Unlocking the mystery of David Lynch’s enigmatic epitaph

The grave marker of director David Lynch has been revealed by his daughter Jennifer. 

“Dad is at rest at Hollywood Forever Cemetery. Visit when you can. I will be”, she shared alongside a picture revealing a black stone bearing a cryptic epitaph that couldn’t be more Lynchian.

It reads: “Night Blooming Jasmine.”

The three words refer to a scent he associated with Los Angeles and nostalgia for a bygone era of Hollwood. Which is rather appropriate considering the Hollywood Forever cemetery on Santa Monica Boulevard in Los Angeles is the final resting place of many classic Hollywood icons including Cecil B DeMille, Jayne Mansfield and Judy Garland.  

In one of Lynch’s regular Weather Reports on YouTube, posted on 21 December 2020, he 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 evvel again fill the air with its sublime fragrance”. 

Going back further, Lynch was interviewed in 2016 by AnOtherMagazine, and 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.”

The visionary behind films like Blue Velvet and Mulholland Drive, as well as the groundbreaking TV show Twin Peaks, died in January aged 78. 

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.’”