David Lynch | |
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.jpg) Lynch's high school senior portrait, 1964 | |
| Born | David Keith Lynch January 20, 1946 Missoula, Montana, U.S. |
| Died | January 15, 2025 (aged 78) |
| Education | Corcoran School of the Arts and Design School of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts |
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David Keith Lynch (January 20, 1946 – January 15, 2025)[1] was an American filmmaker, painter, television director, visual artist, musician and occasional actor. Known for his surrealist films, he developed his own unique cinematic style,[2] most often noted for its dreamlike imagery and meticulous sound design. The surreal and, in many cases, violent elements in his films earned them a reputation as works that "disturb, offend or mystify" general audiences.[3]
Although born in Missoula, Montana, Lynch spent his youth traveling across the United States due to his father Donald's job for the Department of Agriculture; as a result, Lynch attended school across several states. Raised in a contented, happy family, the young Lynch was a member of the Boy Scouts of America, reaching the highest rank of Eagle Scout. However, Lynch took to building fireworks and playing the bongos in a Beat Generation nightclub as acts of rebellion, before discovering that he could translate his childhood fascination with drawing and painting into a career in fine art. Lynch and his close friend Jack Fisk travelled to Austria hoping to study under Oskar Kokoschka, but the artist was not present at the time.
Returning to the United States, Lynch enrolled in the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts in Philadelphia. Although initially focusing on oil painting and sculpture, Lynch found himself beginning to experiment with short films. After completing several short animated and partly animated works, Lynch was prompted by his mentor Bushnell Keeler to apply for one of four annual grants from the American Film Institute to fund another film project. The resulting film, The Grandmother, paved the way for Lynch's scholarship at the AFI Conservatory; while studying there, Lynch wrote and directed a film which would take several years to gestate—his feature-length début and the beginning of his commercial film career, Eraserhead.
- ^ Morris, Chris (2025-01-16). "David Lynch, Visionary Director of 'Twin Peaks' and 'Blue Velvet,' Dies at 78". Variety. Retrieved 2025-01-16.
- ^ Rodley & Lynch 2005, pp. 109 & 192.
- ^ Rodley & Lynch 2005, p. 245.