David Lynch’s Cause of Death Revealed: Reports

David Lynch‘s cause of death has been revealed.

Nearly a month after the beloved Twin Peaks director died at the age of 78, a death certificate from the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health reveals that Lynch died from cardiac arrest due to chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, per The Independent and TMZ, which was the first to report the news.

Dehydration was also listed as a significant contributor to Lynch’s death, per the redacted document shared by TMZ, following its release on Friday, Feb. 7.

A rep for Lynch did not immediately respond to PEOPLE’s request for confirmation on Saturday, Feb. 8.

Lynch’s cause of death comes three weeks after the family of the filmmaker, who was known for his distinctive style described as “Lynchian,” announced his death in a social media statement on Jan. 16.

“It is with deep regret that we, his family, announce the passing of the man and the artist, David Lynch. We would appreciate some privacy at this time,” the Facebook message read. “There’s a big hole in the world now that he’s no longer with us. But, as he would say, ‘Keep your eye on the donut and not on the hole.’ ”

“It’s a beautiful day with golden sunshine and blue skies all the way,” the family added.

Beyond Twin Peaks, which premiered in 1990, the director was behind projects including The Elephant Man, Blue Velvet and Mulholland Drive. Lynch was also an author of books including 2006’s Catching the Big Fish: Meditation, Consciousness, and Creativity and 2018’s Room to Dream.

His career also included commercial work, music videos (Moby, Nine Inch Nails and Donovan) and playing director John Ford in Steven Spielberg’s 2022 film The Fabelmans.

Several close collaborators and friends mourned Lynch on social media last month, including Twin Peaks star Kyle MacLachlan, who referred to the director as a man who “plucked me out of obscurity to star in his first and last big-budget movie.” The pair worked together on Dune and Blue Velvet, as well.

“He clearly saw something in me that even I didn’t recognize. I owe my entire career, and life really, to his vision,” MacLachlan, 65, wrote. “What I saw in him was an enigmatic and intuitive man with a creative ocean bursting forth inside of him. He was in touch with something the rest of us wish we could get to.”

MacLachlan then called Lynch “a dear friend who imagined a future for me and allowed me to travel in worlds I could never have conceived on my own,” before writing that he was “forever changed.”

“His love for me and mine for him came out of the cosmic fate of two people who saw the best things about themselves in each other,” he wrote.
 
MacLachlan continued, “I will miss him more than the limits of my language can tell and my heart can bear. My world is that much fuller because I knew him and that much emptier now that he’s gone.”

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Naomi Watts also paid tribute to Lynch in a Jan. 16 post on Instagram, calling the star her “buddy.” The pair previously teamed up for multiple projects, including Mulholland Drive in 2001.

“He put me on the map,” Watts, 56, wrote in her caption. “The world I’d been trying to break into for ten plus years, flunking auditions left and right. Finally, I sat in front of a curious man, beaming with light, speaking words from another era, making me laugh and feel at ease.”

“I just cannot believe that he’s gone,” she later concluded the post. “I’m in pieces but forever grateful for our friendship. I’m yelling from the bullhorn: Godspeed, Buddy Dave! Thank you for your everything.”