Filmmaker David Lynch has passed away at the age of 78, as confirmed by his family Thursday.
"It is with deep regret that we, his family, announce the passing of the man and the artist, David Lynch," they wrote in a statement posted to Lynch's official Facebook page. "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.'"
The Oscar-nominated director behind Twin Peaks, Mulholland Drive, Eraserhead, Dune (1984), Blue Velvet, The Elephant Man, Inland Empire and more was suffering from emphysema, which kept him housebound, prior to his passing.
Lynch was born in Missoula, MT, in 1946, with his family relocating around the US many times in his early years of life. He would attend fine arts colleges in multiple states, culminating in his attendance at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, where he met his first wife, Peggy Reavey. The couple share one child, filmmaker Jennifer Lynch. Lynch went on to marry three more times, to Mary Fisk, Mary Sweeney and Emily Stofle, in succession, having one child with each wife.
Lynch's first feature-length film was 1977 cult-classic surrealist body horror Eraserhead. He followed that with The Elephant Man, which garnered eight Academy Award nominations and BAFTA's Best Picture, Best Actor and Best Production Design wins. The Academy further recognized Lynch's directorial efforts with Best Director nominations for Blue Velvet and Mulholland Drive. In 2019, he received the Academy Honorary Award "for fearlessly breaking boundaries in pursuit of his singular cinematic vision," alongside collaborators Laura Dern, Kyle MacLachlan and former partner Isabella Rossellini.
The filmmaker was perhaps best known for his co-creation with Mark Frost in 1990's Twin Peaks, IP that would go on to inspire spinoffs Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me (1992) and Twin Peaks: The Return (2017). His renowned film aesthetic inspired the term "Lynchian," which describes usually artworks that evoke the director's surrealist, dream-like and sometimes haunting and macabre tendencies.
Lynch was also a painter, occasional actor, writer, designer and musician. Lynch's music career includes three studio albums — BlueBOB with John Neff (2001), Crazy Clown Time with Karen O of the Yeah Yeah Yeahs (2011) and The Big Dream (2013), which included a song featuring Lykke Li — as well as features on various artists' songs; sound production for his film works; and music video director credits for the likes of Nine Inch Nails, Moby, Interpol and more.
Lynch was also a proponent of Transcendental Meditation, about which he wrote the book Catching the Big Fish: Meditation, Consciousness, and Creativity in 2006. His memoir, Room to Dream, released in 2018.