David Lynch's cause of death revealed

David Lynch's cause of death has been disclosed after he passed away on January 15 at the age of 78.

According to the death certificate released last Friday by the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health, the film-maker's immediate cause of death was cardiac arrest.

The report also lists chronic obstructive pulmonary disease as the underlying cause, and dehydration is listed as a significant condition contributing to death but not causing it directly. The certificate also states he was cremated and buried on January 22 at the Hollywood Forever Cemetery.

Lynch revealed he had been diagnosed with emphysema back in 2020, in a Sight & Sound magazine interview published in 2024. His health then “took a turn for the worse” after he had to be evacuated from his home due to the ongoing wildfires in Los Angeles, sources said to Deadline.

In the Sight & Sound interview, Lynch shared he could no longer "leave the house" for fear of getting COVID, and, if he were to direct again, he "would try to do it remotely, if it comes to it,” but he “wouldn’t like that so much.” However, he later wrote the following in an X/Twitter post: "I am filled with happiness, and I will never retire."

The director delved into his life-long relationship with smoking in this post: “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,” he wrote.

Shortly after his death, Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos shared in an Instagram post that the director was in the process of creating a new limited series. “It was a David Lynch production, so filled with mystery and risks but we wanted to go on this creative ride with this genius," he said. "First COVID, then some health uncertainties lead to this project never being produced but we made it clear that as soon as he was able, we were all in.”

The Academy Honorary Award winner was known for films such as neo-noir thrillers Blue Velvet (1986) or Mulholland Drive (2001), and for his murder-mystery television series Twin Peaks, which premiered in 1990 and has often been credited as the best television series of all time.

Lynch gained a cult following throughout his career due to his unique, surrealist directing style, which often featured oneiric imagery and placed particular emphasis in sound design. He won, alongside Angelo Badalamenti, the 'Best Pop Instrumental Performance' category at the 33rd Annual Grammy Awards for the main theme of Twin Peaks.