PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — The acclaimed filmmaker David Lynch, who died Thursday, aged 78, was known for his dark, dreamlike works, including the film “Mulholland Drive” and the hit TV series “Twin Peaks.” Much of that atmosphere was inspired by his time in Philadelphia in the late 1960s.
Before he became the Academy Award-nominated director of "The Elephant Man" and "Blue Velvet," Lynch lived in Philly as a struggling student learning his craft at the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts.
"He, at the time, was living right around 13th and Wood Street," said Eric Bresler, who manages independent art venue PhilaMOCA in the city’s Callowhill section, just a few blocks from Lynch's old residence.
"His first film, ‘Eraserhead,’ was directly inspired by his experiences in that neighborhood, which was a lot rougher when he was living there than it is these days," said Bresler.
Lynch said those years made a big impact.
"There was fear, there was violence, there was despair and sadness," Lynch said at an appearance at the Bryn Mawr Film Institute in 2014. “This kind of seeped into me … and made an influence … which I loved, by the way."
That influence manifested as his feature debut, which in turn made an impact on Bresler as a younger man.
"It just opened up the world of his body of work to me, you know, and I remember from my college admission essay to Drexel, I wrote about 'Eraserhead.'"
That movie also reflected influence back on Lynch's old neighborhood, "which has had many different names over the years — such as Callowhill or West Poplar. But for us in the arts community, we have dubbed it 'the Eraserhood,'” Bresler said.
"For many years, PhilaMOCA ran an annual David Lynch-themed event. It was called ‘Eraserhood Forever’ … I did hint earlier this year that I would be bringing it back, at least for this autumn."
In a statement, PAFA said Lynch "will be greatly missed by the PAFA community and countless others around the world. Your vision, creativity, and influence have left an indelible mark, and your legacy will continue to inspire for generations to come."