Director William Friedkin, best known for his Oscar-winning The French Connection and The Exorcist, died in Los Angeles at the age of 87. His death was confirmed by Chapman University Dean Stephen Galloway, a friend of Friedkin’s wife Sherry Lansing. His final film, The Caine Mutiny Court Martial starring Kiefer Sutherland is set to premiere at the Venice Film Festival.
Along with Peter Bogdanovich, Francis Ford Coppola, and Hal Ashby Friedkin rose to A-List status in the 1970s part of a new generation of vibrant, risk-taking filmmakers. Combining his experience in television, particularly in documentary film, with a cutting-edge style of editing, Friedkin brought a great deal of energy to the horror and police thriller genres in which he specialised.
After the critical glory of The French Connection came the 1973s, The Exorcist which grossed an astounding $500 million worldwide and along with The Godfather, initiated the blockbuster era in motion pictures. Adapted from William Peter Blatty’s novel about the demonic possession of a young girl, The Exorcist was a heavily stylized thriller, as influential on the horror genre as “Connection” had been with cop thrillers. It brought him a second Oscar nomination as best director.
Born in Chicago, Freidkin attended Senn High School, where he was not much of a student but sought to develop his basketball prowess to pro-level. However, he changed his career path back to journalism. The director who had spent years working in the documentary form himself appeared in many documentaries over the years about films and filmmakers including 2003’s A Decade the Influence and Pure Cinema: Through the Eyes of the Master.
He was married to newscaster Kelly Lange and actors Lesley-Anne Down and Jeanne Moreau. He was survived by his fourth wife Lansing and two sons.
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