William Friedkin

Personal Info

Known For

Directing

Known Credits

66

Gender

Male

Birthday

1935-08-29

Day of death

2023-08-07 (87 years old)

Place of Birth

Chicago, Illinois, USA

William Friedkin

Biography

William David Friedkin (August 29, 1935 – August 7, 2023) was an American film, television and opera director, producer, and screenwriter who was closely identified with the "New Hollywood" movement of the 1970s. Beginning his career in documentaries in the early 1960s, he is best known for his crime thriller film The French Connection (1971), which won five Academy Awards, including Best Picture and Best Director, and the horror film The Exorcist (1973), which earned him another Academy Award nomination for Best Director. Friedkin's other films in the 1970s and 1980s include the drama The Boys in the Band (1970), considered a milestone of queer cinema; the originally deprecated, now lauded thriller Sorcerer (1977); the crime comedy drama The Brink's Job (1978); the controversial thriller Cruising (1980); and the neo-noir thriller To Live and Die in L.A. (1985). Although Friedkin's works suffered an overall commercial and critical decline in the late 1980s, his last three feature films, all based on plays, were positively received by critics: the psychological horror film Bug (2006), the crime film Killer Joe (2011), and the legal drama film The Caine Mutiny Court-Martial (2023), released two months after his death. He also worked extensively as an opera director from 1998 until his death, and directed various television films and series episodes for television. Description above from the Wikipedia article William Friedkin, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.

Known For

  • The Simpsons

    The Simpsons

  • Through the Night with...

    Through the Night with...

  • The Poughkeepsie Shuffle: Tracing 'The French Connection'

    The Poughkeepsie Shuffle: Tracing 'The French Connection'

  • 100 Years of Warner Bros.

    100 Years of Warner Bros.

  • Without Limits

    Without Limits

  • The Fear of God: 25 Years of The Exorcist

    The Fear of God: 25 Years of The Exorcist

  • The History of 'Cruising'

    The History of 'Cruising'

  • The Masterpiece That Almost Wasn't

    The Masterpiece That Almost Wasn't

  • Fear and Love: The Story of The Exorcist

    Fear and Love: The Story of The Exorcist

  • A Decade Under the Influence

    A Decade Under the Influence

  • Henri Langlois vu par...

    Henri Langlois vu par...

  • Stanley Kubrick in Focus

    Stanley Kubrick in Focus

  • Leap of Faith: William Friedkin on The Exorcist

    Leap of Faith: William Friedkin on The Exorcist

  • Casablanca: An Unlikely Classic

    Casablanca: An Unlikely Classic

  • Michael Curtiz: The Greatest Director You Never Heard Of

    Michael Curtiz: The Greatest Director You Never Heard Of

  • The History of 'Cruising'

    The History of 'Cruising'

  • I Am Alfred Hitchcock

    I Am Alfred Hitchcock

  • Vision of a Future Passed: The Prophecy of 2001

    Vision of a Future Passed: The Prophecy of 2001

  • Exorcising 'Cruising'

    Exorcising 'Cruising'

  • Magician: The Astonishing Life and Work of Orson Welles

    Magician: The Astonishing Life and Work of Orson Welles

  • Leçon de Cinéma

    Leçon de Cinéma

  • Narc: The Friedkin Connection

    Narc: The Friedkin Connection

  • The Devil and Father Amorth

    The Devil and Father Amorth

  • The Cutting Edge

    The Cutting Edge

  • Tales from the Warner Bros. Lot

    Tales from the Warner Bros. Lot

  • The Lost Print: The Making of Orson Welles’ The Magnificent Ambersons

    The Lost Print: The Making of Orson Welles’ The Magnificent Ambersons

  • Shadows of Suspense

    Shadows of Suspense

  • Shadows in the Dark: The Val Lewton Legacy

    Shadows in the Dark: The Val Lewton Legacy

  • Hollywood Halloween

    Hollywood Halloween

  • The Making of the Wonderful Wizard of Oz

    The Making of the Wonderful Wizard of Oz

  • Raising Hell: Filming the Exorcist

    Raising Hell: Filming the Exorcist

  • Fellini of the Spirits

    Fellini of the Spirits

  • Filming “The Hunted”

    Filming “The Hunted”

  • Pure Cinema: Through the Eyes of Hitchcock

    Pure Cinema: Through the Eyes of Hitchcock

  • Friedkin Uncut

    Friedkin Uncut

  • Making the Connection: Untold Stories of The French Connection

    Making the Connection: Untold Stories of The French Connection

  • Howard Hawks: American Artist

    Howard Hawks: American Artist

  • A Fuller Life

    A Fuller Life

  • Pursuing “The Hunted”

    Pursuing “The Hunted”

  • Breaking Barriers: The Sound of Hitchcock

    Breaking Barriers: The Sound of Hitchcock

  • Victor Fleming: Master Craftsman

    Victor Fleming: Master Craftsman

  • Don't Say No Until I Finish Talking: The Story of Richard D. Zanuck

    Don't Say No Until I Finish Talking: The Story of Richard D. Zanuck

  • Great Bolshy Yarblockos!: Making 'A Clockwork Orange'

    Great Bolshy Yarblockos!: Making 'A Clockwork Orange'

  • The Exorcist Locations: Georgetown Then and Now

    The Exorcist Locations: Georgetown Then and Now

  • Miller's Tale

    Miller's Tale

  • Making the Boys

    Making the Boys

  • In the Master's Shadow: Hitchcock's Legacy

    In the Master's Shadow: Hitchcock's Legacy

  • Algren

    Algren

  • Billy Wilder: The Human Comedy

    Billy Wilder: The Human Comedy

  • A Little Solitaire

    A Little Solitaire

  • Godard Made in USA

    Godard Made in USA

  • North by Northwest: One for the Ages

    North by Northwest: One for the Ages

  • Oscars, Actors and The Exorcist

    Oscars, Actors and The Exorcist

  • Counterfeit World: Making 'To Live and Die in L.A.'

    Counterfeit World: Making 'To Live and Die in L.A.'

  • Tatort Oper - Wie Filmemacher Oper machen

    Tatort Oper - Wie Filmemacher Oper machen

  • The Visions of Stanley Kubrick

    The Visions of Stanley Kubrick

  • Fear in the Dark

    Fear in the Dark

  • Putting It Together: The Making of the Broadway Album

    Putting It Together: The Making of the Broadway Album

  • View from the Overlook: Crafting 'The Shining'

    View from the Overlook: Crafting 'The Shining'

  • Fasten Your Seatbelt: The Thrilling Art of Alfred Hitchcock

    Fasten Your Seatbelt: The Thrilling Art of Alfred Hitchcock

  • Conversation with Fritz Lang

    Conversation with Fritz Lang

  • The Master's Touch: Hitchcock's Signature Style

    The Master's Touch: Hitchcock's Signature Style

  • Return to the Genre

    Return to the Genre

  • The Man Who Shot Chinatown: The Life and Work of John A. Alonzo

    The Man Who Shot Chinatown: The Life and Work of John A. Alonzo

  • Sorcerers: A Conversation with William Friedkin and Nicolas Winding Refn

    Sorcerers: A Conversation with William Friedkin and Nicolas Winding Refn

  • Anatomy of a Chase

    Anatomy of a Chase