The Exorcist director William Friedkin has died aged 87

William Friedkin, who directed The Exorcist, has died aged 87.

The Oscar-winning filmmaker passed away in Los Angeles earlier today, his wife Sherry Lansing told the Hollywood Reporter.

When he was just 32, Friedkin directed The French Connection, which scooped a whopping five Oscars, including best director.

He followed with an even bigger box office smash, with the iconic horror movie The Exorcist, based on William Peter Blatty’s best-selling novel about a 12-year-old girl possessed by the devil.

The harrowing scenes of the girl’s possession and a splendid cast, including Linda Blair as the girl, Ellen Burstyn as her mother and Max Von Sydow and Jason Miller as the priests who try to exorcise the devil from her, helped make the film a box-office sensation.

It was so scary for its era that many viewers fled the theatre before it was over and some reported being unable to sleep for days afterward.

It received 10 Oscar nominations, including one for Friedkin as director, and won two, for Blatty’s script and for sound.

More to follow