William Friedkin, Oscar-Winning Director Of ‘The Exorcist’ And The French Connection,’ Dead At 87

(LOS ANGELES) – William Friedkin, the Oscar-winning director who sprang to prominence in his 30s with the compelling “The French Connection” and the terrifying “The Exorcist” and struggled to match his early success in the decades since, has died. He was 87.

Friedkin, who won an Oscar for best director for “The French Connection,” died Monday in Los Angeles, according to Marcia Franklin, his executive assistant for 24 years, who spoke on behalf of his family and wife, former studio president Sherry Lansing.

“The French Connection,” based on a true incident, follows maverick New York City cop Detective James “Popeye” Doyle’s efforts to track down Frenchman Fernando Rey, the mastermind of a huge narcotics pipeline funneling heroin into the United States. It contains one of the most exciting chase moments ever captured on film.

Doyle, played by Gene Hackman in an Oscar-nominated performance, almost misses arresting a tube train before rushing to his police car to follow the train as it emerges on an elevated track. Before abandoning the pursuit, he races beneath, dodging cars, trucks, and people, including a woman with a baby stroller.

The film also won Academy Awards for best picture, script, and film editing, propelling Friedkin, then 32, to the forefront of a new generation of filmmakers.

“The Exorcist,” based on William Peter Blatty’s best-selling novel about a 12-year-old girl possessed by the devil, was his next great hit.

The terrifying sequences of the girl’s possession, as well as a stellar cast that included Linda Blair as the kid, Ellen Burstyn as her mother, and Max Von Sydow and Jason Miller as the priests attempting to exorcise the devil from her, contributed to the film’s box-office success. It was so frightening for its day that many spectators left before the end, and some reported being unable to sleep for days afterward.

Friedkin, who won an Oscar for best director for “The French Connection,” died Monday in Los Angeles.

It got ten Academy Award nominations, including one for Friedkin’s direction, and won two for Blatty’s screenplay and sound.

Friedkin would go on to direct films, and T.V. shows long into the twenty-first century after that second breakthrough. But he would never be able to match the success of those early works again.

“To Live and Die in L.A.,” “Cruising,” “Rules of Engagement,” and a T.V. version of the iconic play and Sidney Lumet’s film “12 Angry Men” were among his other film credits. Friedkin also directed episodes of “The Twilight Zone,” “Rebel Highway,” and “CSI: Crime Scene Investigation.”

He began working in local T.V. programs as a teenager after being born in Chicago on August 29, 1939. He was directing live concerts by the age of 16.

“My main influence was dramatic radio when I was a kid,” he noted in a 2001 interview. “I remember listening to it in the dark, with nothing but my imagination.” It was only sound. “I start with the sounds and then move on to the images.”

He transitioned from live events to documentaries with “The People Versus Paul Crump,” released in 1962. It was the story of a death row inmate who rehabilitates himself after being sentenced to death for the murder of a guard during a failed robbery at a Chicago food plant.

Friedkin was so delighted that producer David Wolper brought him to Hollywood to helm network T.V. shows.

Friedkin, who won an Oscar for best director for “The French Connection,” died Monday in Los Angeles.

Friedkin landed his first feature, 1967’s “Good Times,” after working on such shows as “The Bold Ones,” “The Alfred Hitchcock Hour,” and the documentary “The Thin Blue Line.” It was a joyful musical romp starring the pop superstars Sonny and Cher in their sole film appearance together.

He then performed “The Night They Raided Minsky’s,” a play about backstage life at a burlesque theatre, and “The Birthday Party,” a comedy by Harold Pinter. He rose to prominence with 1970’s “The Boys in the Band,” a seminal picture about gay men.

Friedkin was married three times in the 1970s and 1980s: once to French actress Jeanne Moreau, once to British actress Lesley-Anne Down, with whom he had a son, and once to longtime Los Angeles TV newswoman Kelly Lange. Lansing, a Paramount studio executive, married him in 1991.

Friedkin was frequently asked to reflect on his career in recent years, particularly around the 50th anniversaries of his classics, and he was always forthright. He also published a book, “The Friedkin Connection,” 2012. And he wasn’t done: “The Caine Mutiny Court-Martial,” starring Kiefer Sutherland, will premiere at the Venice Film Festival next month.

When asked about the legendary vehicle chase sequence in “The French Connection,” Friedkin told NBC News in 2021 that it was life-threatening and that he would never do it again.

“We did everything you see. There was no computer-generated imagery back then. There was no way around it. “I just pressed the gas pedal, and we went 90 miles per hour in city traffic,” he explained. “It’s a wonder that no one was wounded. I was not killed, and some crew members were not injured or murdered. That’s a risk I’d never take again. I was young, and I didn’t care. I went out and did it. I set out to create a terrific chase scenario without regard for the implications, and now I do.”

SOURCE – (AP)