Steven Spielberg, multi-starred director

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The entertainment industry mourns the loss of David Lynch, an iconic filmmaker with a style so distinct that his last name was often used as an adjective.

Lynch’s family confirmed his death in a Facebook post Thursday, which said there is “a great hole in the world now that he is no longer with us.” The acclaimed director of “Eraserhead” and co-creator of “Twin Peaks” was 78 years old.

The family did not share a cause of death. Lynch revealed last year that he suffered from emphysema and was unable to leave the house.

Tributes quickly began pouring in from fans and colleagues, including fellow director Steven Spielberg, who co-starred Lynch in his 2022 film “The Fabelmans.” Lynch portrayed director John Ford, who meets aspiring filmmaker Sammy Fabelman (Gabriel LaBelle), a fictionalized version of Spielberg. The scene was based on a real meeting Spielberg had with Ford.

“I loved David’s film,” Spielberg said in a statement to USA TODAY. “‘Blue Velvet,’ ‘Mulholland Drive’ and ‘(The) Elephant Man’ defined him as a singular, visionary dreamer who directed films that felt handcrafted.”

“I got to know David when he played John Ford in ‘The Fabelmans.’ Here was one of my heroes – David Lynch playing one of my heroes. It was surreal and seemed like a scene from one of David’s own films stand the test of time, and they always will.”

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Actor Kyle MacLachlan, who appeared in several of Lynch’s works, paid tribute to Lynch in a emotional Instagram post Thursday called the filmmaker an “enigmatic and intuitive man with a creative sea bursting forth within him.”

“Forty-two years ago, for reasons beyond my comprehension, David Lynch plucked me from obscurity to star in his first and last big-budget film,” wrote MacLachlan, who starred as Paul Atreides in 1984’s “Dune.” . “He clearly saw something in me that even I didn’t recognize. I owe my entire career, and indeed my life, to his vision.”

“While the world has lost a remarkable artist, I have lost a dear friend who envisioned a future for me and allowed me to travel in worlds I could never have conceived on my own,” he continued. “His love for me and mine for him came out of the cosmic destiny of two people who saw the best things about themselves in each other.”

He concluded: “I will miss him more than the limits of my language can tell and my heart can bear. My world is so much fuller because I knew him and so much emptier now that he is gone.”

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James Gunn, Nicolas Cage, more pay tribute to David Lynch

On X remembered director Ron Howard Lynch as a “gracious man and fearless artist which followed his heart (and) soul and proved that radical experimentation could make for unforgettable cinema.”

“Guardians of the Galaxy” director James Gunn wrote that Lynch “inspired so many of us,” while comedian Patton Oswalt wrote, “David Lynch, RIP. At least that’s what the horse in the fez just told me* in a dream. (*backwards and in Swedish).”

Lynch’s films were noted for their surreal atmosphere, so much so that films with a similar feel were often described as “Lynchian”. One film that many critics compared to Lynch’s work was “I Saw the TV Glow,” and its director, Jane Schoenbrun, offered a tribute to X.

“Like Kafka, like Bacon, he dedicated his life to opening a portal,” Schoenbrun said of Lynch. “He was the first to show me another world, a beautiful one of love and danger I sensed but had never seen outside of sleep. Thank you David, your gift will resonate for the rest of my life.”

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On Instagram, Questlove shared photos of themselves with Lynch, who he said was his “guiding creative light” on his book “Something to Food About.” The musician said that Lynch was the “first person/creative to emphasize the importance of not overexerting myself and taking time to breathe (and) meditate and search for creative avenues that weren’t in my comfort zone”, and he liked that I always invited me to his events and parties and really emphasizes the importance of self-care.”

In one statement to DeadlineNicolas Cage, who starred in Lynch’s film “Wild at Heart,” also said the director “was brave, brilliant and a maverick with a happy sense of humor,” adding, “I’ve never had more fun on a film set than working with David Lynch, he’s always going to be solid gold.”

Starring: Edward Segarra, USA TODAY