As Agent Cole, David Lynch played the hard-of-hearing super FBI agent Cole in his own series “Twin Peaks”, who tries to provide crucial clues in the investigation into the murder of Laura Palmer.
But because he is hard of hearing, he often has problems following what is happening. In the third season of “Twin Peaks” there is a memorable clash between him and Albert Rosenfield (Miguel Ferrer, who died shortly after filming in 2017). This is hands down the funniest scene in all 48 Twin Peaks episodes. Not counting the “Fire Walk With Me” movie.
David Lynch in “Twin Peaks”:
“Car sick”. “Cossacks”. “I said: Car sick”. “Up on the wrong side of the bed, Albert.” A mixture of misunderstanding, anger, persuasion and frustration. It doesn’t get any better. Played completely straight face.
We reported before his death:
David Lynch has announced that because of his lung disease he can no longer leave his house without an oxygen mask and therefore cannot personally manage projects. Four years ago, in 2020, doctors diagnosed the cult director with emphysema; his alveoli are so destroyed that the exchange of oxygen and carbon dioxide can no longer take place sufficiently.
The filmmaker revealed that he relies on supplemental oxygen for anything more strenuous than a walk in his own home. “I can barely walk across a room anymore. It’s like walking around with a plastic bag around your head,” he says, describing his ordeal.
A lifelong addiction
Lynch started smoking at the age of eight. When he released his first indie film (“Eraserhead”) in 1977, smoking was already a part of his artistry – and a recurring motif in his characters, for example in “Blue Velvet” (1986) and the mystery soap “Twin Peaks”. (1990-1991, 2017). “A big part of my life was smoking,” Lynch tells People, “I loved the smell of tobacco, the taste of tobacco. I loved lighting cigarettes. For me, that was part of being a painter and a filmmaker.”
After the diagnosis, he continued to smoke cigarettes for two more years. Then he stopped. “I saw the signs […]”You’ll die in a week if you don’t stop,” says the 78-year-old. “I could hardly move without gasping for air. Quitting was my only option.”
Lynch calls on smokers to rethink
Despite the high price he pays for his lifelong consumption, Lynch has no regrets: “It was important to me. I wish for what every addict wishes: that what we love is good for us.” That’s why glow sticks and the white-gray clouds of smoke rising from them continue to appear in his works: “I never thought of it to glorify. It was a part of life. Some characters smoke, just like in real life.”
Regardless of his philosophy, smokers should reflect on their addiction. “Think about it. “You can stop doing these things that will ultimately kill you,” he says, “I owe it to them – and to myself – to say that.”