William Peter Blatty (1928–2017)
Author of The Exorcist
About the Author
William Peter Blatty was born in Manhattan, New York on January 7, 1928. He graduated from Georgetown University in 1950. After serving in the Air Force, he worked for the United States Information Agency in Beirut. He returned to the United States for a public relations job in Los Angeles, where show more he hoped to begin his career as a writer. In 1961, he appeared as a contestant on You Bet Your Life. He and a fellow contestant won $10,000. He quit his day job and become a full-time writer. He collaborated with the director Blake Edwards on the screenplays for several films including A Shot in the Dark, What Did You Do in the War, Daddy?, Darling Lili, and Gunn. He wrote several horror fiction books including The Exorcist, The Ninth Configuration, and Legion. All of the books were adapted into movies with the screenplays written by Blatty. He won an Academy Award for The Exorcist screenplay. He also adapted his novel John Goldfarb, Please Come Home! for the screen. He wrote several memoirs including Which Way to Mecca, Jack?, I'll Tell Them I Remember You, and Finding Peter. He died from multiple myeloma on January 12, 2017 at the age of 89. (Bowker Author Biography) show less
Image credit: By Terry Ballard from Merrick, New York, USA - William Peter BlattyUploaded by Nianne, CC BY 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=20520828
Series
Works by William Peter Blatty
Finding Peter: A True Story of the Hand of Providence and Evidence of Life after Death (2015) 18 copies, 2 reviews
If There Were Demons, Then Perhaps There Were Angels: William Peter Blatty's Own Story of the Exorcist (2001) 13 copies, 1 review
EXORCIST confidential 2 copies
Exorcist II 1 copy
The Exorcist (Original) 1 copy
Associated Works
Smoke and Mirrors: Screenplays, Teleplays, Stage Plays, Comic Scripts & Treatments (2014) — Contributor — 23 copies
Tagged
Common Knowledge
- Legal name
- Blatty, William Peter
- Birthdate
- 1928-01-07
- Date of death
- 2017-01-12
- Gender
- male
- Education
- Georgetown University (B.A.|1950)
George Washington University (M.A. ∙ English Literature|1954) - Occupations
- screenwriter
novelist
movie producer - Organizations
- United States Information Agency
United States Air Force - Awards and honors
- Bram Stoker Award (Lifetime Achievement ∙ 1997)
Academy Award (1973)
Golden Globe - Short biography
- Blatty was born in New York City, the son of Lebanese parents Mary (née Mouakad) and Peter Blatty, a carpenter.[1] His father left home when William was six years old. Raised in relative poverty by his deeply religious Catholic mother, he apparently lived at twenty-eight different addresses during his childhood. He attended several Catholic and Jesuit schools before finding his raison d'etre and attending Georgetown University and George Washington University to study English. In the mid-1950s, Blatty was a contestant on the quiz show You Bet Your Life, winning $10,000: enough money to enable him to devote more time to writing professionally.
- Cause of death
- multiple myeloma
- Nationality
- USA (birth)
- Birthplace
- New York, New York, USA
- Places of residence
- New York, New York, USA
Malibu, California, USA - Place of death
- Bethesda, Maryland, USA
- Map Location
- USA
Members
Reviews
This book, in my opinion, is a "slow descent into hell," with a steady tempo that creates fear through scientific and clinical research before the supernatural aspects take over. One of the main strengths is the characters. Chris MacNeil is a compelling, desperate mother, and Father Karras shows a relatable struggle between faith and science. The philosophical queries raised in the book concerning the existence of God and the nature of evil are terrifying. Many readers may find the novel's show more graphic depictions upsetting and offensive, and it is intentionally raw and profane. Detective Kinderman offers a much-needed respite from the stress. Overall, I liked the novel's theological and philosophical elements as well as the tension that underpins the plot's development. show less
The Exorcist is an incredibly atmospheric read, and what really surprised me was just how strong the character drama is. The dialogue has a wit to it that’s a real treat, and the detective subplot adds this extra layer that I really enjoyed. The tension throughout is excellent, though the pacing can feel a bit slow in places before it ramps up. Honestly, the possessed Regan doesn’t land for me quite as well as in the film — the book’s version comes off a bit too chatty — but the show more ending hits in a way that feels both familiar and superior to the movie. At its core, the novel is the same story, just more of it, and for me, the Kinderman/Karras moments are the absolute highlight. show less
Finding Peter: A True Story of the Hand of Providence and Evidence of Life after Death by William Peter Blatty
To say that you "enjoyed" this book really takes a little work. Peter Blatty puts his heart and soul into making the reader meet, and love his son, Peter. He tells us little things about his child...much like any proud parent would do...however because of the huge impact that his movie The Exorcist has had Peter Blatty Has already had the aura of otherworldly occurrences...scary and divine things attached to him...so getting the reader to see and understand that what he believes about his show more son has noting to do with the movie...and is to him, real. I found the book both hilariously funny and profoundly moving... a rare combination in any book...and Blatty pulled it off in spades. It didn't matter if I or you believe that he communicated with Peter...he believed it and it helped to bring him comfort after the death of his child. show less
I read this one on Halloween night, as one does. Suffice to say it took a few hours after finishing before I could turn the lights fully out.
I'd already had an idea of the basic plot, thanks to cultural osmosis, but I've never actually seen the film. Reading this, though, the author's cinematic background shines through. My friend, the one who gave me a copy as part of our All Hallow's Read tradition, says that the film is extremely faithful to the book- I believe it.
I was seriously show more impressed by some of the technique, enough that I wish I'd been coming to this blind. There's a moment, directly after the daughter's "illness" is shown to be a serious problem, where the viewpoint jumps ahead a few weeks in time- and opens on a funeral. For a moment, even knowing that this "illness" was demonic possession, and we had much more to go - I truly thought the girl had died. Except earlier in the novel two characters had joked about how "clever" a filmmaker thought he was being by carefully syncing the closing and opening shots of two scenes.
That's what a lot of this novel felt like, from the perspective of technique- the author has the same sly charm as a magician- one who gives away the act before performing it, yet still leaves viewers amazed by the trick.
Of course, the content of the possession was deeply disturbing, as expected.
I'm not one for horror, usually- I like the lighter side of the macabre, that deals with "being Other" rather than plumping the darkest depths of the psyche- but I thought I'd be okay with this old chestnut. I mean, everyone knows the plot, it's been parodied and satirized for decades no- should be no problem. Holy crap nope.
There's something terrifying about sheer inhuman hatred, especially when it's directed indiscriminately. Even more so when the source hates itself- like a rabid animal with an intelligent mind. Hate and self-destruction.
The ending, though... maybe it's just a consequence of the lighter fare I tend towards -- but I was expecting a win, and I was expecting some form of closure. What we get is more the shadow of both, in that manner where the monster might be waiting around the corner and the heroic sacrifice was more about giving up, only by the grace of passing Deus ex Machina do we get redemption.
I liked it, but I wish, almost, that the ending had gone darker. That the girl is freed but the priest, having lost his personal crisis of faith, is consumed-- from what I hear of the sequel this might be where things are headed, but I don't think I have the stamina to read anything as disturbing as this again so soon. Maybe next year. show less
I'd already had an idea of the basic plot, thanks to cultural osmosis, but I've never actually seen the film. Reading this, though, the author's cinematic background shines through. My friend, the one who gave me a copy as part of our All Hallow's Read tradition, says that the film is extremely faithful to the book- I believe it.
I was seriously show more impressed by some of the technique, enough that I wish I'd been coming to this blind. There's a moment, directly after the daughter's "illness" is shown to be a serious problem, where the viewpoint jumps ahead a few weeks in time- and opens on a funeral. For a moment, even knowing that this "illness" was demonic possession, and we had much more to go - I truly thought the girl had died. Except earlier in the novel two characters had joked about how "clever" a filmmaker thought he was being by carefully syncing the closing and opening shots of two scenes.
That's what a lot of this novel felt like, from the perspective of technique- the author has the same sly charm as a magician- one who gives away the act before performing it, yet still leaves viewers amazed by the trick.
Of course, the content of the possession was deeply disturbing, as expected.
I'm not one for horror, usually- I like the lighter side of the macabre, that deals with "being Other" rather than plumping the darkest depths of the psyche- but I thought I'd be okay with this old chestnut. I mean, everyone knows the plot, it's been parodied and satirized for decades no- should be no problem. Holy crap nope.
There's something terrifying about sheer inhuman hatred, especially when it's directed indiscriminately. Even more so when the source hates itself- like a rabid animal with an intelligent mind. Hate and self-destruction.
The ending, though... maybe it's just a consequence of the lighter fare I tend towards -- but I was expecting a win, and I was expecting some form of closure. What we get is more the shadow of both, in that manner where the monster might be waiting around the corner and the heroic sacrifice was more about giving up, only by the grace of passing Deus ex Machina do we get redemption.
I liked it, but I wish, almost, that the ending had gone darker. That the girl is freed but the priest, having lost his personal crisis of faith, is consumed-- from what I hear of the sequel this might be where things are headed, but I don't think I have the stamina to read anything as disturbing as this again so soon. Maybe next year. show less
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Statistics
- Works
- 46
- Also by
- 6
- Members
- 9,771
- Popularity
- #2,444
- Rating
- 3.9
- Reviews
- 246
- ISBNs
- 283
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- 20
- Favorited
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