29, 1935, he began working in local TV productions as a teenager. Other film credits included “To Live and Die in L.A.,” “Rules of Engagement” and a TV remake of the classic play and Sidney Lumet movie “12 Angry Men.” Friedkin also directed episodes for such TV shows as “The Twilight Zone,” “Rebel Highway” and “CSI: Crime Scene Investigation.”īorn in Chicago on Aug. It was protested by gay rights activists for how it depicted homosexuality. It’s very hard to grasp that I will never enjoy his company again, but his work will at least stand in for him,” Coppola's statement said.Ī few years after “Sorcerer” brought him back to Earth, he followed with another disappointment: “Cruising,” starring Al Pacino as a cop who goes undercover to solve the grisly murders of several gay men. His lovable, irascible personality was cover for a beautiful, brilliant, deep-feeling giant of a man. "Pick any of them out of a hat and you’ll be dazzled. But he would never again come close to matching the acclaim he'd received for those early works, and gained a reputation for clashing with both actors and studio executives. With that second success, Friedkin would go on to direct movies and TV shows well into the 21st century. “The Exorcist” received 10 Oscar nominations, including one for Friedkin as director, and won two, for Blatty’s script and for sound. It was so scary for its era that many viewers fled the theater before it was over and some reported being unable to sleep for days afterward. The harrowing scenes of the girl’s possession and a splendid cast, including Linda Blair as the girl, Ellen Burstyn as her mother and Max Von Sydow and Jason Miller as the priests who try to exorcise the devil, helped make the film a box-office sensation. He followed with an even bigger blockbuster, “The Exorcist,” released in 1973 and based on William Peter Blatty’s bestselling novel about a 12-year-old girl possessed by the devil. It won Academy Awards for best picture, screenplay and film editing, and led critics to hail Friedkin, then just 32, as a leading member of a new generation of filmmakers. The movie, which was made for only $2 million, became a box office hit when it was released in 1971. He races underneath, dodging cars, trucks and pedestrians, including a woman pushing a baby buggy, before catching up to one of Rey's henchmen and shooting him. It contains one of the most thrilling chase scenes ever filmed: Doyle, played by Gene Hackman in an Oscar-winning performance, barely misses making the arrest on a subway train, then stops a passing car to follow the train as it emerges on an elevated railway. He cemented his legacy early with “The French Connection,” which was based on a true story and deals with the efforts of maverick New York City police Detective James “Popeye” Doyle to track down Frenchman Alain Charnier, mastermind of a large drug pipeline funneling heroin into the United States. “He was role model to me and to (my brother) Jack," Cedric Friedkin said. His son Cedric Friedkin told the AP he died after a long illness. He was 87.įriedkin, who won the best director Oscar for “The French Connection,” died Monday in Los Angeles, Marcia Franklin, his executive assistant for 24 years, told The Associated Press on behalf of his family and wife, former studio head Sherry Lansing. LOS ANGELES - William Friedkin, the generation-defining director who brought a visceral realism to 1970s hits “The French Connection” and “The Exorcist" and was quickly anointed one of Hollywood's top directors when he was only in his 30s, has died.
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