The acclaimed Mulholland Drive and Twin Peaks director, who in 2020 was diagnosed with emphysema, passed away on January 16.
On Friday, the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health published his death certificate, which lists his immediate cause of death as cardiac arrest due to chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. Dehydration is also listed as a significant contributor to his death.
Lynch's death was announced by his family in a Facebook post, which 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.'"
In an interview with Sight & Sound magazine last year, Lynch revealed he had been diagnosed with emphysema due to smoking throughout his life, and said he could not "go out" because of the risk of catching Covid.
"I've gotten emphysema from smoking for so long and so I'm homebound whether I like it or not. It would be very bad for me to get sick, even with a cold," he said, admitting that he could only walk a short distance before he was "out of oxygen."