Oscar-winning director William Friedkin, best known for “The French Connection” and “The Exorcist,” has died at 87, it was reported Monday.
The filmmaker died on Monday at his home in Los Angeles, his wife Sherry Lansing confirmed to The Hollywood Reporter and The New York Times.
His cause of death was heart failure and pneumonia, his wife, who is the former head of Paramount Pictures in Hollywood, told the Times.
Ronald Grant Archive / Alamy
Friedkin rose to fame in the 1970s with his crime thriller “The French Connection,” earning him five Academy Awards, including for Best Picture, Best Adapted Screenplay and Best Director.
He went on to be nominated for Best Director again for his horror film “The Exorcist” in 1973. The film, which earned 10 Oscar nominations and won two, has been hailed by critics as one of the greatest horror movies of all time.
The film, which was the first horror movie to earn a Best Picture Oscar nomination, shocked audiences — sending some people running out of sold-out theaters — with the graphic depiction of a 12-year-old girl who had become possessed by the devil.