William Friedkin, ‘Exorcist’ director, passes away
Legendary director William Friedkin, celebrated for his iconic 1970s films, including "The Exorcist" and "The French Connection", has passed away at the age of 87, as confirmed by his wife, Sherry Lansing, former CEO of Paramount Pictures.
Friedkin's exceptional directorial prowess was recognised with an Oscar for best director in 1972 for "The French Connection". He further solidified his reputation, earning another nomination for the same honour just two years later for the groundbreaking horror film "The Exorcist". This genre-defying masterpiece garnered ten nominations and secured two Academy Awards.
For all latest news, follow The Daily Star's Google News channel. Friedkin's first directing credit came in 1965 with the TV movie "The Bold Men", but it was 1970's "The Boys in the Band" — still considered ahead of its time in terms of exploring gay themes in cinema — that began a golden age for the filmmaker.
Other notable titles in Friedkin's oeuvre include 1980's "Cruising", starring Al Pacino, and "To Live and Die in LA" in 1985, with Willem Dafoe. He also directed 2006's "Bug" with Ashley Judd, Michael Shannon and Harry Connick Jr, and "Rules of Engagement" from 2000, with Tommy Lee Jones and Samuel L Jackson.
One of his less successful outings was "Jade", starring David Caruso (fresh off "NYPD Blue") and Linda Fiorentino, a notorious erotic-thriller flop in 1995.
Friedkin's most recent work as a director was 2017's "The Devil and Father Amort." He also had one upcoming film yet to be released — "The Caine Mutiny Court-Martial," starring Kiefer Sutherland, Jason Clarke and Jake Lacy, according to his IMDb page.
As a testament to the lasting impact of Friedkin's "Exorcist" – which was based on the novel by William Peter Blatty – the franchise is set to release a brand new instalment this October, 50 years after the first film, featuring the return of the original movie's star Ellen Burstyn.
Curiously, Friedkin once told Cinephilia Beyond that his original intention wasn't even to make a horror film with "The Exorcist".
"I recognise that audiences for generations have considered it a horror film," he observed. "I won't deny that, but when I set out to make it, the writer and I never had any concept of it as a horror film. We thought of it as a powerful, emotional, disturbing story."
He also spoke to NPR on the occasion of "The Exorcist's" 40th anniversary in 2013, in which he revealed he was far from the first choice to direct the satanic possession story.
"That film, before it came to me, had been turned down by Stanley Kubrick, Arthur Penn, and Mike Nichols. I was sort of the last man standing, and they made the decision shortly after I won the Academy Award for 'The French Connection'."
Friedkin was married four times – his was wed to celebrated French actress Jeanne Moreau, from 1977 to 1979; British actress Lesley-Anne Down from 1982 until 1985; broadcast journalist Kelly Lange from 1987-1990; and Hollywood film producer Lansing, to whom he was married from 1991 until his death.
His legacy lives on through his wife as well as his two sons, Jackson and Cedric Friedkin, who continue to carry his remarkable spirit forward.
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