David Lynch

Born: January 20, 1946 - Died: January 16, 2025 (78 years)

Missoula, Montana, USA

David Keith Lynch (January 20, 1946 – January 16, 2025) was an American filmmaker, visual artist, musician, and actor. Lynch received critical acclaim for his films, which are often distinguished by their surrealist, dreamlike qualities. In his 58-year career, he was awarded numerous accolades, including the Golden Lion for Lifetime Achievement in 2006 and an Honorary Academy Award in 2019. In 2007, a panel of critics convened by The Guardian announced that "after all the discussion, no one could fault the conclusion that David Lynch is the most important filmmaker of the current era." Lynch studied painting before he began making short films in the late 1960s. His first feature-length film was the independent surrealist film Eraserhead (1977), which saw success as a midnight movie. He was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Director for the biographical drama The Elephant Man (1980) and the mystery films Blue Velvet (1986) and Mulholland Drive (2001). His romantic crime drama Wild at Heart (1990) won the Palme d'Or at the Cannes Film Festival. He also directed the space opera adaptation Dune (1984), the surrealist neo-noir Lost Highway (1997), the biographical drama The Straight Story (1999), and the experimental film Inland Empire (2006). Lynch and Mark Frost created the ABC series Twin Peaks (1990–91), for which Lynch was nominated for two Primetime Emmy Awards for Outstanding Directing for a Drama Series and Outstanding Writing for a Drama Series. Lynch co-wrote and directed its film prequel, Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me (1992), and its limited series revival (2017). He has also worked as an actor, including his portrayals of FBI agent Gordon Cole in Twin Peaks and director John Ford in Steven Spielberg's The Fabelmans (2022), as well as guest roles in TV series such as The Cleveland Show (2010–13), Louie (2012), and Robot Chicken (2020, 2022). Lynch's other artistic endeavours included his work as a musician, encompassing the studio albums BlueBOB (2001), Crazy Clown Time (2011), and The Big Dream (2013), as well as painting and photography. He has written the books Images (1994), Catching the Big Fish (2006), and Room to Dream (2018). He has directed several music videos for artists such as Chris Isaak, X Japan, Moby, Interpol, Nine Inch Nails, and Donovan, and commercials for Calvin Klein, Dior, L'Oreal, Yves Saint Laurent, Gucci, and the New York City Department of Sanitation. A practitioner of Transcendental Meditation (TM), he founded the David Lynch Foundation, which seeks to fund the teaching of TM in schools and has since widened its scope to other at-risk populations, including the homeless, veterans, and refugees.

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Movies Directed (68)

Waiting for Mr. Lynch

Nov 16, 2018

Ant Head

Nov 14, 2018

WHAT DID JACK DO?

Nov 8, 2017

Fire (Pożar)

Mar 28, 2015

Twin Peaks: The Missing Pieces

Jul 16, 2014

Duran Duran: Unstaged

Mar 9, 2014

Nine Inch Nails: Came Back Haunted

Jun 28, 2013

Idem Paris

Feb 4, 2013

Memory Film

Dec 11, 2012

20 Little Films

Feb 13, 2012

Blue Velvet: The Lost Footage

Nov 8, 2011

42 One Dream Rush

Sep 15, 2010

Early Experiments

Nov 25, 2008

Hollyshorts Greeting

Nov 25, 2008

Twin Peaks Festival Greeting 2008

Nov 25, 2008

Ballerina

Dec 31, 2007

To Each His Own Cinema

Oct 31, 2007

Out Yonder — Chicken

Sep 10, 2007

More Things That Happened

Aug 14, 2007

Dynamic:01: The Best of DavidLynch.com

Jan 30, 2007

Inland Empire

Dec 6, 2006

Bug Crawls

Sep 22, 2004

Intervalometer Experiments

Jan 1, 2004

Boat

Dec 23, 2003

Lamp

Sep 9, 2003

Out Yonder — Teeth

Apr 16, 2003

The Disc of Sorrow Is Installed

Jun 21, 2002

Industrial Soundscape

Jun 19, 2002

Rabbits

Jun 9, 2002

The Pig Walks

Jun 1, 2002

The Short Films of David Lynch

Jun 1, 2002

Darkened Room

Apr 12, 2002

BlueBob Egg

Feb 25, 2002

Out Yonder — Neighbor Boy

Feb 11, 2002

Pierre and Sonny Jim

Feb 11, 2002

Dead Mouse with Ants

Feb 11, 2002

Steps

Feb 11, 2002

Coyote #1

Feb 11, 2002

Factory Mask

Dec 28, 2001

Head with Hammer

Dec 5, 2001

Sunset #1

Sep 27, 2001

Eraserhead Stories

Sep 6, 2001

Mulholland Drive

Jun 6, 2001

One Morning All Over the World

Jan 1, 2000

The Straight Story

Oct 15, 1999

Lost Highway

Jan 15, 1997

Lumière & Company

Dec 20, 1995

Premonitions Following an Evil Deed

Feb 12, 1995

Michael Jackson: Dangerous - The Short Films

Sep 28, 1993

Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me

Jun 3, 1992

The King of Ads

Nov 1, 1991

Industrial Symphony No. 1: The Dream of the Brokenhearted

Sep 1, 1990

Wild at Heart

Aug 17, 1990

Twin Peaks

Dec 8, 1989

The Cowboy and the Frenchman

Oct 26, 1988

The French as Seen by…

Oct 26, 1988

Blue Velvet

Sep 19, 1986

Dune

Dec 14, 1984

The Elephant Man

Oct 9, 1980

Eraserhead

Sep 28, 1977

The Amputee

Jan 1, 1974

The Grandmother

Jul 1, 1970

The Alphabet

Feb 13, 1969

Absurd Encounter with Fear

Mar 5, 1967

Six Men Getting Sick

Jan 1, 1967

Sailing with Bushnell Keeler

Jan 1, 1967

Interview Project

Lady Blue Shanghai

TV Shows Directed (6)

Rabbits

Jun 9, 2002

DumbLand

Dec 21, 2001

Hotel Room

Jan 8, 1993

On the Air

Jun 20, 1992

Twin Peaks

Apr 8, 1990

Mulholland Dr.

Movies as Actor (134)

Eyes Behind the Lens

as Voice (Uncredited, Archive)

Jun 24, 2026

I Know Catherine, the Log Lady

as Self

Feb 15, 2026

What Would David Lynch Do?

as Self (Archived Footage)

Jan 16, 2026

The Hanging of Stuart Cornfeld

Oct 23, 2025

The Making Of A Mockumentary

as Himself (archive footage)

Apr 11, 2025

David Lynch: A Remembrance Both Wonderful and Strange

as Self (archive footage)

Jan 29, 2025

Beatles '64

as Self

Nov 24, 2024

Lynch/Oz

as Self (archival footage)

May 15, 2023

The Fabelmans

as John Ford

Nov 11, 2022

This Is Sparklehorse

as Self

Oct 12, 2022

The Sleeper Must Awaken: Making Dune

as Self (voice) (archive footage)

Oct 14, 2021

Morceaux de Cannes

Oct 25, 2019

The Original Image - David Lynch

May 1, 2019

David Lynch Teaches Creativity and Film

as Himself

Mar 18, 2019

as Self

Dec 5, 2017

WHAT DID JACK DO?

as Detective

Nov 8, 2017

Plankton Salesmen

as Self (archive footage)

Oct 29, 2017

Lucky

as Howard

Sep 29, 2017

The Black Ghiandola

as Man In Black

Apr 22, 2017

David Lynch: The Art Life

as Self

Feb 15, 2017

David Lynch: Insight

as Self

Feb 7, 2017

Girlfriend's Day

as Narrator (voice)

Jan 24, 2017

Rocksteppy

as Himself

Jan 1, 2017

Along for the Ride

as Self

Nov 3, 2016

as Self

Jan 20, 2014

Harry Dean Stanton: Partly Fiction

as Self

Sep 11, 2013

What Is Cinema?

as Self

Sep 6, 2013

Mel Brooks: Make a Noise

as Self

May 20, 2013

Professor Goudet's Lessons

as Self

Apr 6, 2013

Memory Film

Dec 11, 2012

Meditation, Creativity, Peace

as Self

Nov 15, 2012

Side by Side

as Self

Aug 19, 2012

Ångesthunden och Malmö under vatten

as Himself

Jan 1, 2011

David Lynch in Oslo

as Self

Nov 18, 2010

2012: Time for Change

as Self

Oct 8, 2010

Brunes et Blondes

as Self

Oct 6, 2010

David Wants to Fly

as Self

May 6, 2010

When Lynch Met Lucas

Feb 13, 2010

Red Fish

as O Sábio

Jun 16, 2009

The Way of Samodelkin

as Stranger in a dream

Jun 5, 2009

Great Directors

as Self

May 19, 2009

La Traversée du désir

as Self

Mar 16, 2009

The Soul Detective

as Himself

Feb 2, 2009

Early Experiments

Nov 25, 2008

Hollyshorts Greeting

as Himself

Nov 25, 2008

Twin Peaks Festival Greeting 2008

as Self

Nov 25, 2008

Elvis | Viva Las Vegas

as Self

Sep 16, 2008

Critic

as Self (voice)

Jan 22, 2008

The Sound of Lynch

Dec 31, 2007

A Slice of Lynch

as Self

Oct 30, 2007

Lynch (one)

as Self

Oct 26, 2007

Out Yonder — Chicken

Sep 10, 2007

Lynch 2

as Self

Aug 14, 2007

Donovan: The Donovan Concert - Live in L.A.

as Himself

Apr 1, 2007

Dynamic:01: The Best of DavidLynch.com

as himself

Jan 30, 2007

Inland Empire

as Bucky J, the gaffer (voice)

Dec 6, 2006

Midnight Movies: From the Margin to the Mainstream

as Self

as Self

Jun 17, 2003

Out Yonder — Teeth

Apr 16, 2003

Dennis Hopper: Create (or Die)

as Self

Feb 10, 2003

The Disc of Sorrow Is Installed

Jun 21, 2002

The Short Films of David Lynch

as Self

Jun 1, 2002

Heart of the Festival

as Self (archive footage)

Apr 16, 2002

I Don't Know Jack

as Self

Apr 5, 2002

BlueBob Egg

as Billy Groper

Feb 25, 2002

Mysteries of Love

as Self (archive footage)

Feb 24, 2002

Out Yonder — Neighbor Boy

Feb 11, 2002

Eraserhead Stories

as Self

Sep 6, 2001

Dino De Laurentiis: The Last Movie Mogul

as Self

Apr 1, 2001

In Dreams: The Roy Orbison Story

as Self

Oct 7, 1999

The A-Z of Separating People from their Money

as Self

Oct 18, 1998

Pretty as a Picture: The Art of David Lynch

as Self

Oct 14, 1997

The Fine Art of Separating People from Their Money

as Self

Nov 17, 1996

Lumière & Company

as Self

Dec 20, 1995

Nadja

as Morgue Receptionist

Sep 1, 1995

Don Van Vliet: Some YoYo Stuff

as Himself

Sep 9, 1994

Made in the USA

as Self

Sep 25, 1993

Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me

Feb 20, 1987

Dune

as Spice Miner (uncredited)

Dec 14, 1984

Destination Dune

as Self

Jan 1, 1983

The Elephant Man

as Man in the Bowler Hat in the Mob Chasing Merrick (uncredited)

Oct 9, 1980

Heart Beat

as Painter (uncredited)

Apr 25, 1980

The Amputee

as The Nurse

Jan 1, 1974

Sailing with Bushnell Keeler

Jan 1, 1967

A Fall from Grace

as William Tabb

TV Shows as Actor (18)

Mel Brooks: The 99 Year Old Man!

as Self - Filmmaker

Jan 22, 2026

This Is Pop

as Self (archive footage)

Mar 6, 2021

The Nineties

as Self (archive footage)

Jul 9, 2017

Louie

as Jack Dall

Jun 29, 2010

The Cleveland Show

as Gus (voice)

Sep 27, 2009

Legends

as Self

Nov 17, 2006

Robot Chicken

as Mad Scientist (voice)

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