William Peter Blatty

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William Peter Blatty (January 7, 1928 – January 12, 2017) was an American writer, director and producer.<ref name=TWP>Template:Cite news</ref> He is best known for his 1971 novel The Exorcist and for his screenplay for the 1973 film adaptation. Blatty won an Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay for The Exorcist, and was nominated for Best Picture as its producer. The film also earned Blatty a Golden Globe Award for Best Motion Picture – Drama as producer.

Born and raised in New York City, Blatty received his bachelor's degree in English from Georgetown University in 1950, and his master's degree in English literature from the George Washington University. Following completion of his master's degree in 1954, he joined the United States Air Force and served in the Psychological Warfare Division where he attained the rank of first lieutenant. After service in the air force, he worked for the United States Information Agency in Beirut.

After the success of The Exorcist, Blatty reworked his 1966 novel Twinkle, Twinkle, "Killer" Kane! into a new novel titled The Ninth Configuration, published in 1978. He went on to adapt the novel into the 1980 film, which was also his directorial debut. At the 38th Golden Globe Awards, the film won Best Screenplay and was nominated for Best Picture.

Blatty refused to have any involvement with the first sequel to The Exorcist; it was critically panned. He directed the second sequel, The Exorcist III (1990), which he adapted from his 1983 novel Legion. His second film as a director, The Exorcist III was his final directorial credit and final screenplay credit.<ref name=TWP/> Some of his later novels include Elsewhere (2009), Dimiter (2010) and Crazy (2010).

Early life and education

Blatty was born on January 7, 1928, in New York City.<ref name=theguardian>Template:Cite news</ref><ref name="washingtonpost2">Template:Cite news</ref> He was the fifth and youngest child of Lebanese immigrants,<ref name="washingtonpost2"/><ref name="Asian American Novelists: A Bio-bibliographical Critical Sourcebook">Template:Cite book</ref> Mary (née Mouakad; Template:Langx), a devout Melkite Catholic and the niece of bishop Germanos Mouakkad, and Peter Blatty (Template:Langx), a cloth cutter.<ref name="nytobit"/><ref name="William Peter Blatty obituary">Template:Cite news</ref> His parents separated when he was a toddler.<ref name="washingtonpost2"/> He was raised in what he described as "comfortable destitution" by his deeply religious mother, whose sole support came from peddling homemade quince jelly in the streets of Manhattan;<ref name="washingtonpost2"/><ref name="nytobit"/> she once offered a jar of it to Franklin D. Roosevelt when the President was cutting the ribbon for the Queens–Midtown Tunnel, telling him, "For when you have company."<ref name="atfl">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> He lived at 28 different addresses during his childhood<ref name="nytobit"/> because of nonpayment of rent.<ref name="telegraph"/> "We never lived at the same address in New York for longer than two or three months at a time," Blatty told The Washington Post in 1972. "Eviction was the order of the day."<ref name="washingtonpost2"/> Blatty's mother died in 1967.<ref name="nytobit"/>

He attended Brooklyn Preparatory, a Jesuit school, on a scholarship and graduated as class valedictorian in 1946.<ref name="nytobit"/><ref name="latimes"/> He later attended Georgetown University on a scholarship,<ref name="nytobit"/> where he earned his bachelor's degree in English in 1950.<ref name="washingtonpost2"/><ref name="washingtonpost"/> "Those years at Georgetown were probably the best years of my life," Blatty said in 2015. "Until then, I’d never had a home."<ref name="washingtonpost2"/> While studying for his master's degree at George Washington University, Blatty took menial jobs.<ref name="William Peter Blatty obituary"/> Initially unable to find a job in teaching, he worked as a vacuum-cleaner door-to-door salesman, a beer-truck driver,<ref name="washingtonpost2"/> and as a United Airlines ticket agent.<ref name="theguardian"/> He earned his master's in English literature from the George Washington University in 1954.<ref name="washingtonpost2"/><ref name="washingtonpost"/> He then joined the United States Air Force.<ref name="theguardian"/><ref name="washingtonpost2"/>

Mustering out of the Air Force, he joined the United States Information Agency and worked as an editor based in Beirut, Lebanon.<ref name="theguardian"/><ref name="nytobit"/> Eventually, his writing talent emerged, and he began submitting humorous articles to magazines.<ref name="washingtonpost"/>

He was the second uncle of singer Mika.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Career

In the late 1950s, Blatty worked as the public relations director at Loyola University of Los Angeles<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> and as a publicity director at the University of Southern California.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}Template:Dead linkTemplate:Cbignore</ref><ref name=washingtonpost2/> He published his first book, Which Way to Mecca, Jack? in 1960,<ref name=nytobit/> a humorous look at both his early life, and his work at the United States Information Agency in Lebanon.<ref name="The Modern Weird Tale">Template:Cite book</ref><ref name="Transnational American Memories">Template:Cite book</ref> The book also tells of his successful masquerade as a Saudi Arabian prince when he got to Los Angeles. In 1961, while still pretending to be a prince, Blatty appeared as a contestant on the Groucho Marx quiz show You Bet Your Life, winning $10,000,<ref name=theguardian/><ref name=nytobit/> enough money to quit his job and to write full-time.<ref name=nytobit/> Thereafter, he never held a regular job.<ref name=nytobit/><ref>Template:Cite book</ref>

He then published the comic novels: John Goldfarb, Please Come Home! (1963),<ref name=nytobit/> I, Billy Shakespeare (1965),<ref name=theguardian/> and Twinkle, Twinkle, "Killer" Kane (1966).<ref name=theguardian/> He achieved critical success with these books – Marvin Levin in the New York Times, for example, wrote: "Nobody can write funnier lines than William Peter Blatty, a gifted virtuoso who writes like [S. J.] Perelman"; but significant sales were lacking.<ref name=theguardian/> It was at this point that Blatty began a collaboration with director Blake Edwards,<ref name=nytobit/> writing scripts for comedy films such as: A Shot in the Dark (1964),<ref name=nytobit/> What Did You Do in the War, Daddy? (1966),<ref name=nytobit/> Gunn (1967),<ref name=nytobit/> and Darling Lili (1970),<ref name=nytobit/> a musical starring Julie Andrews and Rock Hudson. Blatty also worked on his own using the name "Bill Blatty" writing comedy screenplays such as those for the Danny Kaye film<ref name=nytobit/> The Man from the Diners' Club (1963), and the Warren Beatty/Leslie Caron film<ref name=nytobit/> Promise Her Anything (1965). Other screenplays include the film adaptation of John Goldfarb, Please Come Home! (1965),<ref name=washingtonpost2/> and The Great Bank Robbery (1969).<ref name=rollingstone>Template:Cite magazine</ref>

Later Blatty resumed writing fiction.<ref name="theguardian"/> In 1971, he wrote The Exorcist,<ref name=theguardian/> the story of a twelve-year-old girl possessed by a powerful demon, that topped The New York Times Best Seller list for 17 weeks and remained on the list for 57 consecutive weeks.<ref name=theguardian/> The book sold more than 13 million copies in the United States alone and was translated into over a dozen languages.<ref name="washingtonpost2"/> He later adapted it with director William Friedkin into the film version.<ref name=nytobit/> Blatty went on to win an Academy Award for his Exorcist screenplay,<ref name=nytobit/> as well as Golden Globes for Best Picture and Best Writing.<ref name="washingtonpost"/> It also became the first horror film ever to be nominated for the best picture Oscar.<ref name="nytobit"/>

In 1978, Blatty adapted his novel Twinkle, Twinkle, "Killer" Kane into a new book titled The Ninth Configuration,<ref name=theguardian/> and in 1980 he wrote, directed, and produced a film version, which focused on the question of the existence of God.<ref name=theguardian/> The film was a commercial flop despite critical acclaim. Movie critic Jerry Stein called it a "masterpiece" in The Cincinnati Post, and Peter Travers described it as "the finest large-scale American surrealist film ever made" in People magazine.<ref name=theguardian/> At the 38th Golden Globe Awards in 1981 it was nominated for three Golden Globes, and won the Best Writing Award<ref name=washingtonpost/> against competition that included The Elephant Man (1980), Ordinary People (1980), and Raging Bull (1980).<ref name=theguardian/> In 1983, Blatty wrote Legion, a sequel to The Exorcist which later became the basis of the film The Exorcist III.<ref name=theguardian/> At first he was unable to set up the production because he wanted to direct the film.Template:Citation needed Template:Citation needed span with producer Carter DeHaven at Morgan Creek Productions. Blatty directed the film. He originally wanted the movie version to be titled Legion, but the film's producers wanted it to be more closely linked to the original. The first sequel, Exorcist II: The Heretic (1977), was disappointing both critically and commercially.<ref name=theguardian/> Blatty had no involvement with it and his own follow-up ignored it entirely.<ref name=theguardian/>

Blatty's son Peter Vincent Blatty died from a rare heart disorder in 2006 at the age of 19.<ref name=nytobit/><ref name="washingtonpost.com">Template:Cite news</ref> His death was the subject of Blatty's non-fiction book that is "part comic memoir, part argument for life after death", titled, Finding Peter: A True Story of the Hand of Providence and Evidence of Life After Death (2015).<ref name="washingtonpost.com"/>

In 2011, The Exorcist was re-released in a 40th Anniversary Edition<ref name=nytobit/> in paperback, hardcover, and audiobook formats with new cover artwork. As described by Blatty, this new, updated edition features new and revised material.

The 40th Anniversary Edition of The Exorcist will have a touch of new material in it as part of an all-around polish of the dialogue and prose. First time around I never had the time (meaning the funds) to do a second draft, and this, finally, is it. With forty years to think about it, a few little changes were inevitable – plus one new character in a totally new very spooky scene. This is the version I would like to be remembered for.<ref>Further 40th Details, theninthconfiguration.com; Retrieved December 26, 2017.</ref>

Tor/Forge have also re-published The Ninth Configuration<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

|CitationClass=web }}</ref> and Legion,<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> with new, updated cover artwork.

The Exorcist was eventually adapted into a stage play starring Richard Chamberlain and Brooke Shields in 2012 and a TV series starring Geena Davis in 2016.<ref name="William Peter Blatty obituary"/>

Personal life

Blatty married four times and had seven children.<ref name=telegraph>Template:Cite news</ref> With his first wife, Mary Margaret Rigard, whom he married on February 18, 1950, he had three children: Christine Ann, Michael Peter, and Mary Joanne.<ref name="Science Fiction and Fantasy Literature, Volume 2">Template:Cite book</ref> His first marriage ended in divorce after 13 years.<ref name="Contemporary Authors New Revision Series">Template:Cite book</ref> His second wife was Elizabeth Gilman, whom he married in 1965.<ref name="Contemporary Authors New Revision Series"/> In July 1975 he married his third wife, tennis professional Linda Tuero, with whom he had two children: restaurant entrepreneur Billy and photojournalist J. T. Blatty.<ref name="Contemporary Authors New Revision Series"/><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Following the dissolution of his first three marriages,<ref name="washingtonpost2"/> Blatty married Julie Alicia Witbrodt, his fourth wife, in 1983,<ref name="The International Who's Who 2004">Template:Cite book</ref><ref name=nytobit/> with whom he had two children.<ref name="Arab American biography">Template:Cite book</ref> The couple remained together until Blatty's death.<ref name="telegraph"/> After residing for many years in Hollywood and Aspen, Blatty settled in Bethesda, Maryland in 2000.<ref name=washingtonpost2/>

Blatty was a Roman Catholic.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> In 2012, he filed a canon law petition against his alma mater, Georgetown University, which he said has been at variance with Catholic Church teaching for decades, inviting speakers who support abortion rights and disobeying Pope John Paul II's instructions issued to Church-affiliated colleges and universities in 1990.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> The Vatican rejected the petition in 2014.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> In the Vatican's response to Blatty, Archbishop Angelo Zani stated that the rejection was because Blatty had not "suffered an objective change" at Georgetown's hands, but acknowledged that Blatty's case constituted "a well-founded complaint".<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

Death

Blatty died of multiple myeloma on January 12, 2017, at a hospital in Bethesda, five days after his 89th birthday.<ref name=theguardian/><ref name=nytobit>Template:Cite news</ref>

Critical studies

Studies of Blatty's work include G. S. J. Barclay's Anatomy of Horror: The Masters of Occult Fiction.<ref> Anatomy of Horror: The Masters of Occult Fiction New York: St. Martins, 1978.</ref> Critical essays on Blatty's work include Douglas E. Winter's essay in A Dark Night's Dreaming: Contemporary American Horror Fiction,<ref> "Casting Out Demons: The Horror Fiction of William Peter Blatty" in Tony Magistrale and Michael A. Morrison, eds. A Dark Night's Dreaming: Contemporary American Horror Fiction. Columbia, SC: University of South Carolina Press, 1996. Template:ISBN. (pp. 84–96) .</ref> and S. T. Joshi's essay "William Peter Blatty: The Catholic Weird Tale" in The Modern Weird Tale: A Critique of Horror Fiction (2001).<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> Essays studying all Blatty's novels can be found in Benjamin Szumskyj's American Exorcist: Critical Essays on William Peter Blatty (McFarland, 2008).

Awards

Awards include:

  • The Commonwealth Club Silver Medal for Literature (The Exorcist)<ref name="The International authors and writers who's who">Template:Cite book</ref>
  • Won the 2000 Audie Awards award for Narration by the Author for The Exorcist.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

|CitationClass=web }}</ref>

  • The Gabriel Award and American Film Festival Blue Ribbon for Insight TV series episode "Watts Made Out of Thread?"<ref name="washingtonpost">Template:Cite news</ref>
  • Saturn Awards for The Exorcist,<ref name=saturnawards>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

|CitationClass=web }}</ref> The Ninth Configuration<ref name="lci">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> and The Exorcist III

  • The People's Choice Award for the Oscars – Best Picture Award for The Exorcist<ref name="Contemporary Theatre, Film and Television">Template:Cite book</ref>
  • The Horror Writers Association Lifetime Achievement Award<ref name=horror>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

|CitationClass=web }}</ref>

  • Academy Award, Best Adapted Screenplay (The Exorcist)<ref name=nytobit/><ref name=washingtonpost/>
  • Golden Globe, Best Screenplay (The Ninth Configuration)<ref name=latimes>Template:Cite news</ref>
  • Golden Globe, Best Picture (The Exorcist)<ref name=washingtonpost/>
  • Golden Globe, Best Screenplay (The Exorcist)<ref name=goldenglobes>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

|CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Bibliography

Novels

  • Which Way to Mecca, Jack? (1959)<ref name=theguardian/>
  • John Goldfarb, Please Come Home! (1963)<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
  • I, Billy Shakespeare (1965)<ref name=theguardian/>
  • Twinkle, Twinkle, "Killer" Kane (1966)<ref name=theguardian/>
  • The Exorcist (1971)<ref name=bbc/>
  • The Ninth Configuration (1978)<ref name=bbc/>
  • Legion (1983)<ref name="theguardian"/>
  • Demons Five, Exorcists Nothing: A Fable (1996)/Revised and re-released in 2013, retitled Demons Five, Exorcists Nothing: A Hollywood Christmas Carol<ref name=bbc/>
  • Elsewhere (2009) – Originally published as a novella in 1999 in Al Sarrantonio's 999: New Stories of Horror and Suspense anthology<ref name=bbc/><ref name="theguardian"/>
  • Dimiter (2010) / Revised and re-released in 2013; also published under the title The Redemption<ref>Template:Cite book</ref><ref name=theguardian/>
  • Crazy (2010)<ref name=theguardian/>
  • The Exorcist for the 21st Century (2016)

Autobiography

Nonfiction

Filmography

Title Year Credited as Notes Template:Abbr
Director Screenwriter Producer
Template:Sort 1963 Template:No Template:Yes Template:No <ref name="The International Who's Who 2004" /><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation CitationClass=web

}}</ref>

Template:Sort 1964 Template:No Template:Yes Template:No <ref name="The International Who's Who 2004"/><ref name=bbc>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation CitationClass=web

}}</ref>

John Goldfarb, Please Come Home! 1965 Template:No Template:Yes Template:No <ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation CitationClass=web

}}</ref>

Promise Her Anything Template:No Template:Yes Template:No <ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation CitationClass=web

}}</ref><ref name=bbc/>

What Did You Do in the War, Daddy? 1966 Template:No Template:Yes Template:No <ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation CitationClass=web

}}</ref>

Gunn 1967 Template:No Template:Yes Template:No <ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation CitationClass=web

}}</ref>

Template:Sort 1969 Template:No Template:Yes Template:No <ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation CitationClass=web

}}</ref>

Darling Lili 1970 Template:No Template:Yes Template:No <ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation CitationClass=web

}}</ref>

Template:Sort 1973 Template:No Template:Yes Template:Yes <ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation CitationClass=web

}}</ref>

Mastermind 1976 Template:No Template:Yes Template:No Credited as "Terence Clyne" <ref name=theguardian/>
Template:Sort 1980 Template:Yes Template:Yes Template:Yes <ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation CitationClass=web

}}</ref>

Template:Sort 1990 Template:Yes Template:Yes Template:No <ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation CitationClass=web

}}</ref>

See also

References

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