GU graduate Eric Edelstein recalls working with David Lynch on ‘Twin Peaks: The Return’: ‘Spokane should be proud to call him a son’

Hollywood actor Eric Edelstein, a Gonzaga University alum, spoke fondly Thursday of the late director David Lynch.

“He’s the greatest person I’ve ever worked with,” Edelstein said.

Lynch, who spent part of his childhood in Spokane, died Thursday. He was 78.

When Edelstein met Lynch and told him he came from Spokane, Lynch smiled widely.

“I can still smell the ponderosa pine trees and hear the airplanes flying overhead from Fairchild,” Edelstein remembers Lynch saying.

Edelstein, a fan of the original “Twin Peaks” television show when he was growing up, was nervous when he auditioned for the 2017 follow-up series “Twin Peaks: The Return.” He couldn’t stop giggling.

So, Lynch wrote him a new part in the series: a detective who can’t stop giggling.

“Every day felt like a dream,” Edelstein said of his time on the set.

Lynch’s leadership, he said, made him a better actor and a better person.

But more important than his art was his work teaching Transcendental Meditation through the David Lynch Foundation, Edelstein said.

He attended meditation events where Lynch took care to meet with everyone individually. He was passionate about helping first responders, veterans with PTSD and survivors of childhood trauma.

Lynch believed meditation is a path to healing and well-being, Edelstein said. His book, “Catching the Big Fish: Meditation, Consciousness and Creativity,” is a good introduction.

The old adage “never meet your heroes” simply isn’t true, Edelstein said.

“He helped a lot of people, including myself,” he said. “Spokane should be proud to call him a son.”