Film director William Friedkin (Chicago, 1935) has died this Monday at the age of 87 in Los Angeles, as confirmed by his wife and former producer Sherry Lansing and published by 'The Guardian'.
Friedkin, at just 32 years old, won the Oscar for best director for 'The French Connection,' a film based on a true story that chronicles the efforts of maverick New York City police detective James 'Popeye' Doyle to track down Frenchman Fernando Rey, mastermind of a large drug channel that funnels heroin into the United States. In addition, the film also won Academy Awards for Best Picture, Screenplay and Film Editing and led critics to hail Friedkin as a leading member of a new generation of filmmakers.
As if that were not enough, two years later he would achieve an even bigger box office success with 'The Exorcist', based on William Peter Blatty's best-selling novel about a 12-year-old girl possessed by the devil. Heartbreaking scenes of the girl's possession and a superb cast, including Linda Blair as the girl, Ellen Burstyn as her mother, and Max Von Sydow and Jason Miller as the priests trying to exorcise the demon from her, helped make the film a box office sensation. In fact, many spectators were forced to leave the cinemas before it ended due to the terror they suffered when viewing it and some could not sleep for days.
"The Exorcist" received 10 Oscar nominations, including one for Friedkin for director, and won two, for Blatty's screenplay and for sound. With that second success, Friedkin would go on to direct movies and television shows well into the 21st century. But he would never again match the success of those early works.
Other film credits include 'The Night They Raided Minsky's' (1968), 'The Boys in the Band' (1970), 'The French Connection' (1971), 'The Exorcist' (1973), 'Sorcerer' (1977), 'Cruising' (1980), 'To Live and Die in Los Angeles' (1985), 'Jade' (1995), 'Rules of Engagement' (2000) and 'The Hunted' (2003).
In addition, throughout his career he has obtained awards and nominations in competitions such as the Golden Globes and festivals such as Cannes, Locarno, Sitges or Venice.
