His family announced his death on Thursday via his official Facebook page.
Originally aspiring to be a painter, Lynch began his film career with black-and-white movies like “Eraserhead” and “The Elephant Man.” These early works already showcased his signature style, marked by surrealism and a fascination with mysteries and bizarre themes.
“Eraserhead” quickly became a cult classic, leading to Lynch’s opportunity to direct “The Elephant Man,” which received eight Academy Award nominations.
In 1984, he directed the science fiction film “Dune,” based on Frank Herbert’s writings, featuring Kyle MacLachlan and Sting. Two years later, “Blue Velvet,” starring Laura Dern, Isabella Rossellini, and Kyle MacLachlan, was released, earning Lynch another Oscar nomination.
With “Blue Velvet,” Lynch continued exploring themes initiated in “Eraserhead”: the strange relationship between sex and violence, the world of repressions, the connection between the conscious and the unconscious, the intertwining of appearances and perversions, grotesque, often demonic characters, complex narratives, and unsettling conclusions—hallmarks of his films.
In 1990, he directed “Wild at Heart,” which, contrary to Lynch’s usual style, concluded with a happy ending and won the Palme d’Or at the Cannes Film Festival.
During the 1990s, Lynch ventured into television, co-creating the series “Twin Peaks” with Mark Frost. The show became a pop culture phenomenon, with Lynch’s image appearing on the cover of Time magazine, and the question of who killed Laura Palmer captivating audiences worldwide.
The series, which spanned two seasons, won three Golden Globe Awards, and its soundtrack, composed by Angelo Badalamenti, achieved great success.
In 1992, Lynch directed the film “Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me,” exploring the series’ backstory. A quarter-century later, after negotiations with producers, he created the third season of the series, “Twin Peaks: The Return,” consisting of 18 episodes and released in 2017.
Following “Lost Highway,” Lynch returned to simpler storytelling with “The Straight Story.” In 2001, he released the erotic thriller “Mulholland Drive.”
In 2006, the Venice Film Festival honored Lynch with a Lifetime Achievement Award, where his three-hour film “Inland Empire” premiered out of competition, immersing viewers in his characteristic world filled with darkness, visions, eroticism, and nightmares.
In 2019, Lynch received an Honorary Academy Award for his unique cinematic vision and fearless boundary-pushing.
Also known as a painter and photographer, David Lynch’s photographs were exhibited in Budapest’s Műcsarnok in 2019.
