Acclaimed filmmaker and Twin Peaks co-creator David Lynch says he can no longer direct in person following an emphysema diagnosis. Lynch, whose idiosyncratic style has made him one of the most distinctive filmmakers of his generation, took to social media yesterday to reveal his diagnosis. Lynch noted his years as a smoker as the cause for his illness. Later, he shared an update promising that even though he can’t direct in-person, he will never retire.
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Speaking with Sight & Sound magazine, Lynch confessed, “I’m homebound whether I like it or not. I can’t go out. And I can only walk a short distance before I’m out of oxygen.” After the interview ran, fellow creatives as well as fans all united in an outpouring of support for Lynch. That’s when he made his own statement:
“Yes, I have emphysema from my many years of smoking,” Lynch wrote. “I have to say that I enjoyed smoking very much, and I do love tobacco – the smell of it, lighting cigarettes on fire, smoking them – but there is a price to pay for this enjoyment, and the price for me is emphysema,” Lynch writes in his full statement today. I have now quit smoking for over two years. Recently I had many tests and the good news is that I am in excellent shape except for emphysema. I am filled with happiness, and I will never retire. I want you all to know that I really appreciate your concern.”
Lynch, the filmmaker behind Eraserhead and Blue Velvet, has also written books, played music, painted, and dabbled in online video. During the COVID-19 lockdown, Lynch started sharing daily weather forecasts (and a short film) on YouTube. Lynch cites COVID as a continuing concern, since getting sick — even a cold, but especially a respiratory illness like COVID — could be life-threatening for someone with emphysema.
Lynch, who played the eccentric FBI Deputy Director Gordon Cole in Twin Peaks, recently made a rare screen appearance in somebody else’s movie. In The Fabelmans, Steven Spielberg got Lynch to play John Ford, the famed director of The Grapes of Wrath, Stagecoach, and The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance. Lynch and longtime collaborator Chrystabell released a new album, Cellophane Memories, last week.
Despite his many other artistic endeavors, Lynch is still primarily known as a filmmaker, having launched his career with the 1977 film Eraserhead. In 1980, his film The Elephant Man was nominated for eight Academy Awards and won a BAFTA for Best Film. Despite a long and celebrated career, Lynch has only made ten feature films. He has been nominated for the Best Director Oscar three times.
