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William Friedkin
Age: 74
Height: 6'
Birth Place: Chicago, Illinois, USA
Born: Aug. 29th, 1935
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William Friedkin's Main TV Roles
NOTE: Complete List of Works can be found at
IMDB
BIOGRAPHY: Friedkin's mother was an operating room nurse. His father was a merchant seaman, semi-pro softball player and ultimately sold clothes in a men's discount chain. He never earned more than $50/week in his whole life and died indigent. Friedkin became infatuated with Orson Welles after seeing Citizen Kane (1941). He went to work for WGN TV immediately after graduating from high school where he started making documentaries, one of which won the Golden Gate Award at the 1962 San Francisco film festival. In 1965, he moved to Hollywood and immediately started directing TV shows, including an episode of the "The Alfred Hitchcock Hour" (1962). Hitchcock chastised him for not wearing a tie.
TRIVIA:
- In 1985, was sued for plagiarism by 'Michael Mann (I)' (qv), who claimed that _To Live and Die in L.A. (1985)_ (qv) stole the entire concept of Mann's TV series _"Miami Vice" (1984)_ (qv). Mann lost the lawsuit.
- His video for 'Laura Branigan' (qv)'s song "self control" has never been shown in its entirety on MTV. Friedkin's uncut version features a brief shot of a female breast.
- Biography in: John Wakeman, editor. "World Film Directors, Volume Two, 1945-1985". Pages 372-375. New York: The H.W. Wilson Company, 1988.
- After _The Exorcist (1973)_ (qv), he was planning on making a film about Aliens and Atlantis. But, after _Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977)_ (qv) went into production, he abandoned the film and made _Sorcerer (1977)_ (qv), instead.
- He was believed to be the youngest person to win the Best Director Oscar, at age 32. Later, he was discovered to have actually been born in 1935, and was 36 at the time. The record returned to 'Norman Taurog' (qv).
- He directed 5 different actors in Oscar-nominated performances: 'Gene Hackman' (qv), 'Roy Scheider' (qv), 'Jason Miller (I)' (qv), 'Ellen Burstyn' (qv) and 'Linda Blair' (qv). Hackman won an Oscar for _The French Connection (1971)_ (qv).
- His two most famous films, _The French Connection (1971)_ (qv) and _The Exorcist (1973)_ (qv), both begin in a foreign country, in which something in that country is brought over to America and then dealt with by American "authorities" in that field. _The French Connection (1971)_ (qv) has drugs coming from France and then dealt with by American narcotics officers; _The Exorcist (1973)_ (qv) has a demonic presence (from an idol) coming from Iraq to America, and dealt with by American priests.
- Does not like to work with storyboards.
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