William Friedkin, the generation-defining director who brought a visceral realism to 1970s hits 鈥淭he French Connection鈥� and 鈥淭he Exorcist鈥� and was quickly anointed one of when he was only in his 30s, has died. He was 87.
Friedkin, who won the for 鈥淭he French Connection,鈥� 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.
鈥淗e was role model to me and to (my brother) Jack,鈥� Cedric Friedkin said. 鈥淗e was a massive inspiration.鈥�
He cemented his legacy early with 鈥淭he French Connection,鈥� which was and deals with the efforts of maverick New York City police Detective James 鈥淧opeye鈥� 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 Rey鈥檚 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, 鈥淭he Exorcist,鈥� released in 1973 and based on bestselling novel about a 12-year-old girl possessed by the devil.
The harrowing scenes of the girl鈥檚 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.
鈥淭he Exorcist鈥� received 10 Oscar nominations, including one for Friedkin as director, and won two, for Blatty鈥檚 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 he鈥檇 received for those early works, and gained a reputation for clashing with both actors and studio executives.
鈥淚 embody arrogance, insecurity and ambition that spur me on as they hold me back,鈥� he wrote in his 2012 memoir.
His 1977 film 鈥淪orcerer,鈥� a gangster thriller starring Roy Scheider was widely panned at the time and also failed with audiences. It鈥檚 since been reappraised by critics and has become a cult classic that Friedkin himself would continue to defend. In 2017, he told IndieWire that it鈥檚 the only of his films that he could still watch.
鈥淭he zeitgeist had changed by the time it came out,鈥� he said in 2013. 鈥淚t came out at the time of 鈥楽tar Wars,鈥� and that more than any film that I can recall really captured the zeitgeist.鈥�
鈥淪tar Wars鈥� was a film he was approached to produce, but he said later that he couldn鈥檛 see its potential. He also turned down 鈥淢ASH鈥� for the same reason.
Francis Ford Coppola praised Friedkin in a statement, saying his films 鈥渁re alive with his genius.
鈥淧ick any of them out of a hat and you鈥檒l be dazzled. His lovable, irascible personality was cover for a beautiful, brilliant, deep-feeling giant of a man. It鈥檚 very hard to grasp that I will never enjoy his company again, but his work will at least stand in for him,鈥� Coppola鈥檚 statement said.
A few years after 鈥淪orcerer鈥� brought him back to Earth, he followed with another disappointment: 鈥淐ruising,鈥� 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 鈥淭o Live and Die in L.A.,鈥� 鈥淩ules of Engagement鈥� and a TV remake of the classic play and Sidney Lumet movie 鈥�12 Angry Men.鈥� Friedkin also directed episodes for such TV shows as 鈥淭he Twilight Zone,鈥� 鈥淩ebel Highway鈥� and 鈥淐SI: Crime Scene Investigation.鈥�
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.
鈥淢y main influence was dramatic radio when I was a kid,鈥� he said in a 2001 interview. 鈥淚 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.鈥�
He moved from live shows to documentaries, making 鈥淭he People Versus Paul Crump,鈥� 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 鈥淭he Bold Ones,鈥� 鈥淭he Alfred Hitchcock Hour鈥� and the documentary 鈥淭he Thin Blue Line,鈥� Friedkin landed his first film, 1967鈥檚 鈥淕ood Times.鈥� 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 鈥淭he Night They Raided Minsky鈥檚,鈥� about backstage life at a burlesque theater, and 鈥淭he Birthday Party,鈥� from a Harold Pinter play. He then gained critical attention with 1970鈥檚 鈥淭he Boys in the Band,鈥� a landmark film about gay men.
Author and film historian Mark Harris wrote on social media that, 鈥淣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 don鈥檛) and Cruising (I don鈥檛 like it, many do). That鈥檚 not nothing.鈥�
Friedkin had three brief marriages in the 1970s and 鈥�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, 鈥淭he Friedkin Connection,鈥� and directed several well-received movies adapted from including 鈥淏ug鈥� and 鈥淜iller Joe,鈥� starring Matthew McConaughey as a hit man. And he wasn鈥檛 done working yet: A new film, 鈥淭he Caine Mutiny Court-Martial,鈥� starring Kiefer Sutherland, is set to premiere next month.
He was also always willing to reflect on his rollercoaster career, especially as 鈥淭he French Connection鈥� celebrated its 50th anniversary. Thinking back to the iconic car chase sequence, Friedkin told NBC 亚洲天堂 in 2021 that it was legitimately life-threatening and that he鈥檇 never do it again.
鈥淓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,鈥� he said. 鈥淭he fact that nobody got hurt is a miracle. The fact that I didn鈥檛 get killed, the fact that some of the crew members didn鈥檛 get hurt or killed. That鈥檚 a chance I would never take again. I was young and I didn鈥檛 give a damn. I just went out and did it. I set out to make a great chase scene and I didn鈥檛 care about the consequences, and now I do.鈥�
Friedkin鈥檚 influence on film and popular culture continues to live on too. A new 鈥淓xorcist鈥� 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.
鈥淚 really don鈥檛 live by what the critics write, although I was aware of the critical reception of all of my films,鈥� he reflected in 2013. 鈥淢y own take on the films I鈥檝e made is based on what I achieved versus what I set out to do.鈥�
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