David Lynch, the American filmmaker whose works include the surrealist cult classics Mulholland Drive and Twin Peaks, has died aged 78. Lynch’s death was announced on his official Facebook page by his family on Thursday. “There’s a big hole in the world now that he’s no longer with us,” the post said. “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.” Lynch revealed in August last year he was battling emphysema, a chronic lung disease, from “many years of smoking”. Considered by many a maverick filmmaker, he received three best director Oscar nominations throughout his career for his work on Blue Velvet, The Elephant Man and Mulholland Drive. His last major project was Twin Peaks: The Return, which was broadcast in 2017, and continued the TV series that ran for two seasons in the early 1990s. The director said last year that, despite his emphysema diagnosis, he was in “excellent shape” and would “never retire”. He added the diagnosis was the “price to pay” for his smoking habit. But his condition deteriorated within months. In a November interview with People magazine, he said he needed oxygen to walk. Born in Missoula, Montana, Lynch first began a career in painting before switching to making short films during the 1960s.
