As someone who has rewatched Twin Peaks over and over again, you can probably imagine how I reacted when I opened my phone after Precalculus and saw that David Lynch, the psychopath behind it, passed away. In fact, it’s taken me an entire week of mourning to even start this article.
David Lynch was a filmmaker known for his mastery of surrealism and dreamlike imagery. His films, such as Eraserhead (1977), Blue Velvet (1986), and Mulholland Drive (2001), delve into the mysteries of human consciousness, with lots of recurring themes, including industry, dreams, and identity. Although those films are fairly well known, Lynch gained further recognition for co-creating the television series Twin Peaks, which became a cultural phenomenon for its haunting narrative and characters. Lynch acquired a cult following (which I am proudly a part of) as his films are niche and not easily understood, because even if you’ve seen the film, you might not truly understand the meaning behind it.
Lynch was diagnosed with emphysema because of his years of smoking. Lynch began smoking at age eight and continued for almost seven decades, quitting in 2022 because of his diagnosis. Because of this, in 2024, Lynch said he had to rely on supplemental oxygen to function. Lynch evacuated his home in Los Angeles due to the ongoing wildfires, and on 15 January 2025, at age 78, his family was informed he had passed away. This was a tragic event for both his family, and his cult of followers, some of who might still be in mourning. He will always be remembered through his productions, but that’s not all there was to Mr. Lynch. Beyond his groundbreaking work in film and television, here are a few fun facts about David Lynch that might surprise even his most devoted fans (like me).
He Was Originally A Painter
Lynch’s passion for art began when he read The Art Spirit by Robert Henri during high school. During the 60’s, after being declined an apprenticeship with painter Oskar Kokoschka, Lynch enrolled at the Corcoran School of Arts and Design then transferred to the School of the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston (for only one year—Lynch claimed to be”not inspired AT ALL in that place”) and later moved to Philadelphia to attend the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts. Life in Philadelphia, Lynch said, was one of his main inspirations to start his filmmaking career.
Lynch’s paintings are just as cryptic and surreal as his films: his 2020 work, Hands Up, Cowboy! depicts a chicken, a Vaseline container, a splotch of paint, some sort of algebra equation (even I can’t describe it), and a cowboy next to the text “Hands up, cowboy!” Lynch also explored many other types of art: he was an author, musician, photographer, and interior designer among many more professions. In 2018, Lynch told The Guardian: “A film or a painting, each thing is its own sort of language, and it’s not right to try to say the same thing in words.”
He Really Hated Dune (1984)
Despite the fact that Dune (1984) is one of Lynch’s most well known films, the director despised it and wanted absolutely no mention of his name related to the project: he is credited as “Alan Smithee” and “Judas Booth” in the film as director and writer, respectively. Dune simply lacks the Lynchian charm. Neither Lynch or Universal Pictures agreed on the vision for the movie. Lynch handed Universal Pictures an over three hour long cut of footage—an entire hour was scrapped. Lynch himself said that he “knew when I was signing the contract that I was signing away final cut and from that moment I felt like, looking back, I started selling out.” Both critics and audiences hated the movie, calling it “cartoonish” among other terms. However, his experience with Dune was a turning point; Lynch subsequently focused on projects with more creative freedom.
He Inspired Silent Hill
Silent Hill is possibly my favorite horror franchise of all time. With the first installment releasing in 1999, the plot follows a mysterious town in New England called Silent Hill and all of the oddities, anomalies, and things lurking beneath its surface. The series centers on very deep topics, such as grief, cults, and paranoia. It’s no surprise that Silent Hill was heavily inspired by Lynchian work. The game’s dialogue is incredibly unnerving, surreal, and uncanny. Silent Hill’s art director, Masahiro Ito, even recommended Mulholland Drive to fans of the game series, calling it a masterpiece. Ito also wrote: “Some accounts have asked me if David Lynch’s films were the references for Silent Hill 2. Yes, of course, some of them were.” A user on Reddit even theorized that Silent Hill 2 was a retelling of Lost Highway (1997), directed by Lynch. “So I ́ve just watched for the second time the movie Lost Highway, directed by the surrelism [sic] master David Lynch… I recalled that the story of the movie is kinda familiar to me, and then I realized: Silent Hill 2 has a lot, a LOT in common with this movie,” u/ivantheragingbull writes, “I knew that Lynch served as a big influence on the Silent Hill saga… but this one is next level, is basically a retelling of the same story IMO.”
I’m still mourning, by the way. I love David Lynch, I love Silent Hill, I love surrealism, I love everything related to the man. So, next time you’re in the mood for something weird, why not dive into one of his masterpieces?
