William Friedkin Obituary: Oscar-Winning Director William Friedkin’s Cause of Death Revealed

William Friedkin, one of the most influential and innovative filmmakers of his generation, passed away on August 7, 2023, at the age of 87. He was surrounded by his family at his home in Bel Air, Los Angeles during his last breath. His wife, Sherry Lansing, a former Paramount Pictures executive, confirmed that the cause of his death was heart failure and pneumonia.

He was best known for directing two of the most iconic films of the 1970s: The French Connection and The Exorcist, both of which earned him Academy Award nominations and critical acclaim.

William Friedkin also directed other notable films such as Sorcerer, To Live and Die in L.A., The Hunted, Bug, and Killer Joe. In this article, we will pay tribute to his life and career, and explore his legacy as a master storyteller.

Early Life and Career

This talented director was born on August 29, 1935, in Chicago, Illinois, to Jewish immigrants from Ukraine. He grew up in a poor and religious household, where he developed a fascination with movies and radio. William Friedkin dropped out of high school at 16 and started working as a mailboy at WGN-TV, a local television station. He soon rose through the ranks and became a director of live TV shows, documentaries, and commercials. He won several awards for his work, including an Emmy for The People vs. Paul Crump, a documentary about a death row inmate.

In 1965, he moved to Hollywood and made his feature film debut with Good Times, a musical comedy starring Sonny and Cher. The film was a flop, but Friedkin later said it was the most fun he ever had making a movie. William Friedkin followed it with two more unsuccessful films: The Birthday Party, an adaptation of Harold Pinter’s play; and The Night They Raided Minsky’s, a comedy about burlesque.

Quick Facts

Breakthrough with The French Connection and The Exorcist

Friedkin’s career took off in 1971 with The French Connection, a gritty crime thriller based on a true story of two New York cops who pursue a French drug lord. Friedkin researched the film by shadowing the real detectives, Eddie Egan, and Sonny Grosso, and used documentary-style techniques to create a realistic and suspenseful atmosphere.

The film featured one of the most famous car chase scenes in cinema history, in which Gene Hackman’s character drives recklessly under an elevated subway train. The film was a huge hit, earning $50 million at the box office from a $2 million budget.

William Friedkin followed his success with another blockbuster: The Exorcist, an adaptation of William Peter Blatty’s novel about a young girl possessed by a demon. The film was plagued by production problems, such as injuries, fires, and delays. Friedkin also clashed with the studio over the final cut and the marketing of the film. Despite these difficulties, the film became a cultural phenomenon, grossing over $400 million worldwide from a $12 million budget.

It also received 10 Oscar nominations, including Best Picture and Best Director, and won two for Best Adapted Screenplay and Best Sound Mixing. The film terrified audiences with its graphic scenes of possession and exorcism, as well as its exploration of faith and evil.

Later Career and Legacy

After the success of The French Connection and The Exorcist, Friedkin had trouble replicating his earlier achievements. His next film, Sorcerer (1977), a remake of Henri-Georges Clouzot’s The Wages of Fear (1953), was a commercial and critical failure at the time of its release. It was overshadowed by Star Wars (1977), which changed the landscape of Hollywood cinema. However, Sorcerer has since been re-evaluated as one of Friedkin’s best films, praised for its technical virtuosity and existential themes.

William Friedkin continued to make films in various genres throughout the 1980s and 1990s, such as Cruising (1980), a controversial thriller about a serial killer targeting gay men; To Live and Die in L.A. (1985), a stylish neo-noir about counterfeiters; Rampage (1988), a courtroom drama about capital punishment; The Guardian (1990), a horror film about an evil nanny; Blue Chips (1994), a sports drama about college basketball; Jade (1995), an erotic thriller written by Joe Eszterhas; Rules of Engagement (2000), a military drama starring Samuel L. Jackson and Tommy Lee Jones; The Hunted (2003), an action thriller about a rogue assassin; Bug (2006), a psychological horror film based on a play by Tracy Letts; and Killer Joe (2011), a black comedy also based on a play by Letts.

William Friedkin also directed several operas, documentaries, and TV episodes. He published his memoir, The Friedkin Connection, in 2013. He received several honors for his work, including the Golden Lion for Lifetime Achievement at the Venice Film Festival in 2013 and the Lumière Award in 2017.

Friedkin is widely regarded as one of the most influential and innovative filmmakers of his generation, along with his peers such as Francis Ford Coppola, Martin Scorsese, Steven Spielberg, and George Lucas. He was known for his uncompromising vision, his meticulous research, his use of realism and improvisation, his mastery of editing and sound, and his ability to create tension and suspense. He influenced many filmmakers, such as David Fincher, Quentin Tarantino, Christopher Nolan, Paul Thomas Anderson, and Edgar Wright.

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