the Head" | Moby |
| 2010 | "I Touch A Red Button Man" | Interpol |
| 2011 | "Crazy Clown Time" | David Lynch |

## Awards and nominations

**Academy Awards: 1980: Best Director and Best Adapted Screenplay (*The Elephant Man*, nominated)
* 1987: Best Director (*Blue Velvet*, nominated)
* 2002: Best Director (*Mulholland Dr.*, nominated)

**BAFTA Awards: 1981: Best Direction (*The Elephant Man*, nominated)
* 1981: Best Screenplay (*The Elephant Man*, nominated)

**Cannes Film Festival: 1990: Golden Palm (*Wild at Heart*, **won**)
* 1992: Golden Palm (*Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me*, nominated)
* 1999: Golden Palm (*The Straight Story*, nominated)
* 2001: Best Director (*Mulholland Dr.*, **won** Tied with Joel Coen for *The Man Who Wasn't There*)
* 2001: Golden Palm (*Mulholland Dr.*, nominated)

**DGA Award: 1981: Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Motion Pictures (*The Elephant Man*, nominated)

**Emmy Awards: 1990: Outstanding Achievement in Main Title Theme Music (*Twin Peaks*, nominated)
* 1990: Outstanding Achievement in Music and Lyrics (*Twin Peaks* for the song "Into the Night", nominated)
* 1990: Outstanding Directing in a Drama Series (*Twin Peaks* for the pilot episode, nominated)
* 1990: Outstanding Writing in a Drama Series (*Twin Peaks* for the pilot episode, nominated)
* 1990: Outstanding Drama Series (*Twin Peaks*)

**Golden Globes: 1980: Best Director (*The Elephant Man*, nominated)
* 1987: Best Screenplay (*Blue Velvet*, nominated)
* 2002: Best Director (*Mulholland Dr.*, nominated)
* 2002: Best Screenplay (*Mulholland Dr.*, nominated)

**Independent Spirit Awards: 1987: Best Director (*Blue Velvet*, nominated)
* 1987: Best Screenplay (*Blue Velvet*, nominated)
* 2000: Best Director (*The Straight Story*, nominated)
* 2007: Special Distinction Award (Shared with Laura Dern for their collaborative work, **won**)

**Saturn Awards: 1993: Best Writing (*Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me*, nominated)
* 1993: Life Career Award (**won**)
* 2002: Best Director (*Mulholland Dr.*, nominated)

**Venice Film Festival: 2006: Future Film Festival Digital Award (*Inland Empire* **won**)
* 2006: Career Golden Lion (**won**)

**WGA Award: 1981: Best Drama Adapted from Another Medium (*The Elephant Man*, nominated)
* 1987: Best Original Screenplay (*Blue Velvet*, nominated)