David Lynch, Visionary Filmmaker and Director of TWIN PEAKS, Dies at 78

 
And now it's dark.

David Lynch, the visionary director, writer and actor whose imagination and creativity explored places both wonderful and strange, died today at the age of 78.

Lynch's family announced his death in a Facebook post, following the announcement last year that he had been diagnosed with emphysema after a lifetime of smoking, and would likely not be able to leave his house to direct any longer.

Lynch received critical acclaim for his films, which are often distinguished by their surrealist, dreamlike qualities.  His first feature-length film was the independent surrealist film Eraserhead (1977), which found success as a midnight movie. He was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Director and Best Adapted Screenplay for the biographical drama The Elephant Man (1980), Best Director for the neo-noir thriller Blue Velvet (1986), and Best Director for the surrealist mystery Mulholland Drive (2001). His romantic crime drama Wild at Heart (1990) won the Palme d'Or at the Cannes Film Festival. In addition, he also directed the space opera adaptation Dune (1984), the surrealist neo-noir Lost Highway (1997), the biographical drama The Straight Story (1999), and the experimental film Inland Empire (2006). In 2019, Lynch was given the Academy Honorary Award at the Academy Awards for "for fearlessly breaking boundaries in pursuit of his singular cinematic vision."

Lynch and Mark Frost created the ABC series Twin Peaks (1990–91), which was nominated for five Primetime Emmy Awards, including Outstanding Drama Series, Outstanding Directing for a Drama Series, and Outstanding Writing for a Drama Series. Lynch co-wrote and directed its film prequel, Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me (1992), and its revival series Twin Peaks: The Return (2017). The revival was nominated for four Primetime Emmy Awards, including Outstanding Directing for a Limited Series or Movie and Outstanding Writing for a Limited Series or Movie. In addition to directing the series, Lynch also portrayed FBI Deputy Director Gordon Cole, Special Agent Dale Cooper's supervisor.

In a post on Instagram, Twin Peaks, Dune and Blue Velvet star Kyle MacLachlan remarked, "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."