“Death in my mind isn’t a finality. There’s a continuum: It’s like at night, you go to sleep and in the daytime you wake up, or whenever you wake up, and it’s a new day.” – David Lynch
In an interview, David Lynch once shared how he rescued five Woody Woodpecker dolls from a gas station: “I screech on the brakes, do a U-turn, go back, and buy them—I save their lives. I named them Chucko, Buster, Pete, Bob, and Dan. They were my boys, and they lived in my office. They were my dear friends for a while, but certain traits started coming out, and they became not so nice… They are not in my life anymore.”
David Lynch was a filmmaker, artist, musician, writer, cartoonist, and actor. Even if you’ve never seen anything by David Lynch, you’ve likely seen something inspired by him. Everything from Atlanta (TV show) to The Weeknd, from Breaking Bad to The Legend of Zelda, has drawn influence from his work. From chaotic romances to epic space operas, his films have a unique style—often dubbed “Lynchian.”
I asked a few students here at Wheeler High School about their thoughts on David Lynch and his films. Evan Brunetti watched Eraserhead and described the movie as “confusing” but still enjoyable. Eraserhead, Lynch’s horror debut, he has referred to it as his “most spiritual film.” In 2004, the film was selected by the Library of Congress for preservation in the United States National Film Registry for being “culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant.”
David Lynch’s most famous and influential work, Twin Peaks, ran for two seasons in 1990 and 1991. It was followed by the prequel film Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me and in 2017, a revival series that featured most of the original cast. Alex Jaramillo (Junior) said Twin Peaks was “hard to describe,” calling it a crime drama, a horror show, and a soap opera all the same time. Alex considers Twin Peaks one of the greatest TV shows of all time.
Released in 1997, Lost Highway was described by David Lynch as a “psychogenic fugue.” The film was partially inspired by O.J. Simpson’s trial and how he was able to return to normal life afterward. Sharie Lenon (Junior) watched the movie with her Mom, and while she didn’t expect to like it at first but ended up enjoying the plot, finding the movie “shocking.”
The last film David Lynch directed was Inland Empire in 2006. Since then, he directed a number of short films, returned for Twin Peaks’ third season, and has had several acting roles, such as John Ford in The Fabelmans and Gus the Bartender in The Cleveland Show. His most well-known recent work was his Weather Reports on YouTube, which he started during COVID. He posted his final weather report on December 16, 2022.
David Lynch passed away from complications of emphysema on January 16, 2025—five days before his 79th birthday.
David Lynch on a the side of the road with a cow and a billboard that reads “For your consideration, Laura Dern.”
