David Lynch, an influential director known for his unique and surrealistic films and TV shows including “Blue Velvet” and “Twin Peaks,” has died. He was 78.
Lynch’s almost-50-year cinematic career was distinguished by a series of distinctive, highly stylized films that often feature surreal situations, fragmented timelines and supernatural elements. He was awarded the Golden Lion for Lifetime Achievement at the Venice Film Festival in 2006, and he was given an honorary Oscar in 2019 for “a lifetime of artistic accomplishment.”
In 2024, Lynch announced that he had been diagnosed with emphysema after many years of smoking and that he was largely “housebound” due to the risks of contracting Covid-19. After sharing the news, Lynch assured his supporters that he planned to keep working, writing that despite his diagnosis, “I am filled with happiness, and I will never retire.”
