As a long-time smoker, he has developed pulmonary emphysema, the 78-year-old announced on Monday (local time) on the X platform. He enjoyed smoking very much, but now he is paying the price for it. He stopped smoking two years ago. Apart from the emphysema diagnosis, he is in “excellent shape”.
Lynch continued that he was happy and would “never” retire. The director had previously spoken about the illness in an interview with the British magazine “Sight & Sound” and said that he was now largely confined to his house and had to be very careful. Directing on set was currently almost unthinkable for him, he could only contribute from a distance.
In pulmonary emphysema, the alveoli are partially destroyed or overstretched. Because the flow of air is disrupted, the oxygen content in the blood decreases. Common symptoms are shortness of breath, especially during physical exertion, and exhaustion. Pulmonary emphysema is usually caused by smoking. The disease cannot be cured, but it can be delayed with medication.
The director of cult classics such as “Eraserhead,” “Blue Velvet,” and “Wild at Heart” brought new episodes of the mystery cult series “Twin Peaks” to the screen in 2017. Lynch has also made short films and written screenplays in recent years. He appeared as an actor in “The Fablemans” (2022) for director Steven Spielberg. In the autobiographical drama, he had a small role as film director John Ford.
