David Lynch’s cause of death has been revealed (Image: GETTY)
David Lynch’s cause of death has been revealed nearly a month after his death. The acclaimed Mulholland Drive and Twin Peaks director, who was diagnosed with emphysema in 2020, died on January 16.
On Friday, the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health published his death certificate, which lists his immediate cause of death. The visionary filmmaker died aged 78 after becoming housebound with emphysema following years of chain-smoking.
David’s death certificate, obtained on Friday (February 7) by TMZ ists his immediate cause of death as cardiac arrest due to chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. Dehydration is also listed as a significant contributor to his death.
The news of his death was announced by his family last month in an emotional Facebook post, which read: “There’s a big hole in the world now that he’s no longer with us. But, as he would say, ‘Keep your eye on the donut and not on the hole.’”
David Lynch was said to be housebound (Image: Getty)
In November, he admitted he could no longer walk without the aid of supplemental oxygen, saying at the time: “Smoking had been an integral part of my life since I started at just eight years old.”
A family member also told TMZ David died at his daughter’s house, where he had been staying after being forced to evacuate his Los Angeles home due to the city’s devastating wildfires.
Also according to his death certificate, Lynch was cremated, and his remains were buried on 22 January at the Forever Cemetery.
Deadline reported the filmmaker’s health deteriorated rapidly after he was displaced from his home on Sunset Boulevard due to the L.A. wildfires, though details of the evacuation remain private.
The air quality during the fires may have exacerbated David’s condition, as emphysema – also referred to as COPD – damages the air sacs in the lungs and can be worsened by environmental factors such as pollution, workplace irritants and smoking.
In his final public statements, he confirmed he required oxygen for basic activities, saying walking had become “strenuous”.