William Friedkin

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William Friedkin

Born August 29, 1939 (1939-08-29) (age 68)
Chicago, Illinois
Other name(s) Billy
Spouse(s) Jeanne Moreau (1977-1979)
Lesley-Anne Down (1982-1985)
Kelly Lange (1987-1990)
Sherry Lansing (1991-)

William Friedkin (born August 29, 1939 in Chicago, Illinois) is an Academy Award-winning American movie and television director, producer and screenwriter best known for directing The Exorcist and The French Connection in the early 1970s.

Contents

[edit] Career

After seeing the movie Citizen Kane as a boy, Friedkin became fascinated with movies and began working for WGN-TV immediately after high school. He eventually started his directorial career doing live television shows and documentaries, including The People vs. Paul Crump which won several awards and contributed to the commutation of Crump's death sentence. In 1965 Friedkin moved to Hollywood and two years later released his first feature film, Good Times starring Sonny and Cher. Several other "art" films followed (including the gay movie The Boys in the Band), although Friedkin did not want to be known as an art house director.

In 1971, his The French Connection was released to wide critical acclaim. Shot in a gritty style more suited for documentaries than Hollywood features, the film won five Academy Awards, including Academy Award for Best Picture and Best Director.

Friedkin followed up with 1973's The Exorcist, based on William Peter Blatty's best-selling novel, which revolutionized the horror genre and is considered by some critics to be one of the greatest horror movies of all time. The Exorcist was nominated for 10 Academy Awards, including Best Picture and Best Director.

Following these two critically acclaimed pictures, Friedkin, along with Francis Coppola and Peter Bogdanovich, was deemed as one of the premier directors in Hollywood. Unfortunately, Friedkin's later movies did not achieve the same success. Sorcerer, an American remake of the movie Wages of Fear starring Roy Scheider, was overshadowed by the box office smash, Star Wars, which was released around the same time.

Throughout the 1980s and 1990s, Friedkin's films received mostly lackluster reviews and moderate ticket sales. However, his crime film To Live and Die in L.A., starring William Petersen and Willem Dafoe was a critical favorite.

In 2000, The Exorcist was re-released in theaters with extra footage and grossed $40 million in the U.S. alone.

Friedkin's involvement in 2007's Bug resulted from a positive experience watching the stage version in 2004. He was surprised to find that he was, metaphorically, on the same page as the playwright, and felt that he could relate well to the story. [1]

Later, Friedkin directed an episode of the hit TV series CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, entitled Cockroaches, which re-teamed him with To Live and Die In L.A. star William Petersen.

[edit] Personal life

Friedkin has two sons: Jack (with actress Lesley-Anne Down) and Cedric, whose mother is Australian dancer Jennifer Nairn-Smith. He has been married four times, including a short marriage to French actress Jeanne Moreau. He is currently married to former film executive Sherry Lansing.

[edit] Filmography (as director)

Award information is from The Internet Movie Database (IMDb)[2].

Year Film information Additional information
2007 Bug
2003 The Hunted
  • 2003 Two Golden Trailer nominations (Best Action, Best Horror/Thriller)
2000 Rules of Engagement
  • 2000 Image Award (Outstanding Supporting Actor)
  • World Stunt Award nomination (Best Stunt Coordinator and/or 2nd Unit Director)
1995 Jade
  • 1995 Two Razzie Award nominations. (Worst New Star, Worst Screenplay)
1994 Blue Chips
1990 The Guardian
  • Release Date: 1990
  • Genre: Horror
  • Distributed by:
  • 1990 Three Saturn Award nominations (Best Horror Film, Best Music, Best Supporting Actress)
1988 Rampage
1985 To Live and Die in L.A.
1983 Deal of the Century
  • Release Date: 1983
  • Genre: Comedy
  • Distributed by:
1980 Cruising
1978 The Brink's Job
  • Release Date: 1978
  • Genre: Comedy
  • Distributed by:
  • 1978 Nominated for 1 Oscar. (Best Art Direction-Set Decoration)
1977 Sorcerer
  • 1977 Nominated for 1 Oscar. (Best Sound)
1973 The Exorcist
1971 The French Connection
1970 The Boys in the Band
  • Release Date: March 17, 1970
  • Genre: Drama
  • Distributed by: National General Pictures
  • 1970 Nominated for one Golden Globe award. (Most Promising Newcomer - Male)
1968 The Night They Raided Minsky's
1968 The Birthday Party
1967 Good Times
Preceded by
Franklin J. Schaffner
for Patton		 Academy Award for Best Director
1971
for The French Connection		 Succeeded by
Bob Fosse
for Cabaret

[edit] External links

v • d • e
Academy Award for Best Director

Jerome Robbins and Robert Wise (1961) · David Lean (1962) · Tony Richardson (1963) · George Cukor (1964) · Robert Wise (1965) · Fred Zinnemann (1966) · Mike Nichols (1967) · Carol Reed (1968) · John Schlesinger (1969) · Franklin Schaffner (1970) · William Friedkin (1971) · Bob Fosse (1972) · George Roy Hill (1973) · Francis Ford Coppola (1974) · Miloš Forman (1975) · John G. Avildsen (1976) · Woody Allen (1977) · Michael Cimino (1978) · Robert Benton (1979) · Robert Redford (1980)

Complete List · (1927–1940) · (1941–1960) · (1961–1980) · (1981–2000) · (2001-present)