William Peter Blatty, author of The Exorcist, dies at 89
Source: Washington Post
William Peter Blatty, author of The Exorcist, dies at 89
By Matt Schudel
January 13 at 11:20 AM
William Peter Blatty, an author whose novel The Exorcist and his later screenplay for the 1973 film about a demonic possession became a phenomenon and stirred fierce public debate about the occult, died Jan. 12 at a hospital near his home in Bethesda, Md. He was 89. ... The cause was a form of multiple myeloma, said his wife, Julie Witbrodt Blatty.
Mr. Blatty was a junior at Georgetown University when, in 1949, he became mesmerized by a Washington Post story detailing the alleged exorcism by a Jesuit priest of a 14-year-old boy from Mount Rainier, Md. who was believed to be possessed by a demon.
For decades, as Mr. Blatty went on to a varied career as a vacuum-cleaner salesman, psychological warfare specialist in the Air Force, U.S. Information Agency magazine editor and university public relations specialist, he continued to explore the topic of what he called disembodied intelligences, following stories of exorcism and alleged demonic possession.
He later became a novelist and screenwriter, earning a writing credit on A Shot in the Dark (1964), one of the first entries in Blake Edwardss slapstick Pink Panther film series starring Peter Sellers.
Read more: https://www.washingtonpost.com/entertainment/books/william-peter-blatty-author-of-the-exorcist-dies-at-89/2017/01/13/729974bc-d9a1-11e6-9a36-1d296534b31e_story.html
Hat tip, the DCRTV mailbag
http://dcrtv.com/mailbag.html
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and I really enjoyed the sequel "Legion" with Detective Kinderman's philosophical ruminations on religion, the devil, the meaning of good and evil...
Rest in peace, Mr. Blatty. Well done. 