Director David Lynch who created the Twin Peaks series, brought Dune to the screen, and made many remarkable and acclaimed films has died aged 78.
Lynch’s films, which often had dreamlike and surrealist qualities, were critically acclaimed and often box office successes too. Among his work was Eraserhead, The Elephant Man, Blue Velvet, Wild at Heart, lost Highway, The Straight Story, Mullholland Drive and Inland Empire.
Lynch died due to complications from emphysema. He had been evacuated from his home to the wildfires in Los Angeles and he died at the home of his daughter.
Lynch started making short films in the 1960s, his debut feature Eraserhead was an independent film which he wrote, directed, edited, as well as creating its score and sound design. The 1977black and while film found success playing at midnight screenings and became a cult classic.
His second feature The Elephant Man brought him wide acclaim. Another black and white film it shared the true story of British man Joseph Merrick who severely deformed man in Victorian London and a doctor who tries to treat his condition. The film was nominated for eight Academy Awards, and the won the BAFTA for Best Film, while actor John Hurt won the Best Actor BAFTA for his portrayal of Merrick.
Lynch was offered the opportunity to direct Return of the Jedi, the third film in the Star Wars trilogy, but turned it down, instead set his eyes on another sci-fi story that had been deemed impossible to bring to the screen.
His adaptation of Frank Herbert’s novel Dune was the first of several adaptations of the work. Lynch’s film came out in 1984, the books was later adapted for a television series in 2000 and 2003, and in 2021 Denis Villeneuve released the first of his two Dune films.
The film featured an impressive cast including Sting, Patrick Stewart, Brad Dourif, Sean Young, Dean Stockwell, Max von Sydow, Jose Ferrer, and Virginia Madsen. It was also the feature film debut of Kyle McLachlan, who would work with Lynch on many future projects.
Originally planned as a trilogy of films, plans for the sequels were abandoned when the film failed at the box office. Esteemed film critic Roger Ebert dubbed it the worst film of the year.
In the wake of Dune’s failure Lynch explored other creative projects including photography and writing, he also became publishing the comic strip The Angriest Dog in the World which ran from 1983 until 1982.
He returned in 1986 with the acclaimed arthouse film Blue Velvet which starred Kyle MacLachlan, Isabella Rossellini, Dennis Hopper and Laura Dern. It saw Lynch get his second Academy Award nomination for Best Director.
In 1990 he worked with Mark Frost to create the television series Twin Peaks. The story of odd-happenings in the fictional town caught television audiences attention and came a cultural phenomenon.
The series ran for two years as audience members tried to workout who had killed local teenager Laura Palmer whose body has been found, wrapped in plastic.
The series teamed the director with Kyle Maclachlan for a third time, and made household names out of Madchen Amick, Lara Flynn Boyle, Sherilyn Fenn, James Marshall Sheryl Lee and Joan Chen. The show also featured established actors including Michael Ontkean, Piper Laurie and Peggy Lipton.
Lynch returned to the world of Twin Peeks with the prequel movie Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me in 1992 and the follow up series Twin Peaks: The Return which aired in 2017.
Lynch had further filmmaker success with Wild at Heart in 1990 which starred Nicholas Cage and Laura Dern alongside Willem Dafoe, Crispin Glover, Diane Ladd, Isabella Rossellini and Harry Dean Stanton. In 1997 he shared Lost Highway starring Pill Pullman, Patricia Arquette, and Balthazar Getty.
His 1999 film The Straight Story saw a change of direction for the director. He shared the true story of American man Alvin Straight who in 1994 travelled across America on a lawn mower. Actor Richard Farnsworth drew great acclaim for his portrayal of Straight.
Mullholland Drive was originally developed a television pilot before being adapted into a feature film. It earned Lynch another Best Director nomination at the 2022 Academy Awards, and his final film Inland Empire came out in 2006.
