David Lynch

David Lynch (January 20, 1946 – January 16, 2025) was an American filmmaker, visual artist, musician and actor. Lynch received critical acclaim for his films, which are often distinguished by their surrealist, dreamlike qualities. In a career spanning more than fifty years, he was awarded with numerous accolades, including the Golden Lion for Lifetime Achievement in 2006 and an Honorary Academy Award in 2019. Described as a "visionary", Lynch was considered one of the most important filmmakers of his era.

Lynch studied painting before he began making short films in the late 1960s. His first feature-length film was the independent surrealist film Eraserhead (1977), which saw success as a midnight movie. He was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Director for the biographical drama The Elephant Man (1980) and the mystery films Blue Velvet (1986) and Mulholland Drive (2001). His romantic crime drama Wild at Heart (1990) won the Palme d'Or at the Cannes Film Festival. 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).

Lynch and Mark Frost created the ABC series Twin Peaks (1990–91), for which Lynch was nominated for five Primetime Emmy Awards, including 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 limited series revival (2017). He also worked as an actor, including his portrayals of FBI agent Gordon Cole in Twin Peaks and director John Ford in Steven Spielberg's The Fabelmans (2022), as well as guest roles in TV series such as The Cleveland Show (2010–13), Louie (2012), and Robot Chicken (2020, 2022).

Lynch's other artistic endeavors included his work as a musician, encompassing the studio albums BlueBOB (2001), Crazy Clown Time (2011), and The Big Dream (2013), as well as painting and photography. He wrote the books Images (1994), Catching the Big Fish (2006), and Room to Dream (2018). He directed several music videos, for artists such as Chris Isaak, X Japan, Moby, Interpol, Nine Inch Nails, and Donovan, and commercials for Calvin Klein, Dior, L'Oreal, Yves Saint Laurent, Gucci, and the New York City Department of Sanitation. A practitioner of Transcendental Meditation (TM), he founded the David Lynch Foundation, which seeks to fund the teaching of TM in schools and has since widened its scope to other at-risk populations, including the homeless, veterans, and refugees.

Family life

Lynch was born in Missoula, Montana, on January 20, 1946.   His father, Donald Walton Lynch (1915–2007), was a research scientist working for the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), and his mother, Edwina "Sunny" Lynch (née Sundberg; 1919–2004), was an English language tutor. Two of Lynch's maternal great-grandparents were Finnish-Swedish immigrants who arrived in the U.S. during the 19th century.

Lynch had several long-term relationships. In January 1968, he married Peggy Reavey, with whom he had one child, Jennifer Lynch, born in 1968, who is a film director. They filed for divorce in 1974. In June 1977, Lynch married Mary Fisk, and the couple had one child, Austin Jack Lynch, born in 1982. They separated in 1985 and divorced in 1987. Lynch developed a relationship with actor Isabella Rossellini, with whom he lived between 1986 and 1991. In 1992, he and his editor Mary Sweeney had a son, Riley Sweeney Lynch. Sweeney also worked as Lynch's producer and co-wrote and produced The Straight Story. The two married in May 2006, but filed for divorce that June. In 2009, Lynch married actor Emily Stofle, who appeared in his 2006 film Inland Empire as well as the 2017 revival of Twin Peaks. The couple had one child, Lula Boginia Lynch, born in 2012. Stofle filed for divorce in 2023. A divorce settlement agreement was reached on December 20, 2024, but a final divorce decree had not been issued by the court at the time of his death. (Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0)

Film and Television Director. He was best known for the various critically acclaimed films and television series he directed. Born David Keith Lynch, he enrolled at the School of the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston in 1964. He later studied at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts from 1965 to 1969. There, he created his first film, a 60-second animation entitled "Six Men Getting Sick " in 1967, for an experimental painting and sculpture contest. In 1970, he became a student at the American Film Institute's Center for Advanced Film Studies (later the AFI Conservatory), where he began working on his first feature film, "Eraserhead," which came out in 1977. He followed with his next film, "The Elephant Man," in 1980, which earned him an Academy Award nomination for best director. He went on to direct other films such as "Dune," "Blue Velvet," and Mulholland Drive." He also directed the popular television series "Twin Peaks" from 1990 to 1991. He continued to direct other films and documentaries during the later part of his career. During his career, he also partook in other areas, such as painting, music, design, and literature. He was awarded an honorary Academy Award for lifetime achievement in 2019.

Bio by: Mr. Badger Hawkeye

Sources

• "David Lynch." Wikipedia, revision of 16 January 2025. < link > Accessed 16 January 2025. < Wikipedia, current revision >
• < IMDb >; < allmovie >
• David Keith Lynch in the Montana, U.S., Birth Records, 1897-1988. < AncestrySharing >. Name David Keith Lynch. Gender: Male Birth Date: 20 Jan 1946 Birth Place: Missoula, Missoula, Montana, USA. Father: Donald Walton Lynch Mother: Alma Edwina Lynch.
• David Lynch's post on Facebook (16 January 2025). < link > "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."
• "David Lynch, Maker of Florid and Unnerving Films, Dies at 78" (J. Hoberman, 16 January 2025) < nytimes.com > Accessed 16 January 2025. Like Frank Capra and Franz Kafka, two widely disparate 20th-century artists whose work Mr. Lynch much admired and might be said to have synthesized, his name became an adjective.
• "How David Lynch Became an Icon of Cinema" (Richard Brody, 17 January 2025) < newyorker.com > (subscription needed) The late director’s unique vision and the love that his persona inspires make it easy to forget how winding his path to greatness was.
• Interview: David Lynch: ‘You gotta be selfish. It's a terrible thing’ (23 June 2018) < theguardian.com >
• ​Lynch, David, and McKenna, Kristine. (2018) Room to Dream. Random House Trade paperback edition. New York, N.Y.: Random House. < Look inside >; < Audible sample > (about his grandparents)
• https://www.familysearch.org/tree/pedigree/landscape/KHMV-3RF
• https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/278291050/david_lynch
• David Lynch 🇫🇮 Wikipedia https://fi.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Lynch
• David Lynchillä on suomenruotsalaisia sukujuuria: hänen äidinpuoleinen isoisänsä, sukunimeltään Sundholm [5], muutti nuorena miehenä Suomesta Yhdysvaltoihin.[6]
• "David Lynch Theatre" < youtube >
• 'David Lynch Foundation" < link >