Cast & creator
William Friedkin
Best known for The Simpsons, CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, The Alfred Hitchcock Hour
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). Although Friedkin's works suffered an overall commercial and critical decline in the late 1980s, his last three feature films, all based on plays, were positively received by critics: the psychological horror film Bug (2006), the crime film Killer Joe (2011), and the legal drama film The Caine Mutiny Court-Martial (2023), released two months after his death. He also worked extensively as an opera director from 1998 until his death, and directed various television films and series episodes for television. Description above from the Wikipedia article William Friedkin, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.
Also known as: 윌리엄 프리드킨, 윌리암 프리드킨, William David Friedkin
117
film credits
9
television credits
68
1962–2026 · acting roles
6.7
average across scored titles
Signature credits
Known for
Across film & television
Filmography (126)
Showing 126 of 126 credits
The Simpsons
Dr. Kenneth Humphries (voice)
1989
CSI: Crime Scene Investigation
Director
2000
The Alfred Hitchcock Hour
Director
1962
The Twilight Zone
Director
1985
Tales from the Crypt
Director
1989
The Exorcist
Director
1973
Through the Night with...
Self
2002
Rebel Highway
Director
1994
100 Years of Warner Bros.
Self
2023
Leçon de Cinéma
Self
2004
Killer Joe
Director
2012
12 Angry Men
Director
1997
The Hunted
Director
2003
The French Connection
Director
1971
Rules of Engagement
Director
2000
To Live and Die in L.A.
Director
1985To Live and Die in L.A.
Screenplay
1985
Sorcerer
Director
1977Sorcerer
Screenplay
1977Sorcerer
Producer
1977
Cruising
Writer
1980Cruising
Director
1980
Blue Chips
Director
1994
Bug
Director
2007
The Caine Mutiny Court-Martial
Teleplay
2023The Caine Mutiny Court-Martial
Director
2023
The Guardian
Director
1990The Guardian
Screenplay
1990
Jade
Director
1995
The Brink's Job
Director
1978
Deal of the Century
Director
1983
Magician: The Astonishing Life and Work of Orson Welles
Self - Filmmaker (archive footage)
2014
Without Limits
TV Director
1998
A Decade Under the Influence
Self
2003
Standing on the Shoulders of Kubrick: The Legacy of 2001
Self
2007
The Boys in the Band
Director
1970
Leap of Faith: William Friedkin on The Exorcist
Self
2019
I Am Alfred Hitchcock
Self (archive footage)
2021
The Masterpiece That Almost Wasn't
Self
2008Stringman: The Jack Nitzsche Story
Self
2018
Mineshaft: The Cruising Murders
Self (archive footage)
2026
A Fuller Life
Self - Reader (segment "My Ballsy Yarns")
2013
Jailbreakers
Director
1994
The Night They Raided Minsky's
Director
1968
Henri Langlois vu par...
Self
2014Henri Langlois vu par...
Director
2014
C.A.T. Squad
Director
1986C.A.T. Squad
Executive Producer
1986
Don't Say No Until I Finish Talking: The Story of Richard D. Zanuck
Self
2013
Shadows in the Dark: The Val Lewton Legacy
2005
Rampage
Director
1987Rampage
Writer
1987Rampage
Producer
1987
Friedkin Uncut
Self
2018
The Man Who Shot Chinatown: The Life and Work of John A. Alonzo
Self
2007
The Fear of God: 25 Years of The Exorcist
Self - Director
1998The Fear of God: 25 Years of The Exorcist
Thanks
1998
Godard Made in USA
Self
2010
Good Times
Director
1967Good Times
Screenplay
1967
Fear in the Dark
Self
1991
The Visions of Stanley Kubrick
Self
2007
Pure Cinema: Through the Eyes of Hitchcock
Self
2008
The History of 'Cruising'
Self
2007
Billy Wilder: The Human Comedy
Self
1998
The Master's Touch: Hitchcock's Signature Style
Self
2009
The Devil and Father Amorth
Self
2018The Devil and Father Amorth
Director
2018The Devil and Father Amorth
Writer
2018Fasten Your Seatbelt: The Thrilling Art of Alfred Hitchcock
Self
2009
The Making of the Wonderful Wizard of Oz
Self
2013
Tales from the Warner Bros. Lot
Self
2013
The Birthday Party
Director
1968
Michael Curtiz: The Greatest Director You Never Heard Of
Self
2012
Fear and Love: The Story of The Exorcist
Self
2024
North by Northwest: One for the Ages
Self
2009
C.A.T. Squad: Python Wolf
Director
1988C.A.T. Squad: Python Wolf
Story
1988C.A.T. Squad: Python Wolf
Executive Producer
1988
Great Bolshy Yarblockos!: Making 'A Clockwork Orange'
Self
2007Howard Hawks: American Artist
Self
1997Stanley Kubrick in Focus
Self
2012
Shadows of Suspense
Self
2006
In the Master's Shadow: Hitchcock's Legacy
Self
2008
Making the Connection: Untold Stories of The French Connection
Self
2001
Vision of a Future Passed: The Prophecy of 2001
Self
2007
The Poughkeepsie Shuffle: Tracing 'The French Connection'
Self
2000
Putting It Together: The Making of the Broadway Album
Self
1986Putting It Together: The Making of the Broadway Album
Director
1986
Breaking Barriers: The Sound of Hitchcock
Self
2008
Counterfeit World: Making 'To Live and Die in L.A.'
Self
2003
Muggins
Producer
1967
Verdi Aida
Stage Director
2015
Making the Boys
Self
2011Oscars, Actors and The Exorcist
Self
1974
Miller's Tale
Self
2011
Casablanca: An Unlikely Classic
Self
2012
Fellini of the Spirits
Self
2020
Anatomy of a Chase
Self
2009
Victor Fleming: Master Craftsman
Self
2009
Raising Hell: Filming the Exorcist
Self
2010Tatort Oper - Wie Filmemacher Oper machen
Self
2007
Narc: The Friedkin Connection
Self
2003
View from the Overlook: Crafting 'The Shining'
Self
2007
The Thin Blue Line
Producer
1966The Thin Blue Line
Director
1966The Thin Blue Line
Story
1966Return to the Genre
2016
The Exorcist Locations: Georgetown Then and Now
Self
2010
The Painter's Voice
Director
2007
The People vs. Paul Crump
Director
1962The People vs. Paul Crump
Producer
1962The Pickle Brothers
Director
1967
Exorcising 'Cruising'
Self
2007
Hollywood Halloween
Self
1997
Sorcerers: A Conversation with William Friedkin and Nicolas Winding Refn
2015
Conversation with Fritz Lang
Self
1975Conversation with Fritz Lang
Director
1975Filming “The Hunted”
Self
2003The Lost Print: The Making of Orson Welles’ The Magnificent Ambersons
Self
2022
Pro Football: Mayhem on a Sunday Afternoon
Director
1965The Cutting Edge
Self
2003
The Bold Men
Director
1965Pursuing “The Hunted”
Self
2003A Little Solitaire
Self
2004
Algren
Self
2021