Sad news to report today, as it has been announced that Oscar-winning filmmaker William Friedkin, the acclaimed director behind The French Connection and The Exorcist, has passed away aged 87.
Beginning his career straight out of high school directing TV and documentaries (including an episode of The Alfred Hitchcock Hour), Friedkin made his feature debut with 1967’s Good Times starring Sonny and Cher. He’d go on to direct several other films including the landmark gay drama The Boys in the Band in 1970 before 1971’s The French Connection, which was a huge critical success and won five Oscars including Best Picture and Best Director.
Friedkin followed The French Connection by adapting William Peter Blatty’s novel The Exorcist. Released in 1973, the iconic film revolutionised the horror genre, receiving ten Oscar nominations (including Best Picture and Best Director) and remaining the highest-grossing R-rated horror movie in history until finally being toppled in 2017 by It.
Post-The Exorcist, Friedkin’s credits would include the likes of Sorcerer (1977), Cruising (1980), To Live and Die in L.A. (1985), Jade (1995), Rules of Engagement (2000) and Killer Joe (2011). He also recently wrapped what is ultimately his final film, the legal drama The Caine Mutiny Court-Martial, which is slated to premiere at the Venice International Film Festival next month.
