William Friedkin, Oscar-winning director of 'The Exorcist' and 'The French Connection,' dies
The Hindu
William Friedkin, the Oscar-winning director of “The French Connection” and “The Exorcist,” has died at 87. His films made him a generation-defining director and a leading member of a new generation of filmmakers in 1970s
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. He was 87.
Friedkin, who won the best director Oscar for “The French Connection,” died on Monday (August 11) 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. His son Cedric Friedkin told the AP he died after a long illness.
“He was role model to me and to (my brother) Jack," Cedric Friedkin said. "He was a massive inspiration.”
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 Fernando Rey, 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 Gene Hackman in an Oscar-winning performance, barely misses making the arrest on a subway train, then hurries to his police 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 abandoning the pursuit.
The movie, which was made for only $2 million, became a box office hit when it was released in 1971 and also 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, “The Exorcist,” released in 1973 and based on William Peter Blatty’s best-selling novel about a 12-year-old girl possessed by the devil.