Lesli Linka Glatter: “David Lynch’s ability to see the magic that exists when others did not, made him one of the greatest storytellers of our time.”

There is simply no one like David. He was a visionary at his core — elevating visual storytelling in film and television to a whole new level, inspiring so many directors to take risks and see new possibilities. He took a chance on me as a young director just starting out when I joined him on Twin Peaks in the early 1990s, transforming my life, and I will be forever grateful for having known him. In every interaction, David was so in the moment of life, and I can’t help but think of a story that made me see the world differently.

In one of David’s early episodes of Twin Peaks, there’s a scene in a bank vault with Kyle MacLachlan and Michael Ontkean and there’s a moose head lying in the middle of the table. No one ever refers to it; it’s just there and it makes the scene. I asked David how he got the idea to put that moose head on the table. He looked at me quizzically and said, ‘It was there.’ The set dresser was going to hang it on the wall, but David saw it lying on the table and said, ‘Leave the moose head.’ Something cracked open for me, as much as you plan, be sure you are open to life, be sure you are open to the moose head on the table, don’t miss what’s right in front of you. His ability to see the magic that exists when others did not, made him one of the greatest storytellers of our time. The extraordinary David Lynch will be forever missed on such a profound level.

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Lesli Linka Glatter began her influential television directing career after David Lynch hired her to direct an episode of Twin Peaks in 1990 (Season 2, Episode 5: “The Orchid’s Curse”). She went on to become one of television’s most prolific and respected directors with credits including Homeland, Mad Men, and The West Wing.