One of the all-time great filmmakers, Oscar-winner William Friedkin has passed away in Los Angeles at the age of 87, Bloody Disgusting has learned this afternoon.
William Friedkin won “Best Director” at the Academy Awards in 1972 for The French Connection, and he was nominated in the same category just two years later for The Exorcist.
Released in theaters in 1973, The Exorcist has been terrifying audiences across generations ever since, widely considered to be one of the best – and scariest – movies ever made.
William Friedkin got his start directing the TV movie The People vs. Paul Crump in 1962, and a few years later he directed an episode of the TV series “The Alfred Hitchcock Hour.” From there, Friedkin directed films including The Thin Blue Line, Good Times, The Birthday Party, and The Boys in the Band, before winning an Oscar for The French Connection in 1972.
In the wake of The Exorcist, which ended up taking home two Academy Awards in 1974 – Best Writing and Best Sound – Friedkin directed films including Sorcerer, Cruising, To Live and Die in L.A., Rampage, The Guardian, 12 Angry Men, Rules of Engagement, The Hunted, Bug and Killer Joe, as well as the 2017 exorcism documentary The Devil and Father Amorth.
Friedkin also directed episodes of HBO’s “Tales from the Crypt” (Season 4, Episode 3: “On a Deadman’s Chest”) and the 1980s version of “The Twilight Zone” (Season 1, Episode 4: “Nightcrawlers”), along with two episodes of “CSI” between 2007 and 2009.
William Friedkin is survived by wife Sherry Lansing and two sons.
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