Trending

FILM DIRECTOR

William Friedkin

1935 - 2023

Photo of William Friedkin

Icon of person William Friedkin

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). Read more on Wikipedia

Since 2007, the English Wikipedia page of William Friedkin has received more than 3,806,616 page views. His biography is available in 44 different languages on Wikipedia (up from 42 in 2019). William Friedkin is the 92nd most popular film director (up from 165th in 2019), the 626th most popular biography from United States (up from 1,077th in 2019) and the 19th most popular American Film Director.

William Friedkin is most famous for directing the horror film The Exorcist.

Memorability Metrics

  • 3.8M

    Page Views (PV)

  • 65.40

    Historical Popularity Index (HPI)

  • 44

    Languages Editions (L)

  • 4.21

    Effective Languages (L*)

  • 4.21

    Coefficient of Variation (CV)

Among FILM DIRECTORS

Among film directors, William Friedkin ranks 92 out of 2,041. Before him are Fred Zinnemann, Wolfgang Petersen, Satyajit Ray, Jim Jarmusch, Carl Theodor Dreyer, and Richard Attenborough. After him are Andrzej Żuławski, Robert Bresson, René Clair, George Cukor, Sidney Lumet, and Michael Mann.

Most Popular Film Directors in Wikipedia

Go to all Rankings
Load previousLoad previous

Contemporaries

Among people born in 1935, William Friedkin ranks 30. Before him are Luis Suárez, Theo Angelopoulos, Edward Said, John Cazale, Mohamed Hussein Tantawi, and Sylvia Earle. After him are Gherman Titov, Mylène Demongeot, Mercedes Sosa, Bibi Andersson, Seiji Ozawa, and Miroslav Blažević. Among people deceased in 2023, William Friedkin ranks 41. Before him are Harry Belafonte, Robert Solow, László Sólyom, Renata Scotto, Matthew Perry, and Antonio Negri. After him are Ryuichi Sakamoto, Paul Berg, Wolfgang Schäuble, Martin Amis, Karel Schwarzenberg, and Rosalynn Carter.

Others Born in 1935

Go to all Rankings
Load previousLoad previous

Others Deceased in 2023

Go to all Rankings
Load previousLoad previous

In United States

Among people born in United States, William Friedkin ranks 626 out of 20,380. Before him are Robert Woodrow Wilson (1936), George E. Smith (1930), Isaac Singer (1811), Joan Crawford (1904), Marshall Warren Nirenberg (1927), and Sylvia Earle (1935). After him are Rosalyn Sussman Yalow (1921), Harold Ramis (1944), Whoopi Goldberg (1955), Louisa May Alcott (1832), Paul Krugman (1953), and Jamie Lee Curtis (1958).

Others born in United States

Go to all Rankings
Load previousLoad previous

Among FILM DIRECTORS In United States

Among film directors born in United States, William Friedkin ranks 19. Before him are Stephen Hillenburg (1961), Robert Zemeckis (1952), Chuck Jones (1912), Sydney Pollack (1934), Terry Gilliam (1940), and Jim Jarmusch (1953). After him are George Cukor (1899), Sidney Lumet (1924), Michael Mann (1943), Sam Peckinpah (1925), Walter Hill (1942), and Mel Brooks (1926).

American born Film Directors

Go to all Rankings
Load previousLoad previous

Filmography

The Exorcist
Director
When a charming 12-year-old girl takes on the characteristics and voices of others, doctors say there is nothing they can do. As people begin to die, the girl's mother realizes her daughter has been possessed by the devil--and that her daughter's only possible hope lies with two priests and the ancient rite of demonic exorcism.
Dec 26o 19737.733 / 10
The French Connection
Director
Tough narcotics detective 'Popeye' Doyle is in hot pursuit of a suave French drug dealer who may be the key to a huge heroin-smuggling operation.
Oct 9o 19717.532 / 10
Killer Joe
Director
A cop who moonlights as a hit man agrees to kill the hated mother of a desperate drug dealer in exchange for a tumble with the young man's virginal sister.
Jun 7o 20126.524 / 10