William Peter Blatty (born January 7, 1928) is an
AmericanThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
writerA writer is anyone who creates a written work, though the word usually designates those who write creatively or professionally, as well as those who have written in many different forms.-Profession:...
and filmmaker. He wrote the
novelA novel is a long narrative in literary prose. The genre has historical roots both in the fields of the medieval and early modern romance and in the tradition of the novella. The latter supplied the present generic term in the late 18th century....
The ExorcistThe Exorcist is a horror novel written by William Peter Blatty. It is based on a 1949 exorcism Blatty heard about while he was a student in the class of 1950 at Georgetown University, a Jesuit and Catholic school....
(1971) and the
subsequent screenplay versionThe Exorcist is a 1973 U.S. horror film directed by William Friedkin, adapted from the 1971 novel of the same name by William Peter Blatty, dealing with the demonic possession of a young girl, and her mother’s desperate attempts to win back her daughter through an exorcism conducted by two priests....
for which he won an Academy Award.
Blatty was born in
New York CityNew York is the most populous city in the United States, and the center of the New York metropolitan area, which is among the most populous urban areas in the world. A leading global city, New York exerts a powerful influence over worldwide commerce, finance, culture, fashion and entertainment...
, the son of
LebaneseLebanon , officially the Republic of Lebanon
[Republic of Lebanon is the most common term used by Lebanese government agencies...]
parents Mary (
néeA married name is the family name adopted by a person upon marriage, and in speaking of the many cultures where the practice is traditional for women, the maiden name is the family name that the married name replaces....
Mouakad) and Peter Blatty, a carpenter. His father left home when William was six years old. Raised in relative poverty by his deeply religious
CatholicThe word Catholic is derived from the Greek adjective , meaning "universal". In the context of Christian ecclesiology, it has a rich history and several usages. For some, the term "Catholic Church" refers to the church in full communion with the Bishop of Rome, made up of the Latin Rite and the 22...
mother, he apparently lived at twenty-eight different addresses during his childhood.
William Peter Blatty (born January 7, 1928) is an
AmericanThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
writerA writer is anyone who creates a written work, though the word usually designates those who write creatively or professionally, as well as those who have written in many different forms.-Profession:...
and filmmaker. He wrote the
novelA novel is a long narrative in literary prose. The genre has historical roots both in the fields of the medieval and early modern romance and in the tradition of the novella. The latter supplied the present generic term in the late 18th century....
The ExorcistThe Exorcist is a horror novel written by William Peter Blatty. It is based on a 1949 exorcism Blatty heard about while he was a student in the class of 1950 at Georgetown University, a Jesuit and Catholic school....
(1971) and the
subsequent screenplay versionThe Exorcist is a 1973 U.S. horror film directed by William Friedkin, adapted from the 1971 novel of the same name by William Peter Blatty, dealing with the demonic possession of a young girl, and her mother’s desperate attempts to win back her daughter through an exorcism conducted by two priests....
for which he won an Academy Award.
Early life
Blatty was born in
New York CityNew York is the most populous city in the United States, and the center of the New York metropolitan area, which is among the most populous urban areas in the world. A leading global city, New York exerts a powerful influence over worldwide commerce, finance, culture, fashion and entertainment...
, the son of
LebaneseLebanon , officially the Republic of Lebanon
[Republic of Lebanon is the most common term used by Lebanese government agencies...]
parents Mary (
néeA married name is the family name adopted by a person upon marriage, and in speaking of the many cultures where the practice is traditional for women, the maiden name is the family name that the married name replaces....
Mouakad) and Peter Blatty, a carpenter. His father left home when William was six years old. Raised in relative poverty by his deeply religious
CatholicThe word Catholic is derived from the Greek adjective , meaning "universal". In the context of Christian ecclesiology, it has a rich history and several usages. For some, the term "Catholic Church" refers to the church in full communion with the Bishop of Rome, made up of the Latin Rite and the 22...
mother, he apparently lived at twenty-eight different addresses during his childhood. He attended several Catholic and Jesuit schools before finding his
raison d'etreRaison d'être is a phrase borrowed from French where it means "reason for being"; in English use, it also comes to suggest a degree of rationalization, as "The claimed reason for the existence of something or someone"....
and attending
Georgetown UniversityGeorgetown University is a Jesuit private university located in Georgetown, Washington, D.C. Father John Carroll founded the school in 1789, though its roots extend back to 1634. While the school struggled financially in its early years, Georgetown expanded into a branched university after the...
and
George Washington UniversityThe George Washington University is a private, coeducational university located in Washington, D.C...
to study
EnglishEnglish studies is an academic discipline that includes the study of literatures written in the English language , English linguistics English studies is an academic discipline that includes the study of literatures written in the English language (including literatures from the U.K., U.S.,...
.
Career
In the mid-1950s, Blatty was a contestant on the
quiz showQuiz Show is a 1994 American historical drama film which tells the true story of the Twenty One quiz show scandal of the 1950s. It stars John Turturro, Rob Morrow, Ralph Fiennes, Paul Scofield, David Paymer, Hank Azaria, and Christopher McDonald....
You Bet Your LifeYou Bet Your Life is an American radio and television quiz show. The first and most famous version was hosted by Groucho Marx, of Marx Brothers fame, with the unflappable announcer and assistant George Fenneman. The show debuted on ABC radio in 1947, then moved to CBS in 1949 before making the...
, winning $10,000: enough money to enable him to devote more time to writing professionally.
In 1960 Blatty published
Which Way to Mecca, Jack?, which dealt humorously with his work at the United States Information Agency in
LebanonLebanon , officially the Republic of Lebanon
[Republic of Lebanon is the most common term used by Lebanese government agencies...]
. He then published the comic novels
John Goldfarb, Please Come HomeJohn Goldfarb, Please Come Home is a 1963 novel by William Peter Blatty. The comic spoof of the Cold War was inspired by a May 1960 incident involving American Francis Gary Powers, a CIA operative whose U-2 spy plane was shot down over the Soviet Union, sparking an international diplomatic incident...
(1963),
I, Billy Shakespeare (1965) and
Twinkle, Twinkle, "Killer" Kane (1966). Though he achieved a modicum of critical success with these books, commercial acceptance was lacking.
It was at this point that Blatty began a fruitful collaboration with director
Blake EdwardsWilliam Blake Crump , better known as Blake Edwards, is an Academy Award–winning American film director, screenwriter, and producer.-Career:...
, writing scripts for comedy films such as
A Shot in the DarkA Shot in the Dark is a comedy film directed by Blake Edwards and is the second installment in the Pink Panther series. Peter Sellers is featured again as Inspector Jacques Clouseau of the French Sûreté...
(1964),
What Did You Do in the War, Daddy?What Did You Do in the War, Daddy? is a 1966 comedy film written and directed by Blake Edwards.-Plot:In 1943, during Operation Husky when asked by General Bolt about the little Italian village called Valerno, his hitherto adjutant Captain Lionel Cash insists on attack and immediately finds...
(1966),
GunnGunn is a 1967 mystery film directed by Blake Edwards, and starring Craig Stevens. It featured the same lead character from the 1958-1963 television series Peter Gunn, and a Henry Mancini score but the characters of Gunn's singing girlfriend Edie Hart and Police Lieutenant Jacoby were played by...
(1967), and
Darling LiliDarling Lili is a 1970 American musical film. The screenplay was written by William Peter Blatty and Blake Edwards, who also directed. The cast included Julie Andrews, Rock Hudson, and Jeremy Kemp.-Plot:...
(1970). Without Edwards, Blatty also worked on comedy screenplays as "Bill Blatty", one notable credit being the
Danny KayeDanny Kaye was an American award-winning actor, singer and comedian.-Early years:Born David Daniel Kaminsky to Jewish Ukrainian immigrants in Brooklyn, Kaye became one of the world's best-known comedians...
film
The Man from the Diner's ClubThe Man from the Diner's Club is a 1963 comedy film made by Ampersand and Dena Productions and released by Columbia Pictures. It was directed by Frank Tashlin and produced by William Bloom from a screenplay by William Peter Blatty and John Fenton Murray...
.
Later Blatty resumed novel writing. Allegedly retiring to a remote and rented chalet in woodland off
Lake TahoeLake Tahoe is a large freshwater lake in the Sierra Nevada mountains of the United States. It is located along the border between California and Nevada, west of Carson City, Nevada. Lake Tahoe is the largest alpine lake in North America...
, Blatty wrote
The ExorcistThe Exorcist is a horror novel written by William Peter Blatty. It is based on a 1949 exorcism Blatty heard about while he was a student in the class of 1950 at Georgetown University, a Jesuit and Catholic school....
, a story about a twelve-year-old girl being possessed by a powerful demon. It would eventually be translated by himself and the director
William FriedkinWilliam Friedkin is an American film director, producer and screenwriter best known for directing The Exorcist and The French Connection in the early 1970s...
into one of the most famous and controversial mainstream
horror moviesThe Exorcist is a 1973 U.S. horror film directed by William Friedkin, adapted from the 1971 novel of the same name by William Peter Blatty, dealing with the demonic possession of a young girl, and her mother’s desperate attempts to win back her daughter through an exorcism conducted by two priests....
of all time. According to Blatty, parts of the screenplay were unintentionally written in an apartment with the number
666666 is the natural number following 665 and preceding 667. It is also an abundant number. It is the sum of the first 36 natural numbers , and thus a triangular number...
.
In 1978, Blatty re-hashed
Twinkle, Twinkle, "Killer" Kane, a story about ex-soldiers in a mental institution during the Vietnam War, as
The Ninth ConfigurationThe Ninth Configuration, is an American-made film, released in 1980, directed by William Peter Blatty . It is often considered a cult film and it won the Best Screenplay award at the 1981 Golden Globes...
; and in 1980 he wrote, directed, and produced a film version. The film, a blend of farce and psychological drama with a religious undercurrent, thoroughly perplexed audiences and was a flop. It has since acquired a rather sizable
cult followingA cult film is a film that has acquired a highly devoted but specific group of fans. Often, cult movies have failed to achieve fame outside of the small fanbases; however, there have been exceptions that have managed to gain fame among mainstream audiences...
.
In 1983, he wrote a novel called
LegionLegion is a 1983 horror novel by William Peter Blatty, a sequel to The Exorcist. It was made into the movie The Exorcist III in 1990.Like The Exorcist, it involves demonic possession...
, a sequel to
The Exorcist which later became the basis of the film
The Exorcist IIIThe Exorcist III is a 1990 supernatural thriller and the third installment in The Exorcist series, written and directed by William Peter Blatty. It is a film adaptation of his 1983 novel, Legion, and stars George C...
. Blatty originally wanted the movie version to be titled
Legion but the film producers wanted it to be more closely linked to the original. The first sequel,
Exorcist II: The HereticExorcist II: The Heretic is a 1977 science fantasy film directed by John Boorman from a screenplay by William Goodhart. It is the sequel to The Exorcist, set four years after the events of the first film, a now 17-year-old Regan MacNeil is in therapy recovering from her previous demonic possession...
(1977) was disappointing both critically and commercially. Blatty had no involvement in this first sequel and his own follow-up ignored it entirely.
Blatty's autobiography is titled
I'll Tell Them I Remember You. A short critical essay on Blatty's work can be found in
S. T. JoshiSunand Tryambak Joshi — known as S. T. Joshi — is an award-winning Indian American literary critic, and a leading figure in the study of Howard Phillips Lovecraft and other authors of weird and fantastic fiction. Besides having written what critics such as Harold Bloom and Joyce Carol Oates...
's book
The Modern Weird Tale (2001). Essays studying all Blatty's novels can be found in Benjamin Szumskyj's
American Exorcist: Critical Essays on William Peter BlattyAmerican Exorcist: Critical Essays on William Peter Blatty is a collection of essays studying all of William Peter Blatty's novels, from Which Way To Mecca, Jack? to Elsewhere .-Contents:...
(
McFarlandMcFarland & Company is a United States publishing company located in Jefferson, North Carolina. Its majority owner and editor-in-chief is Robert Franklin, who began the enterprise in 1979. McFarland employs a staff of 42, and as of 2005 had published some 2,800 titles.-Subject matter:Its target...
, 2008).
Blatty's latest works are
ElsewhereElsewhere is a novel by William Peter Blatty, released on May 15, 2009 through Cemetery Dance Publications. It was originally published as a novella in 1999 in Al Sarrantonio's 999: New Stories Of Horror And Suspense anthology....
(2009) and
DimiterDimiter is a novel by William Peter Blatty, to be released on March 15, 2010 through Forge Books.-History:Dimiter has been in work since 1974, and is dedicated to Blatty's late son, Peter Vincent Galahad Blatty....
(2010).
Novels
- Which Way to Mecca, Jack? (1959)
- John Goldfarb, Please Come Home
John Goldfarb, Please Come Home is a 1963 novel by William Peter Blatty. The comic spoof of the Cold War was inspired by a May 1960 incident involving American Francis Gary Powers, a CIA operative whose U-2 spy plane was shot down over the Soviet Union, sparking an international diplomatic incident...
(1963)
- Twinkle, Twinkle, "Killer" Kane
The Ninth Configuration, is an American-made film, released in 1980, directed by William Peter Blatty . It is often considered a cult film and it won the Best Screenplay award at the 1981 Golden Globes...
(1966)
- The Exorcist
The Exorcist is a horror novel written by William Peter Blatty. It is based on a 1949 exorcism Blatty heard about while he was a student in the class of 1950 at Georgetown University, a Jesuit and Catholic school....
(1971)
- The Ninth Configuration
The Ninth Configuration, is an American-made film, released in 1980, directed by William Peter Blatty . It is often considered a cult film and it won the Best Screenplay award at the 1981 Golden Globes...
(1978)
- Legion
Legion is a 1983 horror novel by William Peter Blatty, a sequel to The Exorcist. It was made into the movie The Exorcist III in 1990.Like The Exorcist, it involves demonic possession...
(1983)
- Demons Five, Exorcists Nothing: A Fable (1996)
- Elsewhere (2009)Originally
- Dimiter
Dimiter is a novel by William Peter Blatty, to be released on March 15, 2010 through Forge Books.-History:Dimiter has been in work since 1974, and is dedicated to Blatty's late son, Peter Vincent Galahad Blatty....
(2010)
Nonfiction
- William Peter Blatty on 'The Exorcist': From Novel to Screen (1974)
- If There Were Demons Then Perhaps There Were Angels: William Peter Blatty's Own Story of the Exorcist (1978)
Screenplays
- The Man From the Diner's Club (1963 - co-screenplay)
- A Shot in the Dark
A Shot in the Dark is a comedy film directed by Blake Edwards and is the second installment in the Pink Panther series. Peter Sellers is featured again as Inspector Jacques Clouseau of the French Sûreté...
(1964 - co-screenplay)
- John Goldfarb, Please Come Home
John Goldfarb, Please Come Home is a 1963 novel by William Peter Blatty. The comic spoof of the Cold War was inspired by a May 1960 incident involving American Francis Gary Powers, a CIA operative whose U-2 spy plane was shot down over the Soviet Union, sparking an international diplomatic incident...
(1965)
- Promise Her Anything
Promise Her Anything is a 1965 British romantic comedy film directed by Arthur Hiller. The screenplay by William Peter Blatty is based on a story by Arne Sultan and Marvin Worth.-Plot:...
(1965)
- What Did You Do in the War, Daddy?
What Did You Do in the War, Daddy? is a 1966 comedy film written and directed by Blake Edwards.-Plot:In 1943, during Operation Husky when asked by General Bolt about the little Italian village called Valerno, his hitherto adjutant Captain Lionel Cash insists on attack and immediately finds...
(1966)
- Gunn
Gunn is a 1967 mystery film directed by Blake Edwards, and starring Craig Stevens. It featured the same lead character from the 1958-1963 television series Peter Gunn, and a Henry Mancini score but the characters of Gunn's singing girlfriend Edie Hart and Police Lieutenant Jacoby were played by...
(1967 - co-screenplay)
- The Great Bank Robbery
The Great Bank Robbery is a Western comedy film from Warner Brothers directed by Hy Averback and written by William Peter Blatty, based on the novel by Frank O'Rourke. The movie had a soundtrack with songs by Jimmy Van Heusen.-Plot:...
(1969)
- Darling Lili
Darling Lili is a 1970 American musical film. The screenplay was written by William Peter Blatty and Blake Edwards, who also directed. The cast included Julie Andrews, Rock Hudson, and Jeremy Kemp.-Plot:...
(1970 - co-screenplay)
- The Exorcist
The Exorcist is a 1973 U.S. horror film directed by William Friedkin, adapted from the 1971 novel of the same name by William Peter Blatty, dealing with the demonic possession of a young girl, and her mother’s desperate attempts to win back her daughter through an exorcism conducted by two priests....
(1973)
- The Ninth Configuration
The Ninth Configuration, is an American-made film, released in 1980, directed by William Peter Blatty . It is often considered a cult film and it won the Best Screenplay award at the 1981 Golden Globes...
(1980)
- The Exorcist III
The Exorcist III is a 1990 supernatural thriller and the third installment in The Exorcist series, written and directed by William Peter Blatty. It is a film adaptation of his 1983 novel, Legion, and stars George C...
(1990)
Producer
- The Exorcist
The Exorcist is a 1973 U.S. horror film directed by William Friedkin, adapted from the 1971 novel of the same name by William Peter Blatty, dealing with the demonic possession of a young girl, and her mother’s desperate attempts to win back her daughter through an exorcism conducted by two priests....
(1973)
- The Ninth Configuration
The Ninth Configuration, is an American-made film, released in 1980, directed by William Peter Blatty . It is often considered a cult film and it won the Best Screenplay award at the 1981 Golden Globes...
(1980)
External links