Full list by date of death

William Friedkin

Director

Born - 25 August 1935, Los Angeles, California, USA
Died - 7 August 2023

Tall, dark, youthful-looking, owlishly bespectacled American director, an ace at working out stunning set pieces, who started directing for TV at only 25. After Good Times (1967), he made four fine films - The Night They Raided Minsky's (1968), The Boys in the Band (1970), The French Connection (1971) and The Exorcist (1973), but then rather lost his way. Later output includes The Wages of Fear/Sorcerer (1977), Cruising (1980), Deal of the Century (1983), To Live and Die in LA (1985), Rampage (1987), The Guardian (1990), Blue Chips (1994), Jade (1995), Rules of Engagement (1999), The Hunted (2003), Bug (2006), Killer Joe (2011) and The Devil and Father Amorth (2017), his last. Four times married - all to actresses: Jeanne Moreau, Lesley-Anne Down, Kelly Lange and lastly Sherry Lansing, who became a Hollywood production executive and survives him. He died from pneumonia and heart failure.