David Lynch, the brilliantly surreal and singular director behind classics like Blue Velvet, Mulholland Drive, and The Elephant Man, has died at 78.
He’s best known for Twin Peaks, a deeply strange and enthralling TV series about murder in a small town, metaphysical forces, and generational trauma (take your pick). The show returned for a third season in 2017, arriving 25 years after the original series’ massive cliffhanger ending. Eternally influential, its theme song has been sampled by a host of artists, including Flying Lotus, the KLF, and Actress. Lynch also had his own career as a musician, turning away from film to focus on albums. He released his first solo LP, Crazy Clown Time, in 2011 and another, The Big Dream, in 2013. A collaboration with Chrystabell called Cellophane Memories came out last August.
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His family confirmed the news earlier this afternoon, writing, “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.’ It’s a beautiful day with golden sunshine and blue skies all the way.” Right now no cause of death has been revealed, and they are requesting privacy at this time.