Description:
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. Ultimately, his father never earned more than $50/week in his whole life and died indigent. Eventually young Will 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 infamously chastised him for not wearing a tie.
Birthday
August 29, 1935
Born In
Chicago, Illinois, USA
Alternative names
Billy Friedkin
, Bill Friedkin
Height
183 cm
Parents
Louis Friedkin
Children
Jackson Friedkin
Relatives
Justin Green (Cousin)
Trivia
According to writer/director Larry Cohen, composer Bernard Herrmann was approached by Friedkin to score The Exorcist (1973). After screening the movie to Herrmann, Friedkin said, "I want you to write me a better score than you wrote for Citizen Kane (1941)", to which Herrmann replied, "Then why don't you make a better movie than 'Citizen Kane'?".
Quotes
By the time a film of mine makes it into the theaters, I have a
love-hate relationship with it. There is always something I could have
done to make it better.
Nickname
Hurricane Billy
Trademarks
Frequently uses a hand-held camera in action sequences
