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David lynch was the oldest of three children. He was born in Missoula, Montana, U.S., to Edwina "Sunny" Lynch an English language tutor and Donald Walton Lynch, a research scientist with USDA, which is why they moved around quite a bit, but mostly grew up in the pacific northwest.
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David lynch wanted to study art which why he decided to attend this school in Washington, D.C.
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After not liking the environment of his previous school, he decided to move to Boston, Massachusetts, with his roommate Peter Wolf. David Lynch would only attend this school for year before moving again, as he was not happy with this institute either. -
Originally David Lynch planned to stay Europe for 3 years in hopes of studying and training with Austrian expressionist painter Oskar Kokoschka at his school. After arriving in Salzburg, he found out Kokoschka was unavailable; he would end up moving back to the U.S. after only being in Europe for 2 weeks.
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David Lynch decides to settle in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania where he would attend school and begin experimenting and creating films.
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While attending the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts he met Peggy Reavey, who he would marry in 1968. Later on, having a child together named Jennifer in 1968. -
Lynch shot his first ever film with a cheap 16mm camera in an abandoned workspace at the academy he attended. This short film would lead to a commissioned film. -
With left over money from a failed commissioned film after Six men getting sick, David Lynch would create his second short film. -
This short film was financed by the institute David Lynch was attending. Film critics Michelle Le Blanc and Colin Odell wrote the following about this short film "this film is a true oddity but contains many of the themes and ideas that would filter into his later work, and shows a remarkable grasp of the medium". -
After 3 semesters at Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, Lynch and his family move to L.A where he attends AFI Conservatory. At this institution he began writing a script for film called "Gardenback"; Lynch felt too many people were interfering on this project, which ultimately led to him giving up on it and wanting to leave the school.
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After wanting to leave the conservatory the dean of his institution asked him to rethink his decision and stay. Lynch ended up staying but dropped the "Gardenback" script and instead begin writing and filming "Eraserhead". Due to funding problems, the filming of "Eraserhead" would regularly stop and continue.
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During one of the breaks while filming "Eraserhead" David Lynch created this short film about a woman who is an amputee and she attempts to write letters, but nurses keep interfering with her. -
Upon concluding production in 1976, Lynch said that the film was misinterpreted by the audiences. He tried entering the film at the Cannes Film Festival, but due to poor ratings it was rejected. New York Film Festival also rejected it. It screened at the Los Angeles Film Festival where Ben Barenholtz heard of it and helped distribute the film across the U.S. in 1977. Later on, it was called one of the most important midnight movies of the1970s. -
During the filming of "Eraserhead" Peggy and David Lynch separate. He ends up marrying Mary Fisk in 1977, and they have a child Austin Jack Lynch in 1982. Ultimately the marriage dissolved in 1987. -
"The Elephant Man" was a script written by Chris de Vore and Eric Bergren, found by Stuart Cornfeld. It was introduced to Lynch, and he immediately took on the role of director. The film was a success, earning Lynch eight Academy Award nominations, including Best Director and Best Adapted Screenplay, overall making himself more well known. -
Dino De Laurentiis approached Lynch after the success of "The Elephant Man" and asked him to direct Dune. Lynch did not have final cut of the film, leaving him dissatisfied with it and moving forward only agreeing to do films if he had the final cut. The film was a failure, only making $27.4 million domestically with production costing $45 million. -
Still working with De Laurentiis, this project would be personal to Lynch, developing from ideas that he had since 1973. This film won the National Society of Film Critics Award for Best Film and earned Lynch his second Academy Award nomination for Best Director. -
Based on Barry Gifford's novel Wild at Heart: The Story of Sailor and Lula, Lynch adapted the novel. Even though there was a muted response from American critics and viewers, the film won the Palme d'Or at the 1990 Cannes Film Festival. -
Lynch and television producer Mark frost started working on this TV show which would later become a cult classic. The first season consisted of 7 episodes and premiered on ABC. Lynch only directed the first 2 episodes of season 2 but continued to be involved throughout it all in other ways. The show was cancelled due to ratings dropping.
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Lynch went back to the world of Twin Peaks, without Mark Frost this time. The film was meant to be a prequal to the show. At the time of its release, the film was failure in the United States. Since then, the film has been reappraised. -
Mulholland Drive is a nonlinear surrealist tale of Hollywood's dark side. The film would do very well. In 2016 it would be named the best film of the 21st century in a BBC poll. -
With the success of Mulholland Drive, Lynch would win Best Director at the 2001 Cannes Film Festival (alongside Joel Coen for The Man Who Wasn't There) and Best Director from the New York Film Critics Association. As well as receiving his third Academy Award nomination for Best Director. -
Lynch said this movie was about a mystery woman in trouble. This being his final feature film, Lynch had become uninspired when it came to making movies and would continue other small projects here and there. -
David and Mary would go on to have a son Riley Sweeney Lynch in 1992 before they got married in 2006. Their marriage would only last a year ending in 2007. -
This was Lynch last and longest marriage. Him Stofle would have a daughter in 2012 named Lula Boginia Lynch. They would divorce in 2023 -
After declining health due to emphysema, caused by decades of smoking. David Lynch tragically passes away at 78 from cardiac arrest due to chronic obstructive pulmonary disease -
https://pabook.libraries.psu.edu/literary-cultural-heritage-map-pa/bios/lynch__david https://gazettedirect.com/david-lynch-wife-and-kids-family-tree/ https://nobudgetfilmmakers.com/david-lynch-biography/ https://www.wikiwand.com/en/articles/David_Lynch https://www.tcm.com/tcmdb/title/2003140/the-amputee-version-1#overview https://nypost.com/2025/02/09/entertainment/david-lynchs-cause-of-death-revealed/ https://www.riotmaterial.com/david-lynch-the-grandmother/