William Friedkin
Born: 1935-08-29 in Chicago, Illinois, USA
Died: 2023-08-07
Known For: Directing
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.
Filmography
2026
- Mineshaft: The Cruising Murders as Self (archive footage)
2024
2023
- 100 Years of Warner Bros. as Self
- The Caine Mutiny Court-Martial ... (Teleplay)
2021
- I Am Alfred Hitchcock as Self (archive footage)
- Algren as Self
2020
- Fellini of the Spirits as Self
2019
2018
- Friedkin Uncut as Self
- The Devil and Father Amorth as Self
2016
2015
- Verdi Aida ... (Stage Director)
- Sorcerers: A Conversation with William Friedkin and Nicolas Winding Refn
2014
- Magician: The Astonishing Life and Work of Orson Welles as Self - Filmmaker (archive footage)
- Henri Langlois vu par... as Self
2013
- Tales from the Warner Bros. Lot as Self
- A Fuller Life as Self - Reader (segment "My Ballsy Yarns")
- Don't Say No Until I Finish Talking: The Story of Richard D. Zanuck as Self
- The Making of the Wonderful Wizard of Oz as Self
2012
- Killer Joe ... (Director)
- Stanley Kubrick in Focus as Self
- Michael Curtiz: The Greatest Director You Never Heard Of as Self
- Casablanca: An Unlikely Classic as Self
2011
- Miller's Tale as Self
- Making the Boys as Self
2010
- Godard Made in USA as Self
- The Exorcist Locations: Georgetown Then and Now as Self
- Raising Hell: Filming the Exorcist as Self
2009
2008
2007
- Bug ... (Director)
- The Man Who Shot Chinatown: The Life and Work of John A. Alonzo as Self
- Great Bolshy Yarblockos!: Making 'A Clockwork Orange' as Self
- Standing on the Shoulders of Kubrick: The Legacy of 2001 as Self
- Exorcising 'Cruising' as Self
- The History of 'Cruising' as Self
- Vision of a Future Passed: The Prophecy of 2001 as Self
- View from the Overlook: Crafting 'The Shining' as Self
- The Painter's Voice ... (Director)
- Tatort Oper - Wie Filmemacher Oper machen as Self
- The Visions of Stanley Kubrick as Self
2006
- Shadows of Suspense as Self
2004
- Leçon de Cinéma as Self
- A Little Solitaire as Self
2003
- The Hunted ... (Director)
- A Decade Under the Influence as Self
- Filming “The Hunted” as Self
- Counterfeit World: Making 'To Live and Die in L.A.' as Self
- The Cutting Edge as Self
- Narc: The Friedkin Connection as Self
- Pursuing “The Hunted” as Self
2002
- Through the Night with... as Self
2000
- CSI: Crime Scene Investigation ... (Director)
- Rules of Engagement ... (Director)
- The Poughkeepsie Shuffle: Tracing 'The French Connection' as Self
1998
- Without Limits as TV Director
- The Fear of God: 25 Years of The Exorcist as Self - Director
- Billy Wilder: The Human Comedy as Self
1997
- 12 Angry Men ... (Director)
- Howard Hawks: American Artist as Self
- Hollywood Halloween as Self
1995
- Jade ... (Director)
1994
- Rebel Highway ... (Director)
- Blue Chips ... (Director)
- Jailbreakers ... (Director)
1991
- Fear in the Dark as Self
1990
- The Guardian ... (Director)
1989
- The Simpsons as Dr. Kenneth Humphries (voice)
- Tales from the Crypt ... (Director)
1988
- C.A.T. Squad: Python Wolf ... (Director)
1987
- Rampage ... (Director)
1986
- C.A.T. Squad ... (Executive Producer)
- Putting It Together: The Making of the Broadway Album as Self
1985
- The Twilight Zone ... (Director)
- To Live and Die in L.A. ... (Director)
1983
- Deal of the Century ... (Director)
1980
- Cruising ... (Writer)
1978
- The Brink's Job ... (Director)
1977
- Sorcerer ... (Director)
1975
- Conversation with Fritz Lang as Self
1974
- Oscars, Actors and The Exorcist as Self
1973
- The Exorcist ... (Director)
- Paper Moon ... (Executive Producer)
1971
- The French Connection ... (Director)
1970
- The Boys in the Band ... (Director)
1968
- The Night They Raided Minsky's ... (Director)
- The Birthday Party ... (Director)
1967
- Good Times ... (Director)
- The Pickle Brothers ... (Director)
- Muggins ... (Producer)
1966
- The Thin Blue Line ... (Producer)
1965
- The Bold Men ... (Director)
- Pro Football: Mayhem on a Sunday Afternoon ... (Director)
1962
- The Alfred Hitchcock Hour ... (Director)
- The People vs. Paul Crump ... (Director)