William Friedkin, Oscar-winning director of ‘The Exorcist’ and ‘The French Connection’, dies

William Friedkin, the Oscar-winning director of ‘The French Connection’ and ‘The Exorcist’, died in Los Angeles on August 7. He was 87. His wife, former studio head Sherry Lansing confirmed the news to The Hollywood Reporter.

No cause of death has yet been confirmed. The director was said to have suffered health issues in recent years.

Tributes from celebrities and fans began pouring in on social media.

Friedkin’s ‘French Connection’, based on a true story, 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.

The movie won Academy Awards for best picture, screenplay. and film editing.

The movie was followed by an even bigger blockbuster, ‘The Exorcist’, based on William Peter Blatty’s best-selling novel about a 12-year-old girl possessed by the devil. The movie received 10 Oscar nominations, including one for Friedkin as director, and won two, for Blatty’s script and for sound.

Other film credits included ‘To Live and Die in L.A.’, ‘Cruising’, ‘Rules of Engagement’ and a TV remake of the classic play and Sidney Lumet movie ‘12 Angry Men’.

Friedkin also directed episodes for such TV shows as ‘The Twilight Zone’, ‘Rebel Highway’ and ‘CSI: Crime Scene Investigation’

Friedkin had three brief marriages in the 1970s and ’80s, to French actress Jeanne Moreau; 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 Sherry Lansing.

Friedkin’s new film ‘The Caine Mutiny Court-Martial’, starring Kiefer Sutherland, is set to premiere at the Venice Film Festival in September.

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