Obituary
It is with deep regret that we, his family, announce the passing of the man and the artist, David Lynch. We would appreciate some privacy at this time. 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.”
It’s a beautiful day with golden sunshine and blue skies all the way.
I’m sure there will be far more eloquent tributes, but he was a massive presence in my adolescence and young adult life. So bleak and twisted but also funny and weirdly uplifting. It was enjoyable spotting the connections between scenes in Twin Peaks and his other works. He very much rewarded the viewer in that way. The films weren’t always an easy watch – I remember Blue Velvet being one of those films where significant numbers left the cinema after half an hour. God knows what they’d have thought of Eraserhead.
Anyway, a genius. RIP.
Another one gone. Very much in the mix of my time. Sad.
Bit of a shock, as I only learnt last week he was battling emphysema having started smoking at 8(!)
Amazing director. A one off.
In the midst of a Twin Peaks re-watch. Not sure I have the heart for it right now.
Twin Peaks and Blue Velvet had a huge effect on me in my late teens. However must admit I’ve seen very few of his films and not watched one for years because never has a film irritated me as much as Mullholand Drive. Must put that right. RIP.
My favourite film is Mulholland Dr. My favourite TV is Twin Peaks. I’ve spent much of my time over the last three years listening to Twin Peaks/Lynch inspired podcasts – of which there are many.
A sad day, but I’m so thankful for the art he gave us.
My first introduction to DL was Eraserhead, one of the most uncomfortable and neurosis-inducing movies I’ve ever seen. I enjoyed his later efforts much more.
Something tells me that Trump wasn’t about to enlist his help in Making Hollywood Great Again.
https://www.usnews.com/news/entertainment/articles/2025-01-16/donald-trump-vows-to-help-troubled-hollywood-with-mel-gibson-jon-voight-and-sylvester-stallone
Voight, Gibson and Stallone are lined up to star in a movie together:
Dumb, Dumberer and Dumbererest
I’m not a great lover of modern American cinema, but David Lynch’s films have always been an exception. Dark, surreal, intelligent, witty, stylish, frightening, discomforting all in equal measure, the best of them had the ability to capture the imagination and give it free rein. Twin Peaks above all others was his masterwork, from its 90s inception to its 2017 reboot it has bookended and inspired my adult life with its surreal visions, dark fantasy and mindbending complexity. David Lynch’s loss will be felt keenly as one of the greatest and most original American film directors and writers of this or any other time. A very sad day.
And of course, he was wonderful in Twin Peaks.
I was struck by the similarity between his Twin Peaks cameos and the extra with the DVD version of Eraserhead where he ‘interviews’ some of the other people involved.
Definitely an acquired taste, but his films and shows were always interesting, and usually quite special if you were willing to give yourself up to Lynch’s weird world.
I recently rewatched Twin Peaks for the first time in years, and it was still just as brilliant as all the other times I’ve seen it. Even now, I’m not sure anybody else has pulled off combining so many different genres in one show while winning over millions of viewers and becoming a cultural phenomenon. I still recall lots of people asking “Who did kill Laura Palmer?”
Some of his ideas were baffling and perhaps didn’t always work (his Duran Duran concert footage was practically unwatchable because IIRC he kept superimposing different unrelated images over the band), but Hollywood needs more mavericks like him. The more the algorithms and AI control what we watch, the more we’ll miss creators like David Lynch. RIP.
None of them were young but there have been a spate of unfortunate Twin Peaks shufflings off in the past few years, Angelo Badalementi, the Log Lady – an erstwhile production assistant who had worked with Lynch way back to his Eraserhead period, Miguel Ferrer, Julee Cruise.
Lynch’s own music, if I can be so bold to call it that, (he cut 2 CDs) is largely as unhinged as his films were and, more often than not, just as unsettling.
I was eleven when TP was shown in 1991*** on bbc 2 at 9pm IIRC and it absolutely boggled my young brain, in a good way.
*** Google says it debuted in 1990 though
Sad, sad news. He made some truly fabulous movies.
A few months ago I got to see Mulholland Drive in a packed and appreciative cinema and it was quite magical. Thought about it for a long time afterwards; that movie simultaneously skewers Hollywood and is its apex, which takes some doing.
RIP, DL, and thanks for all the terrific art you left behind for us to gorge on
Interesting that he died on the same day they announced death of Anita Bryant, someone who would have been right at home in his twisted vision of suburbia
My introduction to DL was going to see Eraserhead in 1980 with my girlfriend at the time. I liked it, she said it was shit. I knew right then we didn’t have a future together.
I had a similar experience and similarly short-lived relationship
I can easily visualize her waxing lyrical about Twin Peaks while dishing out
nouvelle cuisine to her middle class mates a couple of years later
I had a similar experience when I took a girl to see Carry on Camping on our first date…
🙂 My experiences from the back row, if I remembered anything of the film the date had not gone very well.
An incredible director that will be missed. He probably started “event TV” with Twin Peaks – I remember watching it as it aired and trying to get updates from our US design centre as they were ahead of us. Blue Velvet stlll stands as one of my top 10 movies.
Plus the response to a “what’s the film about” (I think it may have been Wild at Heart?) question with “about 1 hr 45 mins “ will always raise a smile.
Think Bob Dylan beat him to that one.
DL story I have always liked is how Dennis Hopper apparently got his career-reviving part in TP after ringing DL up and snarling “I am Frank” down the phone
Dennis Hopper was in Twin Peaks?
Or is »TP« your code for »Blue Velvet«?
Doh!
Going to have to go easy on the nitrous oxide for a bit…
You are SO f*ckin’ suave!
Co-creator Mark Frost also deserves credit for Twin Peaks, he seems to have been forgotten in many of the pieces I have read in the last day or so
Frozen out?
When I was inter-railling in 1992, I found myself stuck in Vienna for a few days, as it was pissing down and I didn’t want to pack up a wet tent. I found a cinema near the museums and watched the Twin Peaks movie on my own during an afternoon matinee showing.
And, in the evening, I saw Arianne Auf Naxos at the opera house for a quid.
I was living in Switzerland when Twin Peaks was on, I had my mother tape it and either send them to me or I would bring them back with me after a visit. The only time I flew from Birmingham airport I was accosted by security and had to explain all these VHS tapes I had with me.
In the mid-90s we spent a weekend redecorating our friends’ new house outside Frankfurt. On Sunday evening we were stopped at the Frankfurt airport X-ray.
“Your bag contains paintbrushes?”
“Yes.”
“Can I open the bag?”
“Yes… (after a long pause)… the brushes are still wet, by the way.”
The man in grey uniform extracted his hand, now dripping with Matt White Emulsion, from the bag, pointed at me, and yelled “GO!”
You got on a plane with wet paint brushes? I think David Lynch would approve.
I once had a toilet blocked in Switzerland, was home for the weekend and flew back with a bottle of extremely strong chemicals in my hand baggage to unblock it (not available in Switzerland). This was naturally before the liquid ban came into effect. Went through security with no issues!
Reading the Guardian’s article today about Twin Peaks reminded me of just how frightening Bob was in the show. His every appearance and practically his every movement was scary.
He was made to seem even more nasty thanks to this comment from his friend/enemy Mike, when asked to explain him: “He is Bob, eager for fun. He wears a smile … everybody run.”
*Shivers*
https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2025/jan/17/the-high-point-of-tv-as-a-medium-david-lynchs-twin-peaks-may-never-be-bettered
This is still pretty good. Hard to believe it made it onto primetime telly in the early 90s.
Bob genuinely gave me nightmares at the time. The fact that he routinely appeared from behind furniture made it all the more terrifying when you woke up in your dimly lit bedroom terrified! Aaaagh a wardrobe! Eek the foot of the bed!
Having watched the whole series back on DVD and slowed down the footage, it looked like when he crept over the end of the bed, it was a smaller than real life bed made for the purpose that just added to the weirdness.
As this is the Afterword, I know it’s a safe space to share my theory that the Pixies track “Here Comes Your Man”, was inspired by Bob – “outside there’s a boxcar waiting…”
As you can imagine, the man had exquisite taste in music. The list in this article features his favourite songs. Two surprises: no Julee Cruise and there’s a Depeche Mode song in there.
https://faroutmagazine.co.uk/david-lynch-favourite-songs-ever/
EDIT – Hmph! Reading the piece again it’s an obvious AI generated piece based on a BBC interview on Radio 6. Anyway, the selections are interesting.
I just rewatched The Innocents for the first time in a very long time, and Quint (Peter Wyngarde) suddenly made me think of Killer Bob from Twin Peaks, especially in the last indoor scene when she sees him in the window as Miles is having a melt-down.
Just me?
I’ve been re-listening to this audiobook from 2006 this morning, I’ve had it since new.