name	David Lynch
birth place	Missoula, Montana, U.S.
birth name	David Keith Lynch January 20, 1946
spouse	Peggy Lentz (1967–1974)Mary Fisk (1977–1987)Mary Sweeney (2006) Emily Stofle (2009–present)
partner	Isabella Rossellini (1986–1991)
citizenship	United States
education	Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts, AFI Conservatory
occupation	Film director, screenwriter, producer, painter, musician
years active	1966–present
style	Nonlinear, Psychological, Neo-noir, Surrealistic, Horror
Notable works	''Twin Peaks'', '' Mulholland Drive'', '' Blue Velvet'', '' The Elephant Man'', ''Eraserhead''
influences	Franz Kafka, Stanley Kubrick, Federico Fellini, Alfred Hitchcock, Werner Herzog, Luis Buñuel, Billy Wilder, Jacques Tati, Ingmar Bergman, Roman Polanski, Alejandro Jodorowsky, Kenneth Anger, Maya Deren
influenced	Coen brothers, Quentin Tarantino, Darren Aronofsky, Jonathan Caouette, Adam Goldberg, Greg Harrison, Martin McDonagh }}

David Keith Lynch (born January 20, 1946) is an American filmmaker, television director, visual artist, musician and occasional actor. Known for his surrealist films, he has developed his own unique cinematic style, which has been dubbed "Lynchian", and which is characterized by its dream imagery and meticulous sound design. Indeed, the surreal and in many cases violent elements to his films have earned them the reputation that they "disturb, offend or mystify" their audiences.

Born to a middle class family in Missoula, Montana, Lynch spent his childhood travelling around the United States, before going on to study painting at the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts in Philadelphia, where he first made the transition to producing short films. Deciding to devote himself more fully to this medium, he moved to Los Angeles, where he produced his first motion picture, the surrealist horror ''Eraserhead'' (1977). After ''Eraserhead'' became a cult classic on the midnight movie circuit, Lynch was employed to direct ''The Elephant Man'' (1980), from which he gained mainstream success. Then being employed by the De Laurentiis Entertainment Group, he proceeded to make two films: the science-fiction epic ''Dune'' (1984), which proved to be a critical and commercial failure, and then a neo-noir crime film, ''Blue Velvet'' (1986), which was highly critically acclaimed.

Proceeding to create his own television series with Mark Frost, the highly popular murder mystery ''Twin Peaks'' (1990–1992), he also created a cinematic prequel, ''Fire Walk With Me'' (1992); a road movie, ''Wild at Heart'' (1990) and a family film, ''The Straight Story'' (1999), in the same period. Turning further towards surrealist filmmaking, three of his following films worked on "dream logic" non-linear narrative structures, ''Lost Highway'' (1997), ''Mulholland Drive'' (2001) and ''Inland Empire'' (2006). Meanwhile, Lynch proceeded to embrace the internet as a medium, producing several web-based shows, such as the animation ''Dumbland'' (2002) and the surreal sitcom ''Rabbits'' (2002).

In the course of his career, Lynch has received three Academy Award nominations for Best Director, and a nomination for best screenplay. Lynch has twice won France's César Award for Best Foreign Film, as well as the Palme d'Or at the Cannes Film Festival and a Golden Lion award for lifetime achievement at the Venice Film Festival. The French government awarded him the Legion of Honor, the country's top civilian honor, as a ''Chevalier'' in 2002 and then an ''Officier'' in 2007, while that same year, ''The Guardian'' described Lynch as "the most important director of this era". Allmovie called him "the Renaissance man of modern American filmmaking", whilst the success of his films have led to him being labelled "the first popular Surrealist."

Life and career

Early life: 1946–1965

Lynch was born in Missoula, Montana on January 20, 1946. His father, Donald Walton Lynch, was a research scientist working for the U.S. Department of Agriculture, and his mother, Edwina "Sunny" Lynch (née Sundholm), was an English language tutor whose grandfather's parents had immigrated to the United States from Finland in the 19th century. Lynch was raised a Presbyterian. Due to Donald's job, the Lynch family often moved around according to where the Department of Agriculture assigned him. It was because of this that when he was two months old, David Lynch moved with his parents to Sandpoint, Idaho, and only two years after that, following the birth of his brother John, the family again moved, this time to Spokane, Washington. It was here that his sister Martha was born, before they once more moved, this time to Durham, North Carolina, then to Boise, Idaho and then to Alexandria, Virginia. Lynch found this transitory early life relatively easy to adjust to, noting that he found it fairly easy to meet new friends whenever he started attending a new school. Commenting on much of his early life, Lynch has remarked that "I found the world completely and totally fantastic as a child. Of course, I had the usual fears, like going to school… For me, back then, school was a crime against young people. It destroyed the seeds of liberty. The teachers didn't encourage knowledge or a positive attitude." Alongside this schooling, his father made him join the Boy Scouts, although he would later note that he only "became one so I could quit, and put it behind me." He rose to the highest rank of Eagle Scout. It was through being an Eagle Scout that he was present with other Boy Scouts outside of the White House at the inauguration of President John F. Kennedy, which took place on Lynch's birthday in 1961.

Lynch had become interested in painting and drawing from an early age, becoming intrigued by the idea of pursuing it as a career path when living in Virginia, where his friend's father was a professional painter. At Francis C. Hammond High School in Alexandria, Virginia, he did poorly academically, having little interest in school work, but was popular with other students, and after leaving decided that he wanted to study painting at college, thereby beginning his studies at School of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston in 1964, where he was a roommate of Peter Wolf. Nonetheless, he left after only a year, stating that "I was not inspired AT ALL in that place", and instead deciding that he wanted to travel around Europe for three years with his friend Jack Fisk, who was similarly unhappy with his studies at Cooper Union. They had some hopes that in Europe they could train with the expressionist painter Oskar Kokoschka at his school, however upon reaching Salzburg they found that he was not available, and disillusioned, they returned to the United States after spending only 15 days of their planned three years in Europe.

Philadelphia and short films: 1966–1970

Back in the United States, Lynch returned to Virginia, but since his parents had moved to Walnut Creek, California, he was forced to stay with his friend Tony Keeler for a while, before he decided to move to the city of Philadelphia, where, at the advice of Jack Fisk, who was already attending it, he decided to enroll at the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts, something he preferred far more than his previous art college in Boston, claiming that "In Philadelphia there were great and serious painters, and everybody was inspiring one another and it was a beautiful time there." It was here that he began a relationship with a fellow student, Peggy Reavey, and they were married in 1967. The following year, Peggy gave birth to their child, a girl whom they named Jennifer. Later describing this situation, Peggy stated that "[Lynch] definitely was a reluctant father, but a very loving one. Hey, I was pregnant when we got married. We were both reluctant." As a family, they moved to the Fairmount neighbourhood of Philadelphia, where they were able to purchase a large 12-room house for a relatively low $3,500 due to the high crime and poverty rates in the area. Later describing living there, Lynch stated that "We lived cheap, but the city was full of fear. A kid was shot to death down the street… We were robbed twice, had windows shot out and a car stolen. The house was first broken into only three days after we moved in… The feeling was so close to extreme danger, and the fear was so intense. There was violence and hate and filth. But the biggest influence in my whole life was that city." Meanwhile, in order to help financially support his family alongside his art studies, he took up a job printing engravings.

It was at the Philadelphia Academy that Lynch made his very first short film, which was entitled ''Six Men Getting Sick'' (1966). He had first come up with the idea when he developed a wish to see his paintings move, and he subsequently began discussing the idea of creating an animation with an artist named Bruce Samuelson. When this project never came about, Lynch decided to work on a film alone, and so purchased the cheapest 16mm camera that he could find in order to do so. Taking one of the abandoned upper rooms of the Academy as a working space, he spent $200 – which at the time he felt to be a lot of money – to produce ''Six Men Getting Sick''. Describing the work as "57 seconds of growth and fire, and three seconds of vomit", Lynch played the film on a loop at the Academy's annual end-of-year exhibit, where it shared joint first prize with a painting by Noel Mahaffey. This led to a commission from one of his fellow students, the wealthy H. Barton Wasserman, who offered him $1000 to create a film installation in his home. Spending $450 of that on purchasing a second-hand Bolex camera, Lynch produced a new animated short, but upon getting the film developed, realized that the result was simply a blurred, frameless print. As he would later relate, "So I called up Bart [Wasserman] and said, 'Bart, the film is a disaster. The camera was broken and what I've done hasn't turned out.' And he said, 'Don't worry, David, take the rest of the money and make something else for me. Just give me a print.' End of story."

Using this leftover money, Lynch decided to experiment on making a work that was a mix of animation with live action, producing a four minute short entitled ''The Alphabet'' (1968). The film starred Lynch's wife Peggy as a character known as The Girl, who chants the alphabet to a series of images of horses before dying at the end by haemorrhaging blood all over her bed sheets. Adding a sound effect, Lynch used a broken Uher tape recorder to record the sound of his baby daughter Jennifer crying, creating a distorted sound that Lynch felt to be particularly effective. Later describing where he had got inspiration for this work from, Lynch stated that "Peggy's niece was having a bad dream one night and was saying the alphabet in her sleep in a tormented way. So that's sort of what started ''The Alphabet'' going. The rest of it was just subconscious."

Learning about the newly founded American Film Institute, which gave grants to film makers who could produce for them both a prior work and a script for a new project, Lynch decided to send them a copy of ''The Alphabet'' along with a script that he had written for a new short film, one that would be almost entirely live action, and which would be entitled ''The Grandmother''. The Institute agreed to help finance the work, initially offering him $5000, out of his requested budget of $7,200, but later granting him the further $2,200 which he needed. Starring people he knew from both work and college and filmed in his own house, ''The Grandmother'' revolved around the story of a neglected boy who "grows" a grandmother from a seed to care for him. The film critics Michelle Le Blanc and Colin Odell later remarked that "this film is a true oddity but contains many of the themes and ideas that would filter into his later work, and shows a remarkable grasp of the medium".

Los Angeles and ''Eraserhead'': 1971–1979

In 1971, Lynch moved with his wife and daughter to the city of Los Angeles in California, where he began studying filmmaking at the AFI Conservatory, a place that he would later describe as being "completely chaotic and disorganized, which was great… you quickly learned that if you were going to get something done, you would have to do it yourself. They wanted to let people do their thing." He began writing a script for a proposed work entitled ''Gardenback'', which had "unfolded from this painting I'd done." In this venture he was supported by a number of figures at the Conservatory, who encouraged him to lengthen the script and add in more dialogue, something that he reluctantly agreed to do. Nonetheless, with all the interference on his ''Gardenback'' project, he became fed up with the Conservatory, and announced that he was quitting. Attempting to prevent this, many of the teachers at the centre asked him to reconsider, believing that he was one of their best students, and he finally agreed, albeit on the condition that he could create his own project that would not be interfered with. Feeling that ''Gardenback'' was "wrecked", he instead set about on a new film, which he called ''Eraserhead''.

Despite the fact that the film was planned to be about forty-two minutes long (it would end up being eighty-nine minutes long), the script for ''Eraserhead'' was only 21 pages long, and some of the teachers at the Conservatory were concerned that the film would not be a success with such little dialogue and action. Nonetheless, they agreed not to interfere as they had done with ''Gardenback'', and as such Lynch was able to create the film free from interference. Filming, which began in 1972, took place at night in some abandoned stables, allowing the production team, which was largely Lynch and some of his friends, including Sissy Spacek, Jack Fisk, cinematographer Frederick Elmes and sound designer Alan Splet to set up a camera room, green room, editing room, sets as well as a food room and a bathroom. Initially, funding for the project came from the AFI, who gave Lynch a $10,000 grant, but it was not enough to complete the work, and under pressure from studios after the success of the relatively cheap feature film ''Easy Rider'', they were unable to provide him with any more. Following this, Lynch was also supported by a loan given to him by his father, and by money that he was able to bring in from a paper round that he took up delivering the ''Wall Street Journal''. Not long into the production of ''Eraserhead'', Lynch and his wife Peggy amicably separated and divorced, and so he began living full-time on set. In 1977, Lynch would remarry, this time to a woman named Mary Fisk.

Filmed in black and white, ''Eraserhead'' tells the story of a quiet young man named Henry (Jack Nance) living in a dystopian industrial wasteland, whose girlfriend gives birth to a deformed baby whom she leaves in his care. The baby constantly cries, eventually leading to its accidental death, at which the world itself begins to fall apart. Lynch has consistently refused to either confirm or deny any interpretation of ''Eraserhead'', or to "confess his own thinking behind the many abstractions in the film." Nonetheless, he admits that it was heavily influenced by the fearful mood of Philadelphia, and referred to the film as "my ''Philadelphia Story''".

It was due to the financial problems with the production of ''Eraserhead'' that filming was haphazard, regularly stopping and starting again. It was in one such break in 1974 that Lynch created a short film entitled ''The Amputee'', which revolved around a woman with two amputated legs (played by Jack Nance's wife, Catherine Coulson) reading aloud a letter and having her stumps washed by a doctor (played by Lynch himself).

''Eraserhead'' was finally finished in 1976, after five years of production. Lynch subsequently tried to get the film entered into the Cannes Film Festival, but whilst some reviewers liked it, others felt that it was awful, and so it was not selected for screening. Similarly, reviewers from the New York Film Festival also rejected it, but it was indeed screened at the Los Angeles Film Festival, from where Ben Barenholtz, the distributor of the Elgin Theater, heard about it. He was very supportive of the movie, helping to distribute it around the United States in 1977, and ''Eraserhead'' subsequently became popular on the midnight movie underground circuit, and was later described as one of the most important midnight movies of the seventies along with ''El Topo'', ''Pink Flamingos'', ''The Rocky Horror Picture Show'', ''The Harder They Come'' and ''Night of the Living Dead''. The acclaimed film maker Stanley Kubrick said that it was one of his all-time favorite films.

''The Elephant Man'' and mainstream success: 1980–1982

The cult success of ''Eraserhead'' on the underground circuit led to it being seen by Stuart Cornfeld, an executive producer to the producer Mel Brooks, who later remarked that "I was just 100 per cent blown away… I thought it was the greatest thing I'd ever seen. It was such a cleansing experience." Contacting Lynch, he agreed to help him with his next planned project, a film entitled ''Ronnie Rocket'' for which Lynch had already written a script. Nonetheless, Lynch soon realized that ''Ronnie Rocket'', a film that he described as being about "electricity and a three-foot guy with red hair", was not going to be picked up by any financiers, and so he asked Cornfeld to find him a script written by someone else which he could direct. Cornfeld went away and found him four possible scripts, but upon hearing the title of the first, ''The Elephant Man'', Lynch was already sure that that was the script for him, going on nothing but the title.

''The Elephant Man'' script – written by Chris de Vore and Eric Bergren – was based upon a true story, that of Joseph Merrick, a heavily deformed man living in Victorian London, who was held in a sideshow but was later taken under the care of a London surgeon, Frederick Treves. Lynch wanted to film it, but at the same time also had to make some alterations that would alter the story from true events, but in his view make a better plot. However, in order to do so he would have to get the permission of Mel Brooks, whose company, BrookFilms, would be responsible for production; subsequently Brooks viewed ''Eraserhead'', and after coming out of the screening theatre, embraced Lynch, declaring that "You're a madman, I love you! You're in."

The resulting film, ''The Elephant Man'', starred John Hurt as John Merrick (his name was changed from Joseph), as well as Anthony Hopkins as Frederick Treves. Filming took place in London, and Lynch brought his own distinctively surrealist approach to the film, filming it in color stock black and white, but nonetheless it has been described as "one of the most conventional" of his films. ''The Elephant Man'' was a huge critical and commercial success, and earned eight Academy Award nominations, including Best Director and Best Adapted Screenplay nods for Lynch.

The De Laurentiis films, ''Dune'' and ''Blue Velvet'': 1983–1986

Following on from the success of ''The Elephant Man'', the film maker George Lucas, himself a fan of ''Eraserhead'', offered Lynch the opportunity to direct the third film in his ''Star Wars'' trilogy, ''Return of the Jedi''. Lynch however refused, arguing that Lucas should direct the film himself as the movie should reflect his own vision, not Lynch's take on it. Soon after however, the opportunity to direct another big-budget science fiction epic arose when Dino de Laurentiis of the De Laurentiis Entertainment Group asked him to create a film adaptation of Frank Herbert's science fiction novel ''Dune'' (1965). Lynch agreed, and in doing so was also contractually obliged to produce two other works for the company. He then set about writing a script based upon the original novel, initially with both Chris de Vore and Eric Bergren, and then just by himself when De Laurentiis wasn't happy with their ideas. Lynch also helped build some of the sets, attempting to create "a certain look" for the film, and he particularly enjoyed building the set for the oil planet of Giedi Prime, for which he "used steel, bolts, and porcelain to construct" it.

''Dune'' is set in the far future, when humans live in an interstellar empire run along a feudal system. The main character, Paul Atreides (played by Kyle MacLachlan), is the son of a noble who takes control of the desert planet Arrakis which grows the rare spice melange, the most highly prized commodity in the empire. Lynch however was unhappy with the work, later remarking that "''Dune'' was a kind of studio film. I didn’t have final cut. And, little by little, I was subconsciously making compromises" to his own vision. He produced much footage for the film that was eventually removed out from the final theatrical cut, dramatically condensing the plot. Although De Laurentiis hoped it would be as successful as ''Star Wars'', Lynch's ''Dune'' (1984) was a critical and commercial dud; it had cost $45 million to make, and grossed a mere $27.4 million domestically. Later on, Universal Studios released an "extended cut" of the film for syndicated television, containing almost an hour of cutting-room-floor footage and new narration. Such was not representative of Lynch's intentions, but the studio considered it more comprehensible than the original two-hour version. Lynch objected to these changes and had his name struck from the extended cut, which has "Alan Smithee" credited as the director and "Judas Booth" (a pseudonym which Lynch himself invented, inspired by his own feelings of betrayal) as the screenwriter.

Meanwhile in 1983 he had begun the writing and drawing of a comic strip, ''The Angriest Dog in the World'', which featured unchanging graphics of a tethered dog that was so angry that it could not move, alongside cryptic philosophical references. It ran from 1983 until 1992 in the ''Village Voice'', ''Creative Loafing'' and other tabloid and alternative publications. It was around this period that Lynch also got increasingly interested in photography as an art form, and travelled to northern England to take photos of the degrading industrial landscape, something that he was particularly interested in.

Following on from ''Dune'', Lynch was contractually still obliged to produce two other projects for De Laurentiis: the first of these was a planned sequel, which due to the film's lack of success never went beyond the script stage. The other was a more personal work, based upon a script that Lynch had been working on for some time. Developing from ideas that Lynch had had since 1973, the resulting film, ''Blue Velvet'', was set in the fictional town of Lumberton, USA, and revolves around a college student named Jeffrey Beaumont (Kyle MacLachlan), who finds a severed ear in a field. Subsequently investigating further with the help of friend Sandy (Laura Dern), he uncovers that it is related to a criminal gang led by psychopath Frank Booth (Dennis Hopper), who has kidnapped the husband and child of singer Dorothy Vallens (Isabella Rossellini) and repeatedly subjects her to rape. Lynch himself characterizes the story as "a dream of strange desires wrapped inside a mystery story."

For the film, Lynch decided to include pop songs from the 1950s, including "In Dreams" by Roy Orbison and "Blue Velvet" by Bobby Vinton, the latter of which was largely inspirational for the film, with Lynch stating that "It was the song that sparked the movie… There was something mysterious about it. It made me think about things. And the first things I thought about were lawns – lawns and the neighbourhood." Other music for the film was also produced, this time composed by Angelo Badalamenti, who would go on to produce the music for most of Lynch’s subsequent cinematic works. Dino de Laurentiis loved the film, and it achieved support from some of the early specialist screenings, but the preview screenings to a mainstream audience were instead highly negative, with most of the audience hating the film. Although Lynch had found success previously with ''The Elephant Man'', ''Blue Velvet'''s controversy with audiences and critics introduced him into the mainstream, and became a huge critical and moderate commercial success. The film earned Lynch his second Academy Award nomination for Best Director. Woody Allen, whose film ''Hannah and Her Sisters'' was nominated for Best Picture, said that ''Blue Velvet'' was his favorite film of the year.

''Twin Peaks'', ''Wild at Heart'' and ''Fire Walk With Me'': 1987–1996

During the late 1980s, Lynch had begun to work in television as well as cinema, directing a short piece entitled ''The Cowboy and the Frenchman'' for French television in 1989. Around this time, he met the television producer Mark Frost, who had formerly worked on such projects as the television police series ''Hill Street Blues'', and they decided to start working together on a biopic of singer and actress Marilyn Monroe based upon Anthony Summers's book, ''The Goddess: The Secret Lives of Marilyn Monroe''. Whilst this project never got off the ground, the duo went on to work on a comedy script entitled ''One Saliva Bubble'', but that did not see completion either. It was whilst they were talking in a coffee shop that Lynch and Frost both had the idea of a corpse washing up on the shore of a lake, and using this image as a basis subsequently set about on their third project, which they initially named ''Northwest Passage'' but which would eventually come to fruition as the television series ''Twin Peaks'' (1990–1991). A drama series set in a small Washington town where popular high school student Laura Palmer has been raped and murdered, ''Twin Peaks'' featured FBI Special Agent Dale Cooper (Kyle MacLachlan) as the investigator trying to unearth the killer, and discovering not only the supernatural elements to the murder but also the secrets of many of the local townsfolk – as Lynch himself summed it up, "The project was to mix a police investigation with the ordinary lives of the characters." In plotting out the series, Lynch later related that "[Mark Frost and I] worked together, especially in the initial stages. Later on we started working more apart." They subsequently pitched the series to the ABC Network, who agreed to finance the pilot episode, and once this was completed they also commissioned the first season, which comprised seven episodes.

A second season went into production soon after, which would last for a further 22 episodes. In all, Lynch himself only directed six episodes out of the whole series due to other responsibilities, namely his work on the film ''Wild at Heart'' (see below), but carefully chose those other directors whom he entrusted with the job. Meanwhile, Lynch also appeared in several episodes of the series, acting in the role of deaf FBI agent Gordon Cole. The series was a success, with high viewing figures both in the United States and in many nations abroad, and soon spawned a cult following. Nonetheless, the executives at the ABC Network, believing that public interest in the show was decreasing, insisted that Lynch and Frost reveal who the killer of Laura Palmer was prematurely, something that they only begrudgingly agreed to do, and Lynch has always felt that agreeing to do so is one of his biggest professional regrets. Following the revealing of the murderer and the series' move from Thursday to Saturday night on the ABC Network, ''Twin Peaks'' continued on for several more episodes, but following a ratings drop was cancelled. Lynch, who disliked the direction that the writers and directors had taken in the previous few episodes, chose to direct the final episode, which he ended on a cliffhanger, later stating that "that's not the ending. That's the ending that people were stuck with."

While ''Twin Peaks'' was in production, the Brooklyn Academy of Music asked Lynch and the composer Angelo Badalamenti, who had been responsible for the music in ''Twin Peaks'', to create a theatrical piece which would only be performed twice at their academy in New York City in 1989 as a part of the New Music America Festival. The result was ''Industrial Symphony No. 1: The Dream of the Broken Hearted'', which starred such frequent Lynch collaborators as Laura Dern, Nicolas Cage and Michael J. Anderson as well as containing five songs sung by Julee Cruise. David Lynch produced a fifty-minute video of the performance in 1990. Meanwhile, Lynch was also involved in the creation of various commercials for different companies, including perfume companies like Yves Saint Laurent, Calvin Klein and Giorgio Armani and for the Japanese coffee company Namoi, the latter of which involved a Japanese man searching the town of Twin Peaks for his missing wife.

Whilst still working on the first few episodes of ''Twin Peaks'', Lynch's friend, Monty Montgomery "gave me a book that he wanted to direct as a movie. He asked if I would maybe be executive producer or something, and I said 'That's great, Monty, but what if I read it and fall in love with it and want to do it myself?' And he said, 'In that case, you can do it yourself'." The book was Barry Gifford's novel ''Wild at Heart: The Story of Sailor and Lula'', which told the tale of two lovers on a road trip, and Lynch felt that it was "just exactly the right thing at the right time. The book and the violence in America merged in my mind and many different things happened." With Gifford's support, Lynch set about to adapt the novel into a film, with the result being ''Wild at Heart'', a crime and road movie starring Nicolas Cage as Sailor and Laura Dern as Lula. Describing his plot as a "strange blend" of "a road picture, a love story, a psychological drama and a violent comedy", he altered much from the original novel, changing the ending, and incorporating numerous references to the classic film ''The Wizard of Oz''. Despite receiving a muted response from American critics and viewers, it won the prestigious Palme d'Or at the 1990 Cannes Film Festival.

Following on from the success of ''Wild at Heart'', Lynch decided to return to the world of the now-cancelled ''Twin Peaks'', this time without Mark Frost, to create a film that acted primarily as a prequel but also, in part, as a sequel, with Lynch stating that "I liked the idea of the story going back and forth in time." The result, ''Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me'' (1992), primarily revolved around the last few days in the life of Laura Palmer, and was much "darker" in tone than the television series, having much of the humour removed, and dealing with such topics as incest and murder. Lynch himself stated that the film was about "the loneliness, shame, guilt, confusion and devestation of the victim of incest." ''Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me'' was financed by the company CIBY-2000, and most of the cast of the series agreed to reprise their roles for the film, although some refused, and many were not enthusiastic about the project. The film was, for the most part, a commercial and critical failure in the United States; however, it was a hit in Japan and British critic Mark Kermode (among others) has hailed it as Lynch's "masterpiece".

Meanwhile, Lynch continued working on a series of television shows with Mark Frost. After ''Twin Peaks'', they produced a series of documentaries entitled ''American Chronicles'' (1990) which examined life across the United States, the comedy series ''On the Air'' (1992), which was cancelled after only three episodes had aired, and the three-episode HBO mini-series ''Hotel Room'' (1993) about events that happened in the same hotel room but at different dates in time.

''Lost Highway'', ''The Straight Story'' and ''Mulholland Drive'': 1997–2001

Following his unsuccessful television ventures since ''Twin Peaks'', Lynch returned to making feature films. In 1997 he released the non-linear, noiresque ''Lost Highway'', co-written by Barry Gifford and starring Bill Pullman and Patricia Arquette. The film failed commercially and received a mixed response from critics. However, thanks in part to a soundtrack featuring David Bowie, Marilyn Manson, Rammstein, Nine Inch Nails and The Smashing Pumpkins, it helped gain Lynch a new audience of Generation X viewers.

Following ''Lost Highway'', Lynch went on to work on directing a film from a script written by Mary Sweeney and John E. Roach. The resulting motion picture, ''The Straight Story'', was, like ''The Elephant Man'' before it, based upon a true story, that of Alvin Straight (played in the film by Richard Farnsworth), an elderly man from Laurens, Iowa, who goes on three hundred mile journey to visit his sick brother (played by Harry Dean Stanton) in Mount Zion, Wisconsin, riding the whole way there upon an electric lawnmower. Commenting on why he chose this script, Lynch would simply relate that "that's what I fell in love with next", and displayed his admiration for Straight, describing him as being "like James Dean, except he's old." Once more, Angelo Badalamenti produced the music for the film, although he created instrumentation that was "very different from the kind of score he's done for [Lynch] in the past." Having many differences with most of his work, particularly in that it did not contain any profanities, sexual content or violence, ''The Straight Story'' was rated G (general viewing) by the Motion Picture Association of America, and as such came as "shocking news" to many in the film industry, who were surprised that it "did not disturb, offend or mystify." As Le Blanc and Odell stated, the plot made it "seem as far removed from Lynch's earlier works as could be imagined, but in fact right from the very opening, this is entirely his film – a surreal road movie".

The same year, Lynch approached ABC once again with ideas for a television drama. The network gave Lynch the go-ahead to shoot a two-hour pilot for the series ''Mulholland Drive'', but disputes over content and running time led to the project being shelved indefinitely. However, with seven million dollars from the French production company StudioCanal, Lynch completed the pilot as a film, ''Mulholland Drive''. The film, a non-linear narrative surrealist tale of the dark side of Hollywood, stars Naomi Watts, Laura Harring and Justin Theroux. The film performed relatively well at the box office worldwide and was a critical success, earning Lynch a Best Director prize at the 2001 Cannes Film Festival (shared with Joel Coen for ''The Man Who Wasn't There'') and a Best Director award from the New York Film Critics Association. In addition, Lynch also received his third Academy Award nomination for Best Director.

Internet work and ''Inland Empire'': 2002–present

With the onset of popularity of the internet, Lynch decided to utlilize this new medium, releasing several new series that he had created exclusively on his website, davidlynch.com. In 2002, he created a series of online shorts entitled ''Dumbland''. Intentionally crude both in content and execution, the eight-episode series was later released on DVD. The same year, Lynch released a surreal sitcom via his website – ''Rabbits'', which revolved around a family of humanoid rabbits. Later, he showed his experiments with Digital Video in the form of the Japanese-style horror short ''Darkened Room''.

In 2006, Lynch's feature film ''Inland Empire'' was released. At almost three hours, it was the longest of Lynch's films. Like ''Mulholland Drive'' and ''Lost Highway'' before it, the film did not follow a traditional narrative structure. It starred Lynch regulars Laura Dern, Harry Dean Stanton, and Justin Theroux, with cameos by Naomi Watts and Laura Harring (voices of Suzie and Jane Rabbit), and a performance by Jeremy Irons. Lynch described the piece as "a mystery about a woman in trouble". In an effort to promote the film, Lynch made appearances with a cow and a placard bearing the slogan "Without cheese there would be no ''Inland Empire''".

In 2009, Lynch produced a documentary web series directed by his son, Austin Lynch and friend Jason S. called Interview Project. Interested in working with Werner Herzog, Lynch collaborated with him in 2009 to produce Herzog's film ''My Son, My Son, What Have Ye Done''. Another film with with a nonstandard narrative, the film was based on the true story of an actor who committed matricide whilst acting in a production of the Oresteia, and starred Grace Zabriskie, a Lynch regular.

Lynch plans to direct a documentary on Maharishi Mahesh Yogi consisting of interviews with people who knew him.

In 2010, Lynch began making guest appearances on the ''Family Guy'' spin-off, ''The Cleveland Show'' as Gus the Bartender. He had been convinced to appear in the show by its lead actor, Mike Henry, who is a fan of Lynch's and who felt that his whole life had changed after seeing ''Wild at Heart''.

''Lady Blue Shanghai'', written, directed and edited by Lynch, is a 16-minute promotional film made for Dior and released on the Internet in May 2010.

Lynch directed a concert by English New Wave band Duran Duran on March 23, 2011. The concert was streamed live on YouTube from the Mayan Theater in Los Angeles as the kickoff to the second season of ''Unstaged: An Original Series from American Express''. "The idea is to try and create on the fly, layers of images permeating Duran Duran on the stage," Lynch said. "A world of experimentation and hopefully some happy accidents.”

Cinematic influences and themes

Influences

Lynch admits that his work is more similar in many respects to those of European film makers than American ones, believing that most films that "get down and thrill your soul" were by European directors. Lynch has commented on his admiration for such film makers as Stanley Kubrick, Federico Fellini, Werner Herzog and Jacques Tati. He has also stated that Billy Wilder's ''Sunset Boulevard'' (1950) is one of his favourite films, as is Kubrick's ''Lolita'' (1962).

Recurring motifs

There are several recurring themes within Lynch's work, leading film critics Le Blanc and Odell to state that "his films are so packed with motifs, recurrent characters, images, compositions and techniques that you could view his entire output as one large jigsaw puzzle of ideas". One of the key themes that they noted was the usage of dreams and dreamlike imagery within his works, something they related to the "surrealist ethos" of relying "on the subconscious to provide visual drive". This can be seen in John Merrick's dream of his mother in ''The Elephant Man'', Agent Cooper's dreams of the red room in ''Twin Peaks'' and the "dreamlike logic" of the narrative found in ''Eraserhead'', ''Mulholland Drive'' and ''Inland Empire''. Discussing his attitude to dreams, Lynch has stated that "Waking dreams are the ones that are important, the ones that come when I'm quietly sitting in a chair, letting my mind wander. When you sleep, you don't control your dream. I like to dive into a dream world that I've made or discovered; a world I choose… [You can't really get others to experience it, but] right there is the power of cinema."

Another of Lynch's prominent themes include industry, with repeated imagery of "the clunk of machinery, the power of pistons, shadows of oil drills pumping, screaming woodmills and smoke billowing factories", as can be seen with the industrial wasteland in ''Eraserhead'', the factories in ''The Elephant Man'', the sawmill in ''Twin Peaks'' and the lawn mower in ''The Straight Story''. Describing his interest in such things, Lynch stated that "It makes me feel good to see giant machinery, you know, working: dealing with molten metal. And I like fire and smoke. And the sounds are so powerful. It's just big stuff. It means that things are being made, and I really like that."

Another theme is the idea of a "dark underbelly" of violent criminal activity within a society, such as with Frank's gang in ''Blue Velvet'' and the cocaine smugglers in ''Twin Peaks''. The idea of deformity is also found in several of Lynch's films, from the protagonist in ''The Elephant Man'', to the deformed baby in ''Eraserhead'', as is the idea of death from a head wound, found in most of Lynch's films. Other imagery commonly used within Lynch's works are flickering electrictity or lights, as well as fire and the idea of a stage upon which a singer performs, often surrounded by drapery.

With the exception of ''The Elephant Man'' and ''Dune'', which are set in Victorian London and a fictitious galaxy respectively, all of Lynch's films have been set in the United States, and he has stated that "I like certain things about America and it gives me ideas. When I go around and I see things, it sparks little stories, or little characters pop out, so it just feels right to me to, you know, make American films." A number of his works, including ''Blue Velvet'', ''Twin Peaks'' and ''Lost Highway'' are intentionally reminiscent of the 1950s American culture even though they were set in the later decades of the 20th century. Lynch later commented on his feelings for this decade, which was that in which he grew up as a child, by stating that "It was a fantastic decade in a lot of ways… there was something in the air that is not there any more at all. It was such a great feeling, and not just because I was a kid. It was a really hopeful time, and things were going up instead of going down. You got the feeling you could do anything. The future was bright. Little did we know we were laying the groundwork then for a disastrous future."

Lynch also tends to feature his leading female actors in multiple or "split" roles, so that many of his female characters have multiple, fractured identities. This practice began with his choice to cast Sheryl Lee as both Laura Palmer and her cousin Maddy Ferguson in ''Twin Peaks'' and continued in his later works. In ''Lost Highway'', Patricia Arquette plays the dual role of Renee Madison/Alice Wakefield, while in ''Mulholland Drive'', Naomi Watts plays Diane Selwyn/Betty Elms and Laura Harring plays Camilla Rhodes/Rita and in ''Inland Empire'', Laura Dern plays Nikki Grace/Susan Blue. By contrast, Lynch rarely creates multi-character roles for his male actors.

Recurring collaborators

Lynch is also widely noted for his collaborations with various production artists and composers on his films and multiple different productions. He frequently works with Angelo Badalamenti to compose music for his productions, former wife Mary Sweeney as a film editor, casting director Johanna Ray, and cast members Harry Dean Stanton, Jack Nance, Kyle MacLachlan, Naomi Watts, Isabella Rossellini, Grace Zabriskie, and Laura Dern.

Other art

Painting

Lynch first trained as a painter, and although he is now better known as a filmmaker, he has also produced much painting work. Lynch has stated that "all my paintings are organic, violent comedies. They have to be violently done and primitive and crude, and to achieve that I try to let nature paint more than I paint." Many of his works are very dark in colour, and Lynch has described this as being because "I wouldn't know what to do with [colour]. Colour to me is too real. It's limiting. It doesn't allow too much of a dream. The more you throw black into a colour, the more dreamy it gets… Black has depth. It's like a little egress; you can go into it, and because it keeps on continuing to be dark, the mind kicks in, and a lot of things that are going on in there become manifest. And you start seeing what you're afraid of. You start seeing what you love, and it becomes like a dream."

Many of his works also contain letters and words added to the painting, something which he explains: "The words in the paintings are sometimes important to make you start thinking about what else is going on in there. And a lot of times, the words excite me as shapes, and something'll grow out of that. I used to cut these little letters out and glue them on. They just look good all lined up like teeth... sometimes they become the title of the painting."

Lynch considers the Anglo-Irish 20th century artist Francis Bacon to be his "number one kinda hero painter", stating that "Normally I only like a couple of years of a painter's work, but I like everything of Bacon's. The guy, you know, had the stuff."

Lynch was the subject of a major art retrospective at the Fondation Cartier, Paris from March May 3–27, 2007. The show was entitled ''The Air is on Fire'' and included numerous paintings, photographs, drawings, alternative films and sound work. New site-specific art installations were created specially for the exhibition. A series of events accompanied the exhibition including live performances and concerts. Some of Lynch's art include photographs of dissected chickens and other animals as a "Build your own Chicken" toy ad.

Between 1983 and 1992, Lynch wrote and drew a weekly comic strip called ''The Angriest Dog in the World'' for the ''L.A. Reader''. The drawings in the panels never change, just the captions.

Music

Lynch has also been involved in a number of music projects, many of them related to his films. Most notably he produced and wrote lyrics for Julee Cruise's first two albums, ''Floating into the Night'' (1989) and ''The Voice of Love'' (1993), in collaboration with Angelo Badalamenti who composed the music and also produced. Lynch has also worked on the 1998 Jocelyn Montgomery album ''Lux Vivens''. He has also composed bits of music for ''Wild at Heart'', ''Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me'', ''Mulholland Drive'', and ''Rabbits''. In 2001, he released ''BlueBob'', a rock album performed by Lynch and John Neff. The album is notable for Lynch's unusual guitar playing style: he plays "upside down and backwards, like a lap guitar", and relies heavily on effects pedals. Most recently Lynch has composed several pieces for ''Inland Empire'', including two songs, "Ghost of Love" and "Walkin' on the Sky", in which he makes his public debut as a singer. In 2009, his new book-CD set Dark Night of the Soul was released. In 2008, he started his own record label called David Lynch MC on which its first release ''Fox Bat Strategy: A Tribute to Dave Jaurequi'' was released in early 2009. In August 2009, it was announced that he was releasing Afghani/American singer Ariana Delawari's ''Lion of Panjshir'' album in conjunction with Manimal Vinyl Records in October 2009.

In November 2010, Lynch released two electro pop music singles, "Good Day Today" and "I Know", through the independent British label Sunday Best Recordings. Describing why he created them, he stated that "I was just sitting and these notes came and then I went down and started working with Dean [Hurley, his engineer] and then these few notes, 'I want to have a good day, today' came and the song was built around that". His forthcoming album of solo electro-pop will be called ''Crazy Clown Time'' and features guest vocals on one song by Karen O of the Yeah Yeah Yeahs.

In April 2011, Interpol performed live at the Coachella music festival with an animated short film collaboration with Lynch playing in the background, The video 'I Touch a red button' has the Interpol Song 'Lights' accompanying the clip throughout.

Personal life

Lynch has had several long-term relationships. In 1967, he married Peggy Lentz in Chicago, Illinois. They had one child, Jennifer Chambers Lynch, born in 1968, who is a film director. They filed for divorce in 1974. On June 21, 1977, Lynch married Mary Fisk, and the couple had one child, Austin Jack Lynch, born in 1982. They divorced in 1987, and Lynch began dating Isabella Rossellini after filming ''Blue Velvet''. Lynch and Rossellini broke up in 1991, and Lynch developed a relationship with Mary Sweeney, with whom he had one son, Riley Lynch, in 1992. Sweeney also worked as Lynch's longtime film editor/producer and co-wrote and produced ''The Straight Story''. The two married in May 2006, but divorced that July. Lynch married actress Emily Stofle, who appeared in his 2006 film ''Inland Empire'', in February, 2009.

Politically, Lynch has stated that he admired former president Ronald Reagan. He was drawn to Reagan for his "cowboy" image and belief in personal freedom. However, Lynch endorsed the Natural Law Party in the 2000 presidential election and has said that he's "not a political person".

Transcendental Meditation

Lynch advocates the use of meditation techniques in bringing peace to the world. He was first initiated into Transcendental Meditation in July 1973, and has practiced the technique consistently since then. Lynch says he met Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, the founder of the TM movement, for the first time in 1975 at the Spiritual Regeneration Movement center in Los Angeles, California. He reportedly became close with Maharishi during a month-long "Millionaire's Enlightenment Course" held in 2003, the fee for which was 1 million.

In July 2005, he launched the David Lynch Foundation For Consciousness-Based Education and Peace, established to help finance scholarships for students in middle and high schools who are interested in learning the Transcendental Meditation technique and to fund research on the technique and its effects on learning. He promotes his vision on college campuses with tours that began in September 2005.

Lynch is working for the building and establishment of seven buildings, in which 8,000 salaried people will practice advanced meditation techniques, "pumping peace for the world". He estimates the cost at $7 billion. As of December 2005, he had spent $400,000 of personal money, and raised $1 million in donations. In December 2006, the ''New York Times'' reported that he continued to have that goal.

Lynch's book, ''Catching the Big Fish'' (Tarcher/Penguin 2006), discusses the impact of the Transcendental Meditation technique on his creative process. He is donating all author's royalties to the David Lynch Foundation.

Lynch attended the funeral of the Maharishi in India in 2008. He told a reporter, "In life, he revolutionised the lives of millions of people. ... In 20, 50, 500 years there will be millions of people who will know and understand what the Maharishi has done." In 2009, he went to India to film interviews with people who knew the Maharishi as part of a biographical documentary.

In 2009, Lynch organized a benefit concert at Radio City Music Hall for the David Lynch Foundation. On April 4, 2009, the "Change Begins Within" concert featured Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr, Donovan, Sheryl Crow, Eddie Vedder, Moby, Bettye LaVette, Ben Harper, and Mike Love of the Beach Boys.

''David Wants to Fly'', released in May 2010, is a documentary by German filmmaker David Sieveking "that follows the path of his professional idol, David Lynch, into the world of Transcendental Meditation (TM)."

An independent project starring Lynch is called ''Beyond The Noise: My Transcendental Meditation Journey.'' It is directed by young film student Dana Farley, who has severe Dyslexia and Attention deficit disorder. Farley started Transcendental Meditation when she was 16 and it enabled her to overcome the stresses of getting through her last years of high school and into college. Filmmaker Kevin Sean Michaels is one of the producers and the film will be at film festivals in 2011.

Website

Lynch designed his personal website, a site exclusive to paying members, where he posts short videos and his absurdist series ''Dumbland'', plus interviews and other items. The site also featured a daily weather report, where Lynch gives a brief description of the weather in Los Angeles, where he resides. Until June 2010, this weather report (usually no longer than 30 seconds) was also being broadcast, on his personal YouTube-channel ''David Lynch – Daily Weather Report''. An absurd ringtone ("I like to kill deer") from the website was a common sound bite on ''The Howard Stern Show'' in early 2006.

Lynch is an avid coffee drinker and even has his own line of special organic blends available for purchase on his website. Called "David Lynch Signature Cup", the coffee has been advertised via flyers included with several recent Lynch-related DVD releases, including ''Inland Empire'' and the Gold Box edition of ''Twin Peaks''. The possibly self-mocking tag-line for the brand is "It's all in the beans ... and I'm just full of beans." This is also a quote of a line said by Justin Theroux's character in ''Inland Empire''.

Discography

Eraserhead (Original Soundtrack)

Twin Peaks: Season Two Music And More

The Air is on Fire (Exhibition Soundscape) (2007)

Polish Night Music (2007)

Ghost of Love - single (2007)

Good Day Today / I Know - single (2010)

Crazy Clown Time (2011)

Filmography

Features

''The Elephant Man (film) ''Dune (film) ''Blue Velvet (film) ''Wild at Heart (film) ''Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me'' ''Lost Highway (1997 film) ''The Straight Story'' ''Mulholland Drive (film) ''Inland Empire (film)

rowspan=2	Year	Film	! colspan=2	BAFTA		! colspan=2	Cannes Film Festival
Nominations	Wins		Nominations	Wins	Nominations	Wins	Nominations	Wins
1977	''Eraserhead''	|
1980	The Elephant Man'' ||	8		7	3	4
1984	Dune'' ||	1
1986	Blue Velvet'' ||	1				2
1990	Wild at Heart'' ||	1		1		1		Palme d'Or	Palme d'Or
1992	|							Palme d'Or
1997	Lost Highway'' ||
1999	|	1				2		Palme d'Or
2001	Mulholland Drive'' ||	1		2	1	4		Palme d'Or	Best Director
2006	Inland Empire'' ||

Short films

Year	! Film	! Available
1966	''Six Men Getting Sick''	''The Short Films of David Lynch''
1967	''Absurd Encounter with Fear''
1967	''Fictitious Anacin Commercial''
1968	''The Alphabet''
1970	''The Grandmother''
1974	''The Amputee''
1988	''The Cowboy and the Frenchman''
1990	''Industrial Symphony No. 1: The Dream of the Broken Hearted''
1995	''Premonitions Following an Evil Deed''
2002	''Darkened Room''
2006
2007	Boat (2007 film)>Boat''
2007	''Bug Crawls''
2008	''Scissors''
2010	''Lady Blue Shanghai''

Television series

!Year	!Series	!Episodes
1990–1991	''Twin Peaks''	30
1992		7
1993	''Hotel Room''	3

Online series

!Year	!Series	!Episodes	!Available on DVD
2002		8	The Lime Green Set DVD
2002	''Dumbland''	8	The Lime Green Set DVD
	''Out Yonder''		The Lime Green Set DVD
2009	''Interview Project''

Music videos

!Year	!Song	!Musician
1982	''I Predict''
1990	''Wicked Game'' (film version)	Chris Isaak
1992		Michael Jackson
1995
1996		Rammstein
2009	''Shot in the Back of the Head''	Moby

Other

In October, 2008, at the OMMA Video Conference, Jen Gregono, chief content officer at On Networks, announced that her company signed Lynch to a webisode series based on his book, ''Catching the Big Fish: Meditation, Consciousness and Creativity''.

Awards and nominations

'''Academy Awards:

1980: Best Director and Best Adapted Screenplay (''The Elephant Man'', nominated)

1987: Best Director (''Blue Velvet'', nominated)

2002: Best Director (''Mulholland Dr.'', nominated)

'''BAFTA Awards:

1981: Best Direction (''The Elephant Man'', nominated)

1981: Best Screenplay (''The Elephant Man'', nominated)

'''Cannes Film Festival:

1990: Golden Palm (''Wild at Heart'', won)

1992: Golden Palm (''Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me'', nominated)

1999: Golden Palm (''The Straight Story'', nominated)

2001: Best Director (''Mulholland Dr.'', won Tied with Joel Coen for ''The Man Who Wasn't There)

2001: Golden Palm (''Mulholland Dr.'', nominated)

'''DGA Award:

1981: Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Motion Pictures (''The Elephant Man'', nominated)

'''Emmy Awards:

1990: Outstanding Achievement in Main Title Theme Music (''Twin Peaks'', nominated)

1990: Outstanding Achievement in Music and Lyrics (''Twin Peaks'' for the song "Into the Night", nominated)

1990: Outstanding Directing in a Drama Series (''Twin Peaks'' for the pilot episode, nominated)

1990: Outstanding Writing in a Drama Series (''Twin Peaks'' for the pilot episode, nominated)

1990: Outstanding Drama Series (''Twin Peaks'')

'''Golden Globes:

1980: Best Director (''The Elephant Man'', nominated)

1987: Best Screenplay (''Blue Velvet'', nominated)

2002: Best Director (''Mulholland Dr.'', nominated)

2002: Best Screenplay (''Mulholland Dr.'', nominated)

'''Independent Spirit Awards:

1987: Best Director (''Blue Velvet'', nominated)

1987: Best Screenplay (''Blue Velvet'', nominated)

2000: Best Director (''The Straight Story'', nominated)

2007: Special Distinction Award (Shared with Laura Dern for their collaborative work, won)

'''Saturn Awards:

1993: Best Writing (''Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me'', nominated)

1993: Life Career Award (won)

2002: Best Director (''Mulholland Dr.'', nominated)

'''Venice Film Festival:

2006: Future Film Festival Digital Award (''Inland Empire'' won)

2006: Career Golden Lion (won)

'''WGA Award:

1981: Best Drama Adapted from Another Medium (''The Elephant Man'', nominated)

1987: Best Original Screenplay (''Blue Velvet'', nominated)

Recurring cast

Lynch has cast certain actors in multiple films. ''The Elephant Man'' is not listed because it does not include any collaborated actors.

!	! ''Eraserhead''	Dune (film)>Dune''	Blue Velvet (film)>BlueVelvet''	Wild at Heart (film)>Wild atHeart''	Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me>Twin Peaks: FireWalk with Me''	Lost Highway (1997 film)>Lost Highway''	The Straight Story>The StraightStory''	Mulholland Drive (film)>MulhollandDrive''	Inland Empire (film)>InlandEmpire''
Jeanne Bates
Laura Dern
Jack Fisk
Laura Harring
Diane Ladd
Sheryl Lee
Kyle MacLachlan
Jack Nance
Isabella Rossellini
Harry Dean Stanton
Charlotte Stewart
Dean Stockwell
Justin Theroux
Naomi Watts

References

;Notes

;Footnotes

;Bibliography }}

''David Lynch: Interviews'', a collection of interviews with Lynch from 1977 to 2008, edited by Richard A. Barney for the series Conversations with Filmmakers (University Press of Mississippi, 2009, ISBN 978-1-60473-237-5 [paperback], ISBN 978–1604732369 [hardback]). This volume covers topics that include Lynch's filmmaking, furniture design, painting, and music career.

''Lynch on Lynch'', a book of interviews with Lynch, conducted, edited, and introduced by filmmaker Chris Rodley (Faber & Faber Ltd., 1997, ISBN 0–571–19548–2; revised edition published by Farrar Straus & Giroux, 2005, ISBN 0–571–22018–5).

''The Passion of David Lynch: Wild at Heart in Hollywood'' by Martha Nochimson (University of Texas Press, 1997, ISBN 0–292–75565–1).

''The Complete Lynch'' by David Hughes (Virgin Virgin, 2002, ISBN 0–7535–0598–3).

''Weirdsville U.S.A.: The Obsessive Universe of David Lynch'' by Paul A. Woods (Plexus Publishing. UK, Reprint edition, 2000, ISBN 0–85965–291–2).

''David Lynch'' (Twayne's Filmmakers Series) by Kenneth C. Kaleta (Twayne Publishers, 1992, ISBN 0–8057–9323–2).

''Pervert in the Pulpit: Morality in the Works of David Lynch'' by Jeff Johnson (McFarland & Company, 2004, ISBN 0–7864–1753–6).

''Catching the Big Fish: Meditation, Consciousness, and Creativity'' by David Lynch (Jeremy P. Tarcher, 2006, ISBN 978-1-58542-540-2 / 978–1585425402).

''Snowmen'' by David Lynch (Foundation Cartier pour l'art contemporain, Paris, 2008, ISBN 978–3–86521–467–6).

''David Lynch: Beautiful Dark'' by Greg Olson (Scarecrow Press, 2008, ISBN 0–8108–5917–3).

''The Film Paintings of David Lynch: Challenging Film Theory'' by Allister Mactaggart (Intellect, 2010, ISBN 978–1–84150–332–5).

''David Lynch – Un cinéma du maléfique'', by Enrique Seknadje, Editions Camion Noir, 2010. ISBN 978–2–35779–086–5

''David Lynch in Theory'', a collection of essays edited by Francois-Xavier Gleyzon (Charles University Press, 2010) ISBN 978–80–7308–317–5.

External links

David Lynch Foundation : Education : Transcendental Meditation

World of David Lynch

David Lynch at Allmovie

David Lynch at Moviefone

David Lynch at Rotten Tomatoes

Site about the Artwork of Lynch

Bibliography of books and articles about Lynch via UC Berkeley Media Resources Center

Interviews

* Film Threat interview

* Wired interview

* Guardian interview

* Interviews for Cinefantastique

Category:1946 births Category:American artists Category:American animators Category:American comic strip cartoonists Category:American composers Category:American experimental filmmakers Category:American film directors Category:American Film Institute Conservatory alumni Category:American musicians Category:American painters Category:American Presbyterians Category:César Award winners Category:Eagle Scouts Category:Surrealist filmmakers Category:American people of Finnish descent Category:Living people Category:People from Missoula, Montana Category:Transcendental Meditation practitioners Category:Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts alumni Category:People from Los Angeles, California Category:Officiers of the Légion d'honneur

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name	King David
title	King of Israel
reign	over Judah c. 1010–1003 BC; over Judah and Israel c. 1003–970 BC
predecessor	Saul (Judah), Ish-bosheth (Israel)
successor	Solomon
consort	Michal, Ahinoam, Abigail, Maachah, Haggith, Abital, Eglah, Bathsheba and Abishag
royal house	House of David (new house)
father	Jesse
mother	not named in the Bible; identified by the Talmud as Nitzevet, daughter of Adael.
birth date	c. 1040 BC
birth place	Bethlehem
death date	c. 970 BC
death place	Jerusalem
buried	}}

David (; ISO 259-3 ''Dawid''; Strong's ''Daveed''; beloved; or ‎ '''') was the second king of the united Kingdom of Israel according to the Hebrew Bible and, according to the Gospels of Matthew and Luke, an ancestor of Jesus Christ through both Saint Joseph and Mary. He is depicted as a righteous king, although not without fault, as well as an acclaimed warrior, musician and poet, traditionally credited for composing many of the psalms contained in the Book of Psalms.

Edwin Thiele dates his life to c. 1040–970 BC, his reign over Judah c. 1010–1003 BC, and his reign over the united Kingdom of Israel c. 1003–970 BC. The Books of Samuel, 1 Kings, and 1 Chronicles are the only source of information on his life and reign, although the Tel Dan stele may record the existence in the mid-9th century of a Judean royal dynasty called the "House of David", although this is disputed.

David's life is very important to Jewish, Christian, and Islamic culture. In Judaism, David, or David HaMelekh, is the King of Israel, and the Jewish people. A direct descendant of David will be the Messiah. In Islam, he is known as ''Dawud'', considered to be a prophet and the king of a nation.

Biblical narrative

David is chosen of God

God withdrew his favour from Saul, king of Israel. ''It repenteth me that I have set up Saul to be king: for he is turned back from following me, and has not performed my commandments. 1 Samuel 15:11'' The prophet Samuel seeks a new king from the sons of Jesse of Bethlehem. Seven of Jesse's sons pass before Samuel, but Samuel says "The LORD has not chosen these." He then asks "Are these all the sons you have?" and Jesse answers, "There is still the youngest but he is tending the sheep." David is brought to Samuel, and "the LORD said, 'Rise and anoint him; he is the one.'"

David at the court of Saul

God sends an evil spirit to torment Saul,''1 Samuel 16:14'', and his attendants suggest he send for David, a young warrior famed for his bravery and for his skill with the harp. Saul does so and makes David one of his armor-bearers and "whenever the spirit from God came upon Saul, David would take his harp and play. Then relief would come to Saul; he would feel better, and the evil spirit would leave him."

David and Goliath

The Israelites, under King Saul, face the Philistines in the Valley of Elah. The boy David is bringing food to his older brothers who are with Saul. He hears the Philistine giant Goliath challenging the Israelites to send their own champion to decide the outcome in single combat. David tells Saul he is prepared to face Goliath and Saul allows him to make the attempt. He is victorious, striking Goliath in the forehead with a stone from his sling. Goliath falls, and David kills him with his own sword and beheads him; the Philistines flee in terror. Saul sends to know the name of the young champion, and David tells him that he is the son of Jesse.

King Saul and David

Saul makes David a commander over his armies and offers him his daughter Michal in marriage for bringing more than 200 foreskins of the Philistines to him. David is successful in many battles, and his popularity awakes Saul's fears — "What more can he have but the kingdom?" By various stratagems the jealous king seeks his death, but the plots only endear David the more to the people, and especially to Saul's son Jonathan, who loves David (1 Samuel 18:1, 2 Samuel 1:25-26). Warned by Jonathan, David flees into the wilderness, where he gathers a band of followers and becomes the champion of the oppressed while evading the pursuit of Saul. He accepts the town of Ziklag as a chief from the Philistine king Achish of Gath, but continues secretly to champion the Israelites. Achish marches against Saul, but David is excused from the war on the accusation of the Philistine nobles that his loyalty to their cause cannot be trusted.

David becomes king

Jonathan and Saul are killed in battle with the Philistines at Mount Gilboa. David mourns their deaths, especially that of Jonathan, his friend, and then goes up to Hebron, where he is anointed king over Judah; in the north, Saul's son Ish-Bosheth is king of the tribes of Israel. War ensues between Ish-Bosheth and David, until Ish-Bosheth is murdered. The assassins bring the head of Ish-Bosheth to David hoping for reward, but David executes them for their crime against the Lord's anointed. Yet with the death of the son of Saul, the elders of Israel come to Hebron, and David, 30 years old, is anointed King over Israel and Judah.

Jerusalem and the Davidic Covenant

David conquers the Jebusite fortress of Jerusalem, and makes it his capital, and "Hiram king of Tyre sent messengers to David, and cedar trees, also carpenters and masons who built David a house." David brings the Ark of the Covenant to Jerusalem, intending to build a temple, but God, speaking to the prophet Nathan, forbids it, saying the temple must wait for a future generation. God makes a covenant with David, promising that he will establish the house of David eternally: "Your throne shall be established forever."

With God's help David is victorious over his people's enemies. The Philistines are subdued, the Moabites to the east pay tribute, along with Hadadezer of Zobah, from whom David takes gold shields and bronze vessels.

Bathsheba and Uriah the Hittite

David commits adultery with Bathsheba, the wife of Uriah the Hittite. Bathsheba becomes pregnant. David sends for Uriah, who is with the Israelite army at the siege of Rabbah, so that he may lie with his wife and conceal the identity of the child's father. Uriah refuses to do so while his companions are in the field of battle and David sends him back to Joab, the commander, with a message instructing him to abandon Uriah on the battlefield, "that he may be struck down, and die." David marries Bathsheba and she bears his child, "but the thing that David had done displeased the Lord." The prophet Nathan confronts David, saying: "Why have you despised the word of God, to do what is evil in his sight? You have smitten Uriah the Hittite with the sword, and have taken his wife to be your wife." Nathan presents three punishments from God for this sin. First, that the "sword shall never depart from your house" (2 Samuel 12:10) second, that "Before your very eyes I will take your wives and give them to one who is close to you, and he will sleep with your wives in broad daylight. 12 You did it in secret, but I will do this thing in broad daylight before all Israel., (2 Samuel 12:12) and finally, that "the son born to you will die" (2 Samuel 12:14). David repents, yet God "struck the [David's] child ... and it became sick ... [And] on the seventh day the child died." David leaves his lamentations, dresses himself, and eats. His servants ask why he wept when the baby was alive, but ends his mourning when the child dies. David replies: "While the child was still alive, I fasted and wept. I thought, 'Who knows? The may be gracious to me and let the child live.' But now that he is dead, why should I fast? Can I bring him back again? I will go to him, but he will not return to me." (2 Samuel 12:22-23, New International Version).

David's son Absalom rebels

David's son Absalom rebels against his father, and they come to battle in the Wood of Ephraim. Absalom is caught by his hair in the branches of an oak and David’s general Joab kills him as he hangs there. When the news of the victory is brought to David he does not rejoice, but is instead shaken with grief: "O my son Absalom, my son, my son Absalom! Would I had died instead of you, O Absalom, my son, my son!"

The old age of David

When David has become old and bedridden, Adonijah, his eldest surviving son and natural heir, declares himself king. Bathsheba, David's favorite wife, and Nathan the prophet, fearing that they will be killed by Adonijah, go to David and procure his agreement that Solomon, Bathsheba's son, should sit on the throne. And so the plans of Adonijah collapse, and Solomon becomes king. It is to Solomon that David gives his final instructions, including his promise that the line of Solomon and David will inherit the throne of Judah forever, and his request that Solomon kill his oldest enemies on his behalf. David dies and is buried in the City of David, having ruled forty years over Israel, seven in Hebron and thirty-three in Jerusalem.

David the Musician

In various biblical passages, David is referred to as “the favorite of the songs of Israel,” the one who soothed Saul with music, and the founder of Temple singing. A Psalms scroll from the Dead Sea Scrolls (11QPs^a) attributes 3600 tehilim (songs of praise) plus other compositions to David. Seventy-three of the 150 Psalms in the Bible are attributed to David. The supreme kingship of Yahweh is the most pervasive theological concept in the book of Psalms, and many psalms attributed to David are directed to Yahweh by name, whether in praise or petition, suggesting a relationship. According to the Midrash Tehillim, King David was prompted to the Psalms by the Holy Spirit that rested upon him.

In addition to ascribing authorship to David, several Psalms are identified with specific events in David’s life. Psalm 34 is attributed to David on the occasion of his escape from the Abimelech (king) Achish by pretending to be insane. According to the narrative in 1 Samuel 21, instead of killing the man who had exacted so many casualties from him, Abimelech allows David to depart, exclaiming, “Am I so short of madmen that you have to bring this fellow here to carry on like this in front of me? Must this man come into my house?" Psalm 34 is one of seven acrostic Psalms in the original Hebrew; most English translations do not retain the acrostic form. The first part of Psalm 34 is directed toward Yahweh in complete and humble gratitude (David does not even mention his own royal status); the second part confidently directs others to Yahweh. encamps around those who fear him, and delivers them … Come, O children, listen to me; I will teach you the fear of the . | Psalm 34:6-7,11 (ESV)}}

In contrast, Psalm 18 is not related to a specific incident but rather to God’s faithful deliverance from “all of his enemies and from the hand of Saul.” The text of this Psalm was thought to date to the 10th century BC even before the discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls and is very similar to that of 2 Samuel 22. In this Psalm, David recalls being in deadly situations: “The cords of death entangled me, the torrents of destruction overwhelmed me.” He cries out to God for help, and God rescues David.

The Scottish theologian Samuel Rutherford (1600–1661) notes that crying out to God is mentioned in many Psalms attributed to David. He comments, “Fervour is a heavenly ingredient in prayer. An arrow drawn with full strength hath a speedier issue.” The Midrash Tehillim teaches from Psalm 4 “that the mere mechanical application to the Throne of Mercy is not efficacious is plainly seen from the words of King David, who says God is nigh to all that call upon Him, and … he adds the important words, 'to those who call upon Him ''in truth''.'”

According to Psalm 40, David’s cries to God were heartfelt though not necessarily impatient; the poignant combination of a cry for help with a confident expression of faith echo today in the song “40” by the rock group U2 and that encapsulates David’s experience with his God: ; he turned to me and heard my cry. He lifted me out of the slimy pit, out of the mud and mire; he set my feet on a rock and gave me a firm place to stand. He put a new song in my mouth, a hymn of praise to our God. Many will see and fear and put their trust in the . | Psalm 40:1-3 (NIV)}}

Religions and David

David in Judaism

Name	King David the Prophet
Birth date	c. 1040 B.C.E.
Death date	c. 970 B.C.E.
Venerated in	JudaismChristianityIslamBaha'ism
Birth place	Bethlehem
Death place	Jerusalem
Titles	Holy Monarch, Prophet, Reformer, Spiritual Poet & Musician, Vicegerent of God, Psalm-Receiver
Attributes	Psalms, Harp, Head of Goliath
Prayer attrib	}}

David is an important figure in Judaism. Historically, David's reign represented the formation of a coherent Jewish kingdom centered in Jerusalem. David is an important figure within the context of Jewish messianism. In the Hebrew Bible, it is written that a human descendant of David will occupy the throne of a restored kingdom and usher in a messianic age.

David is also viewed as a tragic figure; his acquisition of Bathsheba, and the loss of his son are viewed as his central tragedies.

Many legends have grown around the figure of David. According to one Rabbinic tradition, David was raised as the son of his father Jesse and spent his early years herding his father's sheep in the wilderness while his brothers were in school. Only at his anointing by Samuel - when the oil from Samuel's flask turned to diamonds and pearls - was his true identity as Jesse's son revealed. David's adultery with Bathsheba was only an opportunity to demonstrate the power of repentance, and some Talmudic authors stated that it was not adultery at all, quoting a Jewish practice of divorce on the eve of battle. Furthermore, according to David's apologists, the death of Uriah was not to be considered murder, on the basis that Uriah had committed a capital offence by refusing to obey a direct command from the King.

According to midrashim, Adam gave up 70 years of his life for the life of David. Also, according to the Talmud Yerushalmi, David was born and died on the Jewish holiday of Shavuot (Feast of Weeks). His piety was said to be so great that his prayers could bring down things from Heaven.

David in Christianity

Originally an earthly king ruling by divine appointment ("the anointed one", as the title Messiah had it), the "son of David" became in the last two pre-Christian centuries the apocalyptic and heavenly who would deliver Israel and usher in a new kingdom. This was the background to the concept of Messiahship in early Christianity, which interpreted the career of Jesus "by means of the titles and functions assigned to David in the mysticism of the Zion cult, in which he served as priest-king and in which he was the mediator between God and man." The early Church believed that "the life of David [foreshadowed] the life of Christ; Bethlehem is the birthplace of both; the shepherd life of David points out Christ, the Good Shepherd; the five stones chosen to slay Goliath are typical of the five wounds; the betrayal by his trusted counsellor, Achitophel, and the passage over the Cedron remind us of Christ's Sacred Passion. Many of the Davidic Psalms, as we learn from the New Testament, are clearly typical of the future Messiah." In the Middle Ages, "Charlemagne thought of himself, and was viewed by his court scholars, as a 'new David'. [This was] not in itself a new idea, but [one whose] content and significance were greatly enlarged by him." The linking of David to earthly kingship was reflected in later Medieval cathedral windows all over Europe through the device of the Tree of Jesse its branches demonstrating how divine kingship descended from Jesse, through his son David, to Jesus.

Western Rite churches (Roman Catholic, Lutheran) celebrate his feast day on 29 December, Eastern-rite on 19 December. The Eastern Orthodox Church and Eastern Catholic Church celebrate the feast day of the "Holy Righteous Prophet and King David" on the Sunday of the Holy Forefathers (two Sundays before the Great Feast of the Nativity of the Lord), when he is commemorated together with other ancestors of Jesus. He is also commemorated on the Sunday after the Nativity, together with Joseph and James, the Brother of the Lord.

David in Islam

''Main article Islamic view of David''

David (Arabic داود, ''Dāwūd'') is a highly important figure in Islam as one of the major prophets sent by God to guide the nation of Israel. David is mentioned several times in the Qur'an, often with his son Solomon. In the Qur'an: David kills Goliath (II: 251) and God grants him kingship and wisdom and enforces it (XXXVIII: 20). David is made God's "vicegerent on earth" (XXXVIII: 26) and God further gives David sound judgment (XXI: 78; XXXVII: 21-24, 26) as well as the Psalms, which are regarded as books of divine wisdom (IV: 163; XVII, 55). The birds and mountains unite with David in ushering praise to God (XXI: 79; XXXIV: 10; XXXVIII: 18), while God instructs David in the art of fashioning chain-mail out of iron (XXXIV: 10; XXI: 80). Together with Solomon, David gives judgment in a case of damage to the fields (XXI: 78) and David judges in the matter between two disputants in his prayer chamber (XXXVIII: 21-23). There is no mention in the Qur'an of the wrong David did to Uriah nor is there any reference to Bathsheba, and therefore Muslims reject this narrative.

Muslim tradition and the ''hadith'' stress David's zeal in daily prayer as well as in fasting. Qur'an commentators, historians and compilers of the numerous ''Stories of the Prophets'' elaborate upon David's concise Qur'anic narratives and specifically mention David's gift in singing his Psalms as well as his beautiful musical and vocal talents. His voice is described as having had a captivating power, weaving its influence not only over man but over all beasts and nature, who would unite with him to praise God.

David in Baha'i Faith

David is described as a minor prophet who came in the shadow of the dispensation of Moses to develop and consolidate the process he set in motion.

David in the LDS Faith

The Doctrine and Covenants of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints cites David as one directed by God to practise polygamy, but who sinned in committing adultery with Bathsheba and having Uriah killed. The LDS doctrine is that polygamy is only allowed as directed by the Lord, otherwise it is a grievous sin. Since 1898 the LDS church has prohibited the practice of polygamy by its members.

Historicity of David

''See The Bible and history and dating the Bible for a more complete description of the general issues surrounding the Bible as a historical source.''

Archaeological evidence

Tel Dan Stele and Mesha Stele

A fragment of an Aramaean victory stele discovered in 1993 at Tel Dan and dated c.850-835 BC contains a phrase (bytdwd). Because ancient Aramaic script does not contain vowels, different readings are possible. Scholars agree that the first part should be read (beyt), meaning "house". However, the second part can be read as 1) (dod), which means "uncle" or "beloved" or as 2) (David). The phrase therefore can mean either "House of the beloved", "House of the uncle" or "House of David". Since the stele recounts the victory of an Aramean king over "the king of Israel" the translation of "" as "the House of David" is not illogical. The Mesha Stele from Moab, dating from approximately the same period, may also contain the name David, in two places: in line 12, where the interpretation is uncertain, and בת[ד]וד in line 31, where one destroyed letter must be supplied (here it is bracketed in the middle). Kenneth Kitchen has proposed that an inscription of c. 945 BC by the Egyptian Pharaoh Shoshenq I mentions "the highlands of David." Although a reference to King David in this geographical name is not certain, some scholars suggest it is reasonable.

City of David and Judah, ca. 1000 BC onward

The Bronze and Iron Age remains of the City of David, the original urban core of Jerusalem identified with the reigns of David and Solomon, were investigated extensively in the 1970s and 1980s under the direction of Yigal Shiloh of the Hebrew University, but failed to discover significant evidence of occupation during the 10th century BC, In 2005, Eilat Mazar found a Large Stone Structure which she claimed was David's Palace, but the archaeology is contaminated and impossible to date accurately. Finkelstein and Silberman feel the archaeological evidence from surface surveys indicates that Judah at the time of David was a small tribal kingdom, although both do accept that David and Solomon were likely historical figures in Judah about the 10th century BC (describing David as a "bandit leader").

The biblical account

The biblical account about David comes from the book of Samuel and the book of Chronicles (both of which are divided into two books in Jewish and Christian traditions). (Although almost half of the Psalms are headed "A Psalm of David", the headings are later additions, and no psalm can be attributed to David with certainty). Chronicles merely retells Samuel from a different theological vantage point, and contains little if any information not available there, and the biblical evidence for David is therefore dependent almost exclusively on the material contained in the chapters from 1 Samuel 16 to 1 Kings 2.

Since Martin Noth put forward his analysis of the Deuteronomistic History biblical scholars have accepted that these two books form part of a continuous history of Israel, compiled no earlier than the late 7th century BC, but incorporating earlier works and fragments. Samuel's account of David "seems to have undergone two separate acts of editorial slanting. The original writers show a strong bias against Saul, and in favour of David and Solomon. Many years later, the Deuteronomists edited the material in a manner that conveyed their religious message, inserting reports and anecdotes that strengthened their monotheistic doctrine. Some of the materials in Samuel I and II, notably the boundary, allotment and administrative lists are believed to be very early, since they correspond closely to what we know of the territorial conditions of the late Davidic-early Solomonic period.

Beyond this, the full range of possible interpretations is available. The late John Bright, whose ''History of Israel'', which went through four editions from 1959 to 2000, takes Samuel at face value, but Donald B. Redford thinks all reconstructions from Biblical sources for the United Monarchy period are examples of 'academic wishful thinking', and Thomas L. Thompson measures Samuel against the archaeological evidence and concludes that "an independent history of Judea during the Iron I [i.e., the period of David] and Iron II periods has little room for historicizing readings of the stories of I-II Samuel and I Kings." Some interesting studies of David have been written: Baruch Halpern has pictured David as a lifelong vassal of Achish, the Philistine king of Gath; Israel Finkelstein and Neil Asher Silberman have identified as the oldest and most reliable section of Samuel those chapters which describe David as the charismatic leader of a band of outlaws who captures Jerusalem and makes it his capital. Steven McKenzie, Associate Professor of the Hebrew Bible at Rhodes College and author of ''King David: A Biography'', states the belief that David actually came from a wealthy family, was "ambitious and ruthless" and a tyrant who murdered his opponents, including his own sons.

David's succession

Genealogy

According to and , David is the eleventh generation from Judah, the fourth son of the patriarch Jacob (Israel). The genealogical line runs as follows: (1) Judah → (2) Pharez → (3) Hezron → (4) Ram → (5) Amminadab → (6) Nahshon → (7) Salmon → (8) Boaz (the husband of Ruth) → (9) Obed → (10) Jesse → (11) David.

David's family

David was born in Bethlehem, in the territory of the Tribe of Judah. His father was named Jesse. His mother is not named in the Bible, but the Talmud identifies her as Nitzevet daughter of Adael. David had seven brothers and was the youngest of them all. He had eight wives: Michal, the second daughter of King Saul; Ahinoam the Jezreelite; Abigail the Carmelite, previously wife of Nabal; Maachah, daughter of Talmai, king of Geshur; Haggith; Abital; Eglah; and Bathsheba, previously the wife of Uriah the Hittite.

The Book of Chronicles lists David's sons by various wives and concubines. In Hebron he had six sons : Amnon, by Ahinoam; Daniel, by Abigail; Absalom, by Maachah; Adonijah, by Haggith; Shephatiah, by Abital; and Ithream, by Eglah. By Bathsheba, his sons were: Shammua; Shobab; Nathan; and Solomon. His sons born in Jerusalem by other wives included: Ibhar; Elishua; Eliphelet; Nogah; Nepheg; Japhia; Elishama; and Eliada. According to , Jerimoth, who is not mentioned in any of the genealogies, is mentioned as another of David's sons. According to , David adopted Jonathan's son Mephibosheth as his own.

David also had at least one daughter, Tamar by Maachah, who was raped by Amnon, her half-brother. Her rape leads to Amnon's death. Absalom, Amnon's half-brother and Tamar's full-brother, waits two years, then avenges his sister by sending his servants to kill Amnon at a feast to which he had invited all the king's sons.

Descendants of David

The following are some of the more notable persons who have claimed descent from the Biblical David, or had it claimed on their behalf:

Maimonides (Rabbi Moshe ben Maimon of Spain/haRaMbaM apx. 1135-1204)

Judah Loew, Yehuda Loew ben Bezalel (c. 1525, Prague; 22 August 1609 Prague), also known as "The Maharal of Prague".

The Abravanel family

The Baal Shem Tov, and through him every Hassidic Rebbe descended from him

Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson, whose family is descended from Judah Loew.

Legend & Legacy

In European Christian culture of the Middle Ages David was created a member of the Nine Worthies, a group of heroes encapsulating all the ideal qualities of chivalry. His life was thus proposed as a valuable subject for study by those aspiring to chivalric status. This aspect of David in the Nine Worthies was popularised firstly through literature, and was thereafter adopted as a frequent subject for painters and sculptors.

Representation in art and literature

Art

Famous sculptures of David include (in chronological order) those by:

Donatello (''c.'' 1430 - 1440), ''David'' (Donatello)

Andrea del Verrocchio (1476), ''David'' (Verrocchio)

Michelangelo (1504), ''David'' (Michelangelo)

Gian Lorenzo Bernini (1624), ''David'' (Bernini)

Antonin Mercié (1873)

Literature

Dryden's long poem Absalom and Achitophel is an allegory that uses the story of the rebellion of Absalom against King David as the basis for his satire of the contemporary political situation, including events such as the Monmouth Rebellion (1685), the Popish Plot (1678) and the Exclusion Crisis.

Elmer Davis's novel ''Giant Killer'' (1928, The John Day company) retells and embellishes the Biblical story of David, casting David as primarily a poet who managed always to find others to do the "dirty work" of heroism and kingship. In the novel, Elhanan in fact killed Goliath but David claimed the credit; and Joab, David's cousin and general, took it upon himself to make many of the difficult decisions of war and statecraft when David vacillated or wrote poetry instead.

Gladys Schmitt wrote a novel titled "David the King" (1946, Doubleday Books) which proceeds as a richly embellished biography of David's entire life. The book took a risk, especially for its time, in portraying David's relationship with Jonathan as overtly homoerotic, but was ultimately panned by critics as a bland rendition of the title character.

In Thomas Burnett Swann's Biblical fantasy novel ''How are the Mighty Fallen'' (1974, DAW) David and Jonathan are explicitly stated to be lovers. Moreover, Jonathan is a member of a winged semi-human race (possibly nephilim), one of several such races co-existing with humanity but often persecuted by it.

Joseph Heller wrote a novel based on David, ''God Knows'' (1984, Simon & Schuster). Told from the perspective of an aging David, the humanity—rather than the heroism—of various biblical characters are emphasized. The portrayal of David as a man of flaws such as greed, lust, selfishness, and his alienation from God, the falling apart of his family is a distinctly 20th century interpretation of the events told in the Bible.

Juan Bosch, Dominican political leader and writer, wrote "David: Biography of a King" (1966, Hawthorn, NY) a realistic approach to David's life and political career.

Allan Massie wrote "King David" (1996, Sceptre), a novel about David's career which portrays the king's relationship to Jonathan and others as openly homosexual.

Madeleine L'Engle's novel ''Certain Women'' (1993, HarperOne) explores family, the Christian faith, and the nature of God through the story of King David's family and an analogous modern family's saga.

Sir Arthur Conan Doyle used the story of David and Bathsheba as the main structure for the Sherlock Holmes story ''The Adventure of the Crooked Man''. The betrayal of the Crooked Man is paralleled with David's betrayal of Uriah the Hittite, carried out in order to win Bathsheba.

Stefan Heym's "The King David Report" (1998, Northwestern University Press) is a fiction depicting the writings of the Bible historian, Ethan, upon King Solomon's orders, of a true and authoritative report on the life of David, Son of Jesse.

Malachi Martin's 1980 factional novel ''King of Kings: A Novel of the Life of David'' relates the life of David, Adonai's champion in his battle with the Philistine deity Dagon.

William Faulkner's "Absalom, Absalom!"(1936) refers to the story of Absalom, David's son; his rebellion against his father and his death at the hands of David's general, Joab. In addition it parallels Absalom's vengeance for the rape of his sister Tamar by his half-brother, Amnon.

Film

Gregory Peck played King David in the 1951 film ''David and Bathsheba'', directed by Henry King. Susan Hayward played Bathsheba and Raymond Massey played the prophet Nathan.

Jeft Chandler played David in the 1960 film Story of David

Finlay Currie played an aged King David in the 1959 film ''Solomon and Sheba'', directed by King Vidor. Yul Brynner played Solomon and Gina Lollobrigida played the Queen of Sheba.

Richard Gere portrayed King David in the 1985 film ''King David'' directed by Bruce Beresford.

Music

Josquin des Prez's Planxit autem David is a polyphonic setting of 2 Samuel Chapter I verses 17-27, David's lamentation for the dead Saul and Jonathan. His Absalon fili mi is a polyphonic lamentation from David's perspective on the death of his son.

George Frideric Handel's oratorio ''Saul'' features David as one of its main characters

Arthur Honegger's oratorio, ''Le Roi David'' ('King David'), with a libretto by Rene Morax, was composed in 1921 and instantly became a staple of the choral repertoire; it is still widely performed.

Leonard Cohen's song "Hallelujah" has references to David ("there was a secret chord that David played and it pleased the Lord", "The baffled king composing Hallelujah") and Bathsheba ("you saw her bathing on the roof") in its opening verses.

"Mad About You", a song on Sting's 1991 album ''The Soul Cages'' explores David's obsession with Bathsheba from David's perspective.

Dead by the Pixies is a retelling of David's adultery and repentance.

Herbert Howells (1892–1983) composed an artsong for voice and piano called "King David".

Eric Whitacre composed a choral piece, "When David Heard," chronicling the death of Absalom and David's grief over losing his son.

mewithoutYou has a song from their album It's All Crazy! It's All False! It's All a Dream! It's Alright, entitled "The Angel of Death Came to David's Room," which tells the story of David struggle with the Angel of Death when his (David's) time of death has arrived. It is based on folk tradition of King David and some Hebrew Bible.

Pierce Pettis wrote and recorded a song on his album "Making Light of It" called "Absalom, Absalom," expressing David's feelings of grief over and responsibility for his son's death.

Spoken (band) released a track on their album Echoes of the Spirit Still Dwell called "David" that is based on 2 Samuel 6:14.

Musical theatre

King David, a modern oratorio, with a book and lyrics by Tim Rice and music by Alan Menken.

Television

Nathaniel Parker portrayed King David in the 1997 TV film "David", with Leonard Nimoy as Samuel and Jonathan Pryce as Saul.

In 2009, NBC introduced the series ''Kings'', which was explicitly designed as a modern retelling of the David story.

In the PBS television series Wishbone the episode "Little Big Dog" recounts the story of David, his favor with Saul, and his triumphant battle over Goliath.

The season two episode of Xena: Warrior Princess "Giant Killer" features David and his killing of Goliath.

Trivia

For a considerable period, starting in the 15th century and continuing until the 19th, French playing card manufacturers assigned to each of the court cards names taken from history or mythology. In this context, the King of Spades was often known as "David".

See also

David and Jonathan

King David's Palace site

King David's Tomb

Midrash Shmuel (aggadah)

Passover songs

Tel Arad

Notes

is the traditional Koranic spelling without vocalization.  In Modern Standard Arabic, it is normally written .

References

Kirsch, Jonathan (2000) ''King David: the real life of the man who ruled Israel''. Ballantine. ISBN 0-345-43275-4.

See also the entry "David" in ''Easton's Bible Dictionary''.

Dever, William G. (2001) ''What did the Bible writers know and when did they know it?'' William B. Eerdmans Publ. Co., Cambridge UK.

Further reading

For a more complete summary of all the episodes in the Saul/David story in Samuel (but excluding Chronicles), see synopsis

External links

Complete Bible Genealogy David's family tree

Double Identity: Orpheus as David. Orpheus as Christ? Biblical Archaeology Review

Category:Hebrew Bible people Category:Kings of ancient Israel Category:Kings of ancient Judah Category:10th-century BC biblical rulers Category:11th-century BC biblical rulers Category:Biblical murderers Category:Burials in Jerusalem Category:History of Jerusalem Category:Old Testament saints Category:People celebrated in the Lutheran liturgical calendar Category:People from Bethlehem Category:Shepherds Category:Books of Samuel

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name	Karen O
background	solo_singer
birth name	Karen Lee Orzolek
born	South Korea
origin	New Jersey, United States
instrument	Vocals, piano
genre	Indie rock, art punk, alternative rock
years active	2000–present
label	Interscope
associated acts	Yeah Yeah Yeahs Native Korean Rock }}

Karen Lee Orzolek (born November 22, 1978), better known by her stage name Karen O, is the vocalist for New York rock band Yeah Yeah Yeahs.

Early life

Karen O was born in November 1978 in South Korea to a Korean mother and a Polish father. She eventually moved to the United States, where she grew up in Englewood, New Jersey. She has commented on her childhood: "It's almost embarrassing how well-behaved I was, which is probably why I do things like spit water on myself onstage as an adult." She attended Oberlin College, but transferred to New York University's Tisch School of the Arts. She is now based in Los Angeles.

Career

Karen O is best known as the frontwoman for the band Yeah Yeah Yeahs. She has also been noted for her sense of fashion, wearing ostentatious outfits made by her friend, fashion designer Christian Joy. In the early days of the band, she became well known for her outrageous antics during live shows.

''Playboy'' made an offer for her to pose on their cover. Karen O said on the subject, "I was approached but I said no. Who knows though? Maybe I'll do it in the future, but now doesn't seem to be the right time." Since then, however, Karen stated in an interview with Associated Press magazine that she has changed her mind and would never do Playboy because of the audience that Playboy magazine attracts.

During a tour for the 2003 Livid Festival in Australia, at a sideshow at The Metro in Sydney, she accidentally danced off the stage and was reluctantly taken to a hospital. A few days later at the Sydney leg of the Livid Festival, she appeared in a wheelchair pushed by Angus Andrew.

Karen O won Spin Magazine's Sex Goddess Award in both 2004 and 2005. In 2006, she was named one of rock's hottest women by ''Blender''. In 2007, Karen O placed #3 on Spinner.com's Women Who Rock Right Now. In February 2010, she won a Shockwaves NME Award for the Hottest Woman.

She began working on a small side project called Native Korean Rock and the Fishnets with fellow NYC musicians in 2008.

In 2009 she contributed backing vocals, screaming animal sounds and noises to the songs "Gemini Syringes", "I Can Be A Frog" and "Watching the Planets" on The Flaming Lips album ''Embryonic''.

On the collaboration-project "N.A.S.A. ''The Spirit of Apollo''", she appears on the track "Strange Enough", together with Ol' Dirty Bastard and Fatlip.

O's vocal approach has been described as "ethereal", sometimes compared to indie folk artist Quinn Marston, and has been described as "yelping" at times. She described her approach:

Soundtrack work

She was featured in the track "Cut Me Up" by Har Mar Superstar for the soundtrack to the 2005 horror film House of Wax. For the movie ''Jackass 2'', Karen O collaborated with electronic artist Peaches and Johnny Knoxville to record a track entitled "Backass"; for ''Jackass 3D'', she covered the ''Roger Alan Wade'' 's "If You're Gonna Be Dumb" under the alternative title of "If You're Gonna Be Dumb, You Gotta Be Tough". In 2007, she also contributed vocals to a version of Bob Dylan's "Highway 61 Revisited" for the ''I'm Not There'' movie soundtrack. At the end of episode 409, "Brothers Cinco", of the ''Tim and Eric Awesome Show, Great Job!'' she performed a short song.

In May 2011 it was reported that Karen O had collaborated with Trent Reznor on a cover version of Led Zeppelin's "Immigrant Song" for the soundtrack to the English-language version of the film ''The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo'', for which Reznor is composing the score.

''Where the Wild Things Are''

Karen O composed all of the songs on the soundtrack of ''Where the Wild Things Are'' (with the exception of a cover of the Daniel Johnston song,"Worried Shoes") in collaboration with Carter Burwell. The film was directed by her former boyfriend Spike Jonze. She is listed on the soundtrack as "Karen O and the Kids". Karen O and her Yeah Yeah Yeahs bandmate Nick Zinner co-wrote "All is Love", which was nominated for the "Grammy Award for Best Song Written for a Motion Picture, Television or Other Visual Media", a songwriter's award, at the 2010 Grammy Awards.

Video work

In 2004 Karen O, using the moniker ''Marshmellow'', directed the music video for "We Fenced Other Gardens with the Bones of Our Own" by the Liars, fronted by her then boyfriend Angus Andrew. The following year she directed the "Blessed Evening" video for Foetus with her then boyfriend Spike Jonze working as cinematographer. In 2006 she directed the Yeah Yeah Yeahs' video "Cheated Hearts".

Under the moniker ''Kids With Canes'', Karen O and her boyfriend Barney Clay directed the music video for the Tiny Masters of Today song "Hologram World", released on February 8, 2008. Karen also contributed vocals to the song, served as choreographer of the video, in which she appears along with Yeah Yeah Yeahs bandmates Nick Zinner and Brian Chase as well as Mike D from the Beastie Boys, Gibby Haynes from the Butthole Surfers, Russell Simins from the Blues Explosion and Sam James from The Mooney Suzuki.

The ''KO At Home'' demo leak

On December 10, 2006, a home-recorded album titled ''KO at Home'' was leaked via an invite-only BitTorrent tracking site. The album, originally a personal gift to Dave Sitek of the NYC band TV on the Radio, was discovered inside a suitcase Sitek left behind in a New York City apartment. The disc's 14 tracks and scan of the cover – a photograph of Karen O with a poem written by Oscar Wilde on the back – quickly spread. The music news site stereogum.com broke the story of the leak the following morning and continued their coverage when Sitek lashed out at the fan who leaked the demos. Eventually Sitek followed up his comments with an apology letter. Karen O's response to the leak was "shit happens" and although she was somewhat "grossed out," she offered advice on which of the songs she liked the most, namely the tracks "Pumpkin" and "Snakes and Worms".

References

External links

Yeah Yeah Yeahs official website

2010 interview with Karen O

Category:Yeah Yeah Yeahs members Category:American female singers Category:American rock singers Category:New York University alumni Category:Oberlin College alumni Category:American people of Polish descent Category:American people of Korean descent Category:American musicians of Korean descent Category:American musicians of Polish descent Category:People from Englewood, New Jersey Category:Musicians from New Jersey Category:Naturalized citizens of the United States Category:Korean emigrants to the United States Category:South Korean musicians Category:Living people Category:1978 births

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