7 Things You Didn’t Know David Lynch Did (Like Appear in a Cartoon & Record a Solo Album)

Director David Lynch, who died on Jan. 16, 2025, at the age of 78 after a battle with emphysema, was known for his impressionistic, mind-bending films and TV shows, like Twin Peaks, Blue Velvet, and Mulholland Drive. But Lynch’s career, which began in the ’60s while he attended art school in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, has spanned so many eras and mediums, even hardcore fans might have missed some moments — like his avant garde short films, his strange sitcom follow-up to Twin Peaks, or his significant role on a Family Guy spin-off series.
1“Six Men Getting Sick” (1967)
@gourdalmighty Six Men Getting Sick (David Lynch, 1967) #film #cinema #retro #sick ♬ original sound – gourdalmighty
Lynch’s very first film, dating back to his time at Philadelphia’s Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, “Six Men Getting Sick” merges the director’s previous focus on painting with moving images for the first time. The “installation art” was a hit at the school’s year-end student exhibit.
2“The Grandmother” (1969)
Lynch’s first film to deal more in live action than animation, “The Grandmother” was made with funding from AFI, whose conservatory Lynch would go on to attend. Created three years before he began filming his debut feature, Eraserhead, “The Grandmother” bears many stylistic similarities to the film that would put Lynch on the map after its 1977 release.
3On the Air (1992)
Though Twin Peaks seems to have only grown in popularity since its original network TV run, the same can’t be said for Lynch’s little-known follow-up series. On the Air was a 1950s-set comedy that followed the cast and crew of the fictional variety program The Lester Guy Show, as they prepared for their nightly live broadcasts, often with absurd results. The series only ran for a few weeks in the summer of 1992 on ABC, with just three episodes airing. The show has never hit streaming, so if you’re curious, your best bet is probably checking eBay for copies of the DVD.
4“Premonition Following An Evil Deed” (1995)
Throughout his career, Lynch never stopped making short films — like this one, released between Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me (1992) and Lost Highway (1997). “Premonition” was created as part of a salute to film pioneers the Lumière brothers, though Lynch’s violent, surreal short is a bit different from their films. Warning: film contains nudity.
5Clear Blue Easy pregnancy test commercial (1997)
Lynch directed commercials throughout his career, including this 1997 for an at-home pregnancy test. While not exactly Lynchian (no red rooms or talking backwards, unfortunately), it does have the surreal edge that’s always been his signature.
6Crazy Clown Time (2011)
Just when you thought there were no ways left for David Lynch to shock his audience … he released a solo album. Lynch co-wrote all 14 of the self-produced album’s tracks with Dean Hurley, a composer who had previously written the score for Lynch’s 2006 film Inland Empire. Reviews were mixed — Billboard gave it four out of five stars, while Rolling Stone only gave it two-and-a-half. The album is streaming on Spotify, so judge for yourself.
7The Cleveland Show (2009-2013)
Though Lynch had a reputation as a serious art house auteur, he also had a silly side — one that was perhaps most present in his unexpected comedy cameos. For example, in the season 10 finale of the comedy sketch series Robot Chicken, Lynch voiced the mad scientist who antagonizes the show’s titular robotic poultry. But that cameo was nothing compared to his work on … The Cleveland Show.
And his work there was far more than a cameo — Lynch appeared as Gus the bartender in 22 episodes. How did Academy Award-nominated Lynch end up as a pretty central character on a Family Guy spin-off? As he observed in a 2010 tweet, “Yes, it’s true. I play Gus the bartender on The Cleveland Show. [The Cleveland Show actor and co-creator] Mike Henry asked me to do it, so I said yes.”
Yes, it’s true. I play Gus the bartender on The Cleveland Show. Mike Henry asked me to do it, so I said yes.
— David Lynch (@DAVID_LYNCH) February 23, 2010
Like so much else to do with Lynch, the unanswered questions only make it better.

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