{"id":10359,"date":"2024-03-24T10:01:52","date_gmt":"2024-03-24T10:01:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/used82.com\/?p=10359"},"modified":"2024-03-24T10:01:52","modified_gmt":"2024-03-24T10:01:52","slug":"why-linda-blair-was-never-the-same-after-the-exorcist","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/used82.com\/?p=10359","title":{"rendered":"Why Linda Blair was never the same after The Exorcist"},"content":{"rendered":"

At only 13, Linda Blair terrified viewers with her believable portrayal of the demon-possessed Regan MacNeil in the nightmare-inducing film,\u00a0The Exorcist<\/em>. Chock full of controversies, Blair disappeared from the spotlight after her award-winning performance left her head spinning.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Along with its religious theme that rattled the church, the horrifying storyline of\u00a0The Exorcist<\/em>\u2013emphasized by bone-chilling demonic imagery\u2013also shook cast and crew members who despite a blessing from a Jesuit priest, were plagued by injury and death.<\/strong><\/p>\n

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Wikipedia Commons<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Directed by William Friedkin,\u00a0The Exorcist<\/em>\u00a0is the film adaptation of William Peter Blatty\u2019s best-selling novel of the same name, a story that was inspired by a real-life exorcism in 1949.<\/p>\n

Released in 1973,\u00a0The Exorcist<\/em>\u00a0is a horror movie that tells the story of 12-year-old Regan MacNeil whose unusually erratic and violent behavior raises a concern.<\/p>\n

Her mother, played by Ellen Burnstyn, seeks medical attention and when that fails, she looks to Father Damien Karras, played by Jason Miller, a Jesuit priest who confirms that Regan is being possessed by an evil spirit. To free Regan from the demons\u2019 grasp, Karras pleads with the Catholic Church to perform an exorcism.<\/p>\n

Despite the controversial content of the film,\u00a0The Exorcist<\/em>\u00a0was a box office hit, and receiving multiple awards\u2013including Oscars for Best Sound and Best Screenplay, along with four Golden Globe Awards\u2013the supernatural horror still holds the spot for the second highest-earning R-rated horror film of all time.<\/p>\n

It was the first major film role for Blair, whose chilling performance launched her into superstardom. Starting her career as a child model, Blair appeared in print ads and TV commercials, with credits like Ivory Soap, Welch\u2019s Grape Jelly and Carefree Gum by the time she was only five.<\/p>\n

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Wikipedia Commons<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

As a young teen, Blair considered giving up acting to pursue a career that involved animals.<\/p>\n

But the temptation of the starring role in\u00a0The Exorcist<\/em>\u00a0was too much to resist.<\/p>\n

When auditioning for the role, Friedkin instantly identified the newcomer as the perfect fit and selected her over thousands of others to play Regan.<\/p>\n

Though it was her first major role, Blair was never coddled and expected to perform physically demanding tasks that were uncomfortable and oftentimes dangerous.<\/p>\n

Filmed in the 1970\u2019s, when special effects weren\u2019t powered by technology, people were required to act out demanding parts, leaving them vulnerable to injury and illness.<\/p>\n

In the exorcism scene\u2013when a possessed Father Karras tumbles down the infamous steep steps to his death\u2013a stunt man actually hurled himself down 97-steps that are featured at the end of the film.<\/p>\n

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Statue of Linda Blair from \u2018The Exorcist\u2019 on display at the 43rd Annual Saturn Awards \u2013 After Party held at The Castaway on June 28, 2017 in Burbank, California. (Photo by Albert L. Ortega\/Getty Images)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Blair didn\u2019t have to toss herself down any steps but the straps that held her to the bed, where she was thrashed around, dug into her back, and her bedroom, built on wheels allowing the room to actually shake, was kept at a temperature of 30 below zero so the cameras could pick up the cloud of ice when an actor breathed.<\/p>\n

While the rest of the crew was dressed appropriately, Blair was wearing only a nightgown.<\/p>\n

The challenges were felt by everyone on the set.<\/p>\n

The set of\u00a0The Exorcist<\/em>\u00a0seemed cursed and had an extensive list of tragedies and deaths related to production.<\/p>\n

In the book, \u201cThe Fear of God: 25 Years of The Exorcist,\u201d special effects innovator Marcel Vercoutere\u2013the man who made Blair\u2019s head spin\u2013said, \u201cThere was definitely a feeling it (something bad) could happen. I felt I was playing around with something I shouldn\u2019t be playing around with.\u201d<\/p>\n

One of the most bizarre incidents was when a bird flew into a lightbox, sparking a massive fire, which burned down the entire set where Regan\u2019s exorcism was to take place. Production was stalled six weeks while the set was rebuilt.<\/p>\n

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Linda Blair and Ellen Burstyn in the movie the Exorcist \/ Wikipedia Commons<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The day before the fire, Friedkin asked technical advisor Thomas Bermingham\u2013a Jesuit priest who guided Blatty on his book\u2013to exorcise the set. Stating there was not enough evidence to perform a real exorcism, he instead blessed the entire cast and crew.<\/p>\n

Still tragedy continued to strike production. Jack MacGowran, who played Regan\u2019s first victim Burke Dennings in the film, died after getting influenza. Vasiliki Maliaros, the actress playing Father Karras\u2019 mother, also died before the movie was released. What\u2019s really disturbing is that both of their characters die in\u00a0The Exorcist<\/em>.<\/p>\n

Other actors lost family, including Blair, whose grandfather died during production.<\/p>\n

A total of nine people related to the production died during the making of the film.<\/p>\n

Blair, too young to fully understand the complexity and sensitivity of the concept, was unphased by the mysterious events surrounding the making of the film.<\/p>\n

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Wikipedia Commons<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

She explained \u201cThe Exorcist<\/em>\u00a0was a work of fiction. I didn\u2019t realize then that it dealt with anything in reality.\u201d<\/p>\n

While the idea was fictional to Blair, the religious themes were very real to some viewers, and Blair became the target of people who claimed the film was responsible for their religious crises.<\/p>\n

She was even accused of glorifying Satan by playing Regan and received death threats.<\/p>\n

Speaking to press was also daunting for the 14-year-old, who during press conferences, was peppered by questions from inquisitive journalists, looking for her perspectives on the movie\u2019s concept. As Blair told\u00a0Dread Central<\/a>, \u201cThe amount of pressure that came down on me wasn\u2019t anything I was prepared for. Especially all the pressure the press put on me. They thought I had all the answers about faith and Catholicism. \u2026 It was probably the most awful thing you could imagine.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Wikipedia Commons<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Her role as Regan, that she reprised in the 1977\u00a0Exorcist II: The Heretic<\/em>, continued to haunt Blair, who had difficulty finding roles that didn\u2019t present her as a helpless, hapless girl.<\/p>\n

She appeared in the 1974 TV drama\u00a0Born Innocent<\/em>\u00a0as a young girl running from her abusive family, and one year later, as the lead in\u00a0Portrait of a Teenage Alcoholic<\/em>.<\/p>\n

Determined to shift industry perceptions, she appeared nude in the October 1982 issue of Oui magazine, a move that backfired, sending her career spiralling into exploitation-type roles.<\/p>\n

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Shutter<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Circling back to her passion before\u00a0The Exorcist<\/em>, she founded the\u00a0Linda Blair Worldheart Foundation<\/a>, a non-profit organization dedicated to rescuing and rehabilitating abused and neglected animals.<\/p>\n

Despite her activist work and advocacy for animals, the role she played five decades ago still casts a dark shadow over her life.<\/p>\n

Blair told\u00a0The Sydney Morning Herald<\/a>, \u201cWhat\u2019s very discouraging at times is the inability (of the media) to look at what I\u2019m trying to do\u2026I\u2019m sad, but I\u2019m not mad at them.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Yes, of course I voted! #democracy #ivoted\ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\uddf8<\/p>\n

Posted by\u00a0Linda Blair<\/a>\u00a0on\u00a0Thursday, November 10, 2022<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n

We certainly agree that The Exorcist is one of the most terrifying movies of all time. Considering it was filmed in the 1970\u2019s, it still holds up. If you saw the film, we\u2019d love to hear your thoughts!<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

At only 13, Linda Blair terrified viewers with her believable portrayal of the demon-possessed Regan…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_uf_show_specific_survey":0,"_uf_disable_surveys":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-10359","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"aioseo_notices":[],"views":45,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/used82.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10359","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/used82.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/used82.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/used82.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/used82.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=10359"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/used82.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10359\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/used82.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=10359"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/used82.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=10359"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/used82.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=10359"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}