David Lynch’s grave marker has been unveiled at the Hollywood Forever cemetery, and some fans are puzzled by the meaning of the three-word message it bears.
The simple, flat black stone is engraved with his full name – David Keith Lynch – and the mysterious epitaph: ‘Night Blooming Jasmine.’
His daughter, Jennifer Lynch, shared a photo of the marker on Instagram with the caption: ‘Dad is at rest at Hollywood Forever Cemetery. Visit when you can. I will be.♥️’
The iconic cemetery on Santa Monica Boulevard in Los Angeles is the final resting place of many show biz greats, including Judy Garland, Cecil B DeMille, Mickey Rooney, and Burt Reynolds.
The celebrated filmmaker, who was behind the likes of Mulholland Drive, The Elephant Man, and the beloved TV show Twin Peaks, died aged 78 on January 15, 2025.
Lynch’s cause of death has since been confirmed as cardiac arrest due to chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.
The visionary died after becoming housebound with emphysema following years of chain smoking, and a death certificate released by the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health has now confirmed COPD was an underlying condition suffered by the auteur.
What does David Lynch’s gravestone epitaph mean?
Born in 1946 in Montana, Lynch moved to Los Angeles in 1970, where he began studying filmmaking at the AFI Conservatory. He remained an LA resident the rest of his life and often spoke fondly of the city of angels.
Night blooming jasmine, also known as the lady of the night, is a common shrub-like blossoming plant in Southern California that only blossoms after dark and produces a sweet, distinctive scent.
Online sleuths quickly found that in one of Lynch’s regular Weather Report YouTube videos posted on December 21, 2020, the filmmaker said: ‘Now, the days are gonna start getting longer, and spring time is right around the corner. When, at least in LA, that night blooming jasmine will once again fill the air with its sublime fragrance.’
Seemingly a reference to the city in which he made – and often set – his films, the phrase is as enigmatic and moving as Lynch himself.
In a 2016 interview with AnOther Magazine, Lynch said: ‘When you fly into LA at night, it’s all lit up, miles and miles of lights – so beautiful. It’s a very fast image. But within it there are these places that talk about memory.
‘You know, on a summer’s night, maybe more like a spring night, you could drive to certain places and if you smell that night-blooming jasmine, you can almost see Clark Gable or Gloria Swanson. The golden age of Hollywood is still living in some moods here, in the DNA of the city.’
One Instagram user, @sabinawonders, commented on Jennifer’s post: ‘There’s something so hauntingly beautiful about “night blooming jasmine”. A reminder that some things only bloom in shadow. His art taught us to embrace the strange, the surreal, the unspeakable.
‘And he will continue to bloom in us – in every dreamlike image we carry, and in the way he taught us to see the world: not just differently, but more magically and with a deeper sense of connection. Rest in peace, David Lynch.’
Countless fans and collaborators paid tribute to Lynch in the wake of his death earlier this year, with many reflecting on the tremendous impact his art had on the world.
‘My heart is broken. My Buddy Dave… The world will not be the same without him,’ Naomi Watts wrote on Instagram. ‘His creative mentorship was truly powerful. He put me on the map.
‘The world I’d been trying to break into for 10-plus years, flunking auditions left and right. Finally, I sat in front of a curious man, beaming with light, speaking words from another era, making me laugh and feel at ease.
‘How did he even “see me” when I was so well hidden, and I’d even lost sight of myself?! It wasn’t just his art that impacted me – his wisdom, humour, and love gave me a special sense of belief in myself I’d never accessed before.’
Hugh Jackman referenced Lynch’s transcendental meditation and The David Lynch Foundation For Consciousness-Based Education And World Peace, which he founded in 2005.
‘[The foundation] has been an inspiration to my life,’ Hugh wrote. ‘I will continue to help carry the torch as best I can.’
Kyle MacLachlan, who played lead star FBI agent Dale Cooper in Twin Peaks, said he owes his ‘entire career, and life really, to his vision’ after Lynch originally cast him in 1984 sci-fi film Dune, based on the Frank Herbert novel.
‘Our friendship blossomed on Blue Velvet and then Twin Peaks and I always found him to be the most authentically alive person I’d ever met,’ he continued.
‘I will miss him more than the limits of my language can tell and my heart can bear. My world is that much fuller because I knew him and that much emptier now that he’s gone.’
Nicolas Cage, who starred in the 1990 road trip film Wild At Heart which won the Palme d’Or at the Cannes Film Festival, described Lynch as ‘one of the greatest artists of this or any time’.
‘He was brave, brilliant, and a maverick with a joyful sense of humour,’ he said in a statement. ‘I never had more fun on a film set than working with David Lynch. He will always be solid gold.’
Twin Peaks star Lara Flynn Boyle, who played Donna Hayward in the early 1990s series, hailed him as ‘the true Willy Wonka of filmmaking’ in a statement.
Confirming the news of his death, Lynch’s family wrote on Facebook in January: ‘It is with deep regret that we, his family, announce the passing of the man and the artist, David Lynch.
‘We would appreciate some privacy at this time. 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.”
‘It’s a beautiful day with golden sunshine and blue skies all the way.’
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