William Friedkin, the generation-defining director who brought a visceral realism to 1970s hits 91裸聊视频淭he French Connection91裸聊视频� and 91裸聊视频淭he Exorcist91裸聊视频� and was quickly anointed one of when he was only in his 30s, has died. He was 87.
Friedkin, who won the for 91裸聊视频淭he French Connection,91裸聊视频� 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 His son Cedric Friedkin told the AP he died after a long illness.
91裸聊视频淗e was role model to me and to (my brother) Jack,91裸聊视频� Cedric Friedkin said. 91裸聊视频淗e was a massive inspiration.91裸聊视频�
He cemented his legacy early with 91裸聊视频淭he French Connection,91裸聊视频� which was and deals with the efforts of maverick New York City police Detective James 91裸聊视频淧opeye91裸聊视频� Doyle to track down Frenchman Alain Charnier, mastermind of a large drug pipeline funneling heroin into the United States.
It contains one of the most thrilling chase scenes ever filmed: Doyle, played by 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 races underneath, dodging cars, trucks and pedestrians, including a woman pushing a baby buggy, before catching up to one of Rey91裸聊视频檚 henchmen and shooting him.
The movie, which was made for only $2 million, became a box office hit when it was released in 1971. 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.
He followed with an even bigger blockbuster, 91裸聊视频淭he Exorcist,91裸聊视频� released in 1973 and based on bestselling novel about a 12-year-old girl possessed by the devil.
The harrowing scenes of the girl91裸聊视频檚 possession and a splendid cast, including Linda Blair as the girl, as her mother and and Jason Miller as the priests who try to exorcise the devil, helped make the film a box-office sensation. 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.
91裸聊视频淭he Exorcist91裸聊视频� received 10 Oscar nominations, including one for Friedkin as director, and won two, for Blatty91裸聊视频檚 script and for sound.
With that second success, Friedkin would go on to direct movies and TV shows well into the 21st century. But he would never again come close to matching the acclaim he91裸聊视频檇 received for those early works, and gained a reputation for clashing with both actors and studio executives.
91裸聊视频淚 embody arrogance, insecurity and ambition that spur me on as they hold me back,91裸聊视频� he wrote in his 2012 memoir.
His 1977 film 91裸聊视频淪orcerer,91裸聊视频� a gangster thriller starring Roy Scheider was widely panned at the time and also failed with audiences. It91裸聊视频檚 since been reappraised by critics and has become a cult classic that Friedkin himself would continue to defend. In 2017, he told IndieWire that it91裸聊视频檚 the only of his films that he could still watch.
91裸聊视频淭he zeitgeist had changed by the time it came out,91裸聊视频� he said in 2013. 91裸聊视频淚t came out at the time of 91裸聊视频楽tar Wars,91裸聊视频� and that more than any film that I can recall really captured the zeitgeist.91裸聊视频�
91裸聊视频淪tar Wars91裸聊视频� was a film he was approached to produce, but he said later that he couldn91裸聊视频檛 see its potential. He also turned down 91裸聊视频淢ASH91裸聊视频� for the same reason.
Francis Ford Coppola praised Friedkin in a statement, saying his films 91裸聊视频渁re alive with his genius.
91裸聊视频淧ick any of them out of a hat and you91裸聊视频檒l be dazzled. His lovable, irascible personality was cover for a beautiful, brilliant, deep-feeling giant of a man. It91裸聊视频檚 very hard to grasp that I will never enjoy his company again, but his work will at least stand in for him,91裸聊视频� Coppola91裸聊视频檚 statement said.
A few years after 91裸聊视频淪orcerer91裸聊视频� brought him back to Earth, he followed with another disappointment: 91裸聊视频淐ruising,91裸聊视频� starring as a cop who goes undercover to solve the grisly murders of several gay men. It was protested by gay rights activists for how it depicted homosexuality.
Other film credits included 91裸聊视频淭o Live and Die in L.A.,91裸聊视频� 91裸聊视频淩ules of Engagement91裸聊视频� and a TV remake of the classic play and Sidney Lumet movie 91裸聊视频�12 Angry Men.91裸聊视频� Friedkin also directed episodes for such TV shows as 91裸聊视频淭he Twilight Zone,91裸聊视频� 91裸聊视频淩ebel Highway91裸聊视频� and 91裸聊视频淐SI: Crime Scene Investigation.91裸聊视频�
Born in Chicago on Aug. 29, 1935, he began working in local TV productions as a teenager. By age 16, he was directing live shows.
91裸聊视频淢y main influence was dramatic radio when I was a kid,91裸聊视频� he said in a 2001 interview. 91裸聊视频淚 remember listening to it in the dark, Everything was left to the imagination. It was just sound. I think of the sounds first and then the images.91裸聊视频�
He moved from live shows to documentaries, making 91裸聊视频淭he People Versus Paul Crump,91裸聊视频� in 1962. It was the story of a prison inmate who rehabilitates himself on Death Row after being sentenced for the murder of a guard during a botched robbery at a Chicago food plant.
Producer David Wolper was so impressed with it that he brought Friedkin to Hollywood to direct network TV shows.
After working on such shows as 91裸聊视频淭he Bold Ones,91裸聊视频� 91裸聊视频淭he Alfred Hitchcock Hour91裸聊视频� and the documentary 91裸聊视频淭he Thin Blue Line,91裸聊视频� Friedkin landed his first film, 196791裸聊视频檚 91裸聊视频淕ood Times.91裸聊视频� It was a lighthearted musical romp headlined by the pop duo Sonny and Cher in what would be their only movie appearance together.
He followed that with 91裸聊视频淭he Night They Raided Minsky91裸聊视频檚,91裸聊视频� about backstage life at a burlesque theater, and 91裸聊视频淭he Birthday Party,91裸聊视频� from a Harold Pinter play. He then gained critical attention with 197091裸聊视频檚 91裸聊视频淭he Boys in the Band,91裸聊视频� a landmark film about gay men.
Author and film historian Mark Harris wrote on social media that, 91裸聊视频淣ot many directors can say they made a gay movie that people argue about decades later. William Friedkin made two: Boys in the Band (I like it, many don91裸聊视频檛) and Cruising (I don91裸聊视频檛 like it, many do). That91裸聊视频檚 not nothing.91裸聊视频�
Friedkin had three brief marriages in the 1970s and 91裸聊视频�80s, to French actress British actress Lesley-Anne Down, with whom he had a son; and longtime Los Angeles TV news anchor Kelly Lange. In 1991, he married Paramount studio executive Lansing.
In recent years, Friedkin wrote a candid memoir, 91裸聊视频淭he Friedkin Connection,91裸聊视频� and directed several well-received movies adapted from including 91裸聊视频淏ug91裸聊视频� and 91裸聊视频淜iller Joe,91裸聊视频� starring Matthew McConaughey as a hit man. And he wasn91裸聊视频檛 done working yet: A new film, 91裸聊视频淭he Caine Mutiny Court-Martial,91裸聊视频� starring Kiefer Sutherland, is set to premiere next month.
He was also always willing to reflect on his rollercoaster career, especially as 91裸聊视频淭he French Connection91裸聊视频� celebrated its 50th anniversary. Thinking back to the iconic car chase sequence, Friedkin told NBC News in 2021 that it was legitimately life-threatening and that he91裸聊视频檇 never do it again.
91裸聊视频淓verything you see, we actually did. There was no CGI then. There was no way to fake it. I just put the pedal to the metal, and we went 90 miles an hour in city traffic,91裸聊视频� he said. 91裸聊视频淭he fact that nobody got hurt is a miracle. The fact that I didn91裸聊视频檛 get killed, the fact that some of the crew members didn91裸聊视频檛 get hurt or killed. That91裸聊视频檚 a chance I would never take again. I was young and I didn91裸聊视频檛 give a damn. I just went out and did it. I set out to make a great chase scene and I didn91裸聊视频檛 care about the consequences, and now I do.91裸聊视频�
Friedkin91裸聊视频檚 influence on film and popular culture continues to live on too. A new 91裸聊视频淓xorcist91裸聊视频� film is even coming out this year, from director with Burstyn reprising her role.
Friedkin said he never got too worried about what the critics were saying over the years.
91裸聊视频淚 really don91裸聊视频檛 live by what the critics write, although I was aware of the critical reception of all of my films,91裸聊视频� he reflected in 2013. 91裸聊视频淢y own take on the films I91裸聊视频檝e made is based on what I achieved versus what I set out to do.91裸聊视频�
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