William Friedkin, the groundbreaking U.S. director of “The Exorcist” and “The French Connection,” died on Aug. 7, a family friend told AFP. He was 87.
Friedkin passed away in Los Angeles after suffering unspecified health issues in recent years, said Stephen Galloway, a former Hollywood Reporter executive editor.
“He died this morning,” confirmed Galloway, after speaking with Friedkin’s wife.
Friedkin had “been working until a few weeks ago,” but “had been in declining health,” he added.
Friedkin was among a crop of influential young “New Hollywood” directors who fundamentally reshaped the US film industry, upsetting a long-established system in which powerful studio producers had reigned supreme.
Alongside fellow auteurs such as Francis Ford Coppola and Martin Scorsese, Friedkin exploded onto the scene in the early 1970s, with gritty cop drama “The French Connection.”
Starring Gene Hackman, it won five Oscars including for best director and best picture.
He followed that up with “The Exorcist,” in 1973 It was a huge commercial and critical hit, as well as being deeply controversial.
