William Peter Blatty

Biography

Date of Birth 7 January 1928, New York City, New York, USA Spouse Mary Margaret Rigard (18 February 1950 - ?) 3 children Linda Tuero (? - ?) Trivia Years before he became famous for writing "The Exorcist", Blatty appeared on Groucho Marx's quiz show, "You Bet Your Life" (1950), posing as an Arab sheik with so many wives that he could not recall how many he had. Groucho was completely taken in. When Blatty revealed that it was a hoax after a couple of minutes, he told Groucho that he did it because George Fenneman had said that Groucho was an expert at spotting phonies. Groucho replied, "That is incorrect, because I've had Fenneman in my employ now for 14 years." Blatty won $10,000 on the show, and when Groucho asked what he intended to do with the money, Blatty replied that he was going to take a year off from his job and write a novel. That novel was "The Exorcist",. He really loved Dominion: Prequel to the Exorcist (2005); he said to The Houston Chronicle that the film is "a handsome, classy, elegant piece of work.". Personal Quotes [on the Academy Awards snub of The Exorcist (1973), which out of ten nominations won only for Sound and Best Adapted Screenplay (which went to Blatty himself)] The Academy should fold its tent and go back to baking apple strudel or whatever they can do well.