CHICAGO (CBS) — Screenwriter, director and producer William Friedkin – born in Chicago – was commemorated in the city on Monday with an honorary street name.
Ridge Avenue at Ardmore Avenue, next to the Nicholas Senn High School campus in Edgewater, now has a second name: William Friedkin Way. Friedkin was a Senn alum.
Ald. Leni Manaa-Hoppenworth’s 48th Ward Office
Friedkin, who died last year at the age of 87, was best known for directing “The Exorcist” and “The French Connection” in the early 1970s. His widow, Sherry Lansing – a South Side native and former CEO of Paramount Pictures and 20th Century Fox – attended the unveiling ceremony.
Friedkin began working for WGN-TV Channel 9 after high school. According to Ald’s office, he eventually began directing live television shows and documentaries. Leni Manaa-Hoppenworth (48th).
Ald. Leni Manaa-Hoppenworth’s 48th Ward Office
Friedkin moved to Hollywood in 1965 and released his first feature film, “Good Times” with Sonny and Cher, in 1967, the council said. In 1971, Friedkin’s “The French Connection” won five Academy Awards, including Best Picture and Best Director.
Next came 1973’s “The Exorcist,” based on the bestselling novel by William Peter Blatty, which won 10 Oscars, including Best Picture and Best Director.
‘The Sorcerer’, The Brink’s Job’, ‘Cruising’, ‘Deal of the Century’, ‘To Live and Die in LA’, ‘The Guardian’, ‘Rules of Engagement’ and ‘The Hunted’ are among his many others credits.
In his 2013 memoir, “The Friedkin Connection,” Friedkin wrote that he had never considered quitting.
“It takes talent, imagination and a sense of the spirit of the times to find a subject that strikes a chord. What I still want from a film – or a play, a painting, a novel, a piece of music – is excitement “, he says. wrote. “I want to be moved and surprised by a revelation about the human condition. I think of the love affair I had with Cinema. Images or fragments pop into my consciousness like fireflies. If I can capture their brief flash, they illuminate a dark corner of memory.”
When he died last year, critic Matt Zoller Seitz wrote in Vulture that Chicago could be heard “loud and clear” when Friedkin spoke.
“He didn’t come from money. His mother was a nurse. His father was a softball player, sailor and men’s clothing salesman,” Seitz wrote. “He attended Chicago public schools and was a strong enough high school basketball player to consider making it a career (decades later, he directed one of the most cynical basketball movies of all time.”)Blue chips’).”
Ald. Leni Manaa-Hoppenworth’s 48th Ward Office
Friedkin and Lansing also gave to numerous Chicago charities, and Lansing donated $1 million to the University of Chicago Lab School’s theater program.
