RIP: William Friedkin
William Friedkin died today from complications of heart failure and pneumonia. Mr. Friedkin was 87.
After his high school graduation, William Friedkin got a job in the mail room at WGN-TV. Within two years, he began working on live shows and documentaries. William Friedkin would go on to have a career primarily as a director of television productions and feature films. He occasional took on the role of producer and/or writer of some of his projects. In 1972, William Friedkin won an Academy Award for Best Director for his work on The French Connection. He was nominated again for an Academy Award for Best Director in 1974 for The Exorcist.
Some of William Friedkin’s television projects include: The People vs Paul Crump; The Bold Men; The Alfred Hitchcock Hour; Pro Football: Mayhem on a Sunday Afternoon; The Thin Blue Line; The Twilight Zone; C.A.T. Squad; Tales from the Crypt; 12 Angry Men and CSI: Crime Scene Investigation (2 episodes).
Some of William Friedkin’s feature films include: The Night They Raided Minsky’s; The Boys in the Band; The French Connection; The Exorcist; Sorcerer; The Brink’s Job; Cruising; The Deal of the Century; To Live and Die in LA; Jade; Rules of Engagement; The Hunted; Killer Joe and The Caine Mutiny Court-Martial.
My favorite William Friedkin movie is The Exorcist. If that was the only film he ever directed, William Friedkin would still be famous for it.
Our thoughts and prayers go out to William Friedkin’s family, friends and fans.
