Lynch, David (1946-…), is an American motion-picture director and screenwriter known for his unconventional approach to filmmaking. His films often have a dreamlike quality and contain disturbing and violent images. Lynch won acclaim for The Elephant Man (1980), which he also co-wrote; Blue Velvet (1986); and Mulholland Dr. (2001).
David Keith Lynch was born Jan. 20, 1946, in Missoula, Montana. From 1965 to 1969, he attended the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts in Philadelphia, where he studied painting and made a series of experimental films. In 1970, he won a grant from the American Film Institute (AFI) to produce a short film called The Grandmother.
In 1971, Lynch moved to Los Angeles to attend the AFI Conservatory. There he made his first feature-length film, Eraserhead (1977). A Surrealistic horror film, the movie consists of a series of nightmarelike sequences involving a man whose girlfriend gives birth to a mutant baby. He agrees to marry his girlfriend. But she leaves him, and he has to care for the ceaselessly crying baby by himself. During this time, he has a number of strange encounters with bizarre characters. The film quickly attracted a cult following. It also brought Lynch to the attention of other filmmakers, including the American director, actor, writer, and producer Mel Brooks.
Brooks approached Lynch to direct the film The Elephant Man, based on the true story of a severely deformed man who lived in Victorian England. Brooks produced the film, which was a commercial and critical success.
Lynch’s next commercial success was the mystery-thriller Blue Velvet. The film was notable for its frightening look at the disturbing activity and deranged characters in a small American town. Lynch also gained fame for the Surreal television series ”Twin Peaks” (1990-1991), which follows the murder investigation of a high school girl in a mysterious small town. Lynch made a film based on the series, Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me (1992). A new season of “Twin Peaks,” co-created by Lynch and the American writer and producer Mark Frost, aired in 2017.
Lynch’s other notable films include Dune (1984), Wild at Heart (1990), Lost Highway (1997), The Straight Story (1999), and Inland Empire (2006). He is the father of the American director Jennifer Chambers Lynch.
