Director David Lynch dies at 78, family says

David Lynch, the writer and filmmaker whose works include Mulholland Drive and Twin Peaks, has died at the age of 78.

Lynch’s death was announced on his Facebook page by his family.

“There is a big hole in the world now that he is no longer with us,” the message read.

“But, as he said, ‘Keep your eye on the donut and not the hole.’ … It’s a beautiful day with golden sunshine and blue skies throughout.”

Lynch received three Academy Award nominations for Best Director throughout his career for his work on Blue Velvet, The Elephant Man and Mulholland Drive.

His last major project was Twin Peaks: The Return, which aired in 2017 and continued the television series that ran for two seasons in the early 1990s.

Lynch revealed in August last year he was battling emphysema, a chronic lung disease, following “many years of smoking.”

The director said that, despite the diagnosis, he was in “excellent shape” and would “never retire.”