David Lynch, the artist, author, and musician best known for his career making surreal and unsettling films, has died at 78, the New York Times reports.
Lynch, a native of Missoula, Montana, made his directorial debut in 1977 with Eraserhead, now considered a classic of American cinema. He followed that up with The Elephant Man, an adaptation of the books The Elephant Man and Other Reminiscences by Frederick Treves and The Elephant Man: A Study in Human Dignity by Ashley Montagu.
He memorably adapted Frank Herbert’s Dune and Barry Gifford’s Wild at Heart into films, and was the co-creator of the cult television show Twin Peaks. His other films included Blue Velvet, Mulholland Drive, and Inland Empire.
He was the author of Images, which featured his photography, paintings, and fiction; Catching the Big Fish: Meditation, Consciousness, and Creativity, a nonfiction book; and Room To Dream, a memoir-biography hybrid co-written with Kristine McKenna, which a Kirkus critic said “abounds in great stories and terrific movie trivia that will sate Lynch fans for years to come.”
Lynch’s admirers paid tribute to him on social media. On the platform X, director Ron Howard wrote, “#RIPDavidLynch, a gracious man and fearless artist who followed his heart & soul and proved that radical experimentation could yield unforgettable cinema.”
And comedian Patton Oswalt, in a reference to Lynch’s sometimes inscrutably surrealist movie and television scenes, posted, “David Lynch, RIP. At least that’s what the horse wearing a fez just told me* in a dream. (*Backwards and in Swedish)”.
Michael Schaub is a contributing writer.
