David Lynch

David Lynch loves coffee and has famously said ‘A bad Coffee is better than no Coffee at all.’ He also has his own brand of coffee, which he has named ‘David Lynch Coffee.’

Lynch has had several long term relationships with many women. He married Peggy Lentz in 1967, but the couple called it quits a few years later. His daughter, Jennifer Lynch, who also happens to be a film director, was born out of this first marriage.

Lynch then got married to Mary Fisk in 1977, and got divorced in 1987. His high profile affair with ‘Blue Velvet’ actress Isabella Rossellini was much talked about. Upon breaking up with her, Lynch went on to marry Mary Sweeney in 2006. He divorced Mary in the same year and got married to Emily Stofle in 2009.

David Keith Lynch was born in Montana, USA, on January 20, 1946. He was raised by his parents, Donald and Edwina Lynch. His father worked as a scientist for the ‘Department of Agriculture.’ Because of his profession, Donald’s family had to move around the country quite frequently.

David was a unique kid right from his childhood. He hated attending school, and loved hanging around with his friends. Although his family kept moving around frequently, Lynch had no problems in making friends.

Lynch hated school as the education wasn’t as fulfilling as he thought it would be. Hence, he focused more on extracurricular activities, such as painting.

During his high school days, his grades went from bad to worse. This was when he told his parents that he wanted to study painting. Initially, his parents were against his decision, but after realizing that he was serious about something, they allowed him to go ahead with his own plan.

However, he started having issues with his parents when he started painting in his friend’s workshop. He would get so involved in his paintings that he would sometimes spend the entire night in his friend’s workshop. After many such nights, his father asked him to stop painting. But he did not pay much heed to what his parents said and just kept painting.

David Lynch decided to take up painting as a serious career option. Hence, he got himself enrolled at ‘The School of the Museum of Fine Arts at Tufts,’ in Boston, but he quickly got bored of it and dropped out after a year. He told his parents that he dropped out as he was uninspired.

He then went on a tour of Europe in an attempt to learn the nuances of painting from the famous expressionist painter Oskar Kokoschka. He and his friend Jack Fisk had visited Europe, hoping that they could work there with Oskar for at least three years. However, when they couldn’t meet Oskar Kokoschka, they had to return to the USA in just 15 days.

After returning to the US, Lynch moved to Philadelphia and got enrolled at ‘The Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts.’ Lynch later said that the days he spent in Philadelphia were the formative years of his life. The gothic buildings and the overall vibe which the city had, formed the basis for his first few films.

Lynch started painting ardently during his stay at the academy. He then made a short film titled ‘Six Men Getting Sick’ after deriving inspiration from one of his dreams, in which he saw his paintings move. Lynch fell in love with the art of filmmaking as he realized that he can convey much more through films.

He then invested his entire savings on another short film. Lynch’s films were different from mainstream cinema as they exhibited images and sounds that seemed to be coming straight out of a nightmare. The artistic community at the ‘Pennsylvania Academy’ praised him for his vision. This encouraged Lynch, who moved to Los Angeles in order to give his filmmaking career a shot.

Lynch started working on his feature film ‘Eraserhead’ in the early 70s. Initially, the project was funded by the ‘American Film Institute’ (AFI). But the film couldn’t be completed with the $10,000, which was given to him by the ‘AFI.’ He then started investing his own money into the film. After five years of hard work, which involved physical and mental exhaustion, the film was finally released in 1977.

The film was a nightmarish representation of a man’s fears. The dreamlike imagery and highly unusual narrative kept the film from entering film festivals. Eventually, the film was selected and was screened at ‘The Los Angeles Film Festival.’ The film was ridiculed at the festival with some critics calling it ‘awful.’

A distributor named Ben Barenholtz came to know about the film. He then contacted Lynch and expressed his interest in releasing the film. The film was initially screened at several theatres where it took the midnight slot. The film slowly started catching the attention of many. Esteemed director Stanley Kubrick watched the film and called it one of his most favorite films of all time.

Hollywood star Mel Brooks saw the film and said that he absolutely loved it. He contacted Lynch and offered him the job of directing a film titled ‘The Elephant Man,’ which starred Anthony Hopkins in the lead. The film was a massive commercial and critical hit. It received eight Oscar nominations, including ‘Best Director.’

Lynch gained popularity as a director, and started receiving offers to direct mainstream Hollywood films, but Lynch focused on doing things that he liked and hence had to reject some high profile films, including ‘Star Wars: Return of the Jedi.’