David Lynch’s passing wasn’t expected, exactly.
In the past few years, he had been battling crippling emphysema after a lifetime of smoking. In November he told People that he could “hardly walk across a room. It’s like you’re walking around with a plastic bag around your head.” He only gave up smoking in 2022 but it was of little help. He was homebound (“I never really liked going out before so it’s a nice excuse,” he told People) and would do weather reports from inside his home, his gray hair in its usual electric shock state, his now gaunt face adorned with oversized Persol sunglasses.