---
name: "William Peter Blatty"
canonical: "https://film.one/person/william-peter-blatty"
fi1m_id: "william-peter-blatty"
imdb_id: "nm0087861"
tmdb_id: 57922
wikidata_id: "Q540784"
roles: ["Writer"]
born: "7 January 1928"
died: "12 January 2017"
reviewed_on_fi1m: 2
average_fi1m_score: 64
average_as: "writer"
average_over: 2
updated: "2026-09-17T23:23:59.912089+00:00"
licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL."
---

# William Peter Blatty

## Identity

William Peter Blatty

- **Canonical:** https://film.one/person/william-peter-blatty
- **Type:** Person
- **Fi1m ID:** william-peter-blatty
- **IMDb ID:** nm0087861
- **TMDB ID:** 57922
- **Wikidata ID:** Q540784
- **Same entity:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Peter_Blatty, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q540784, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0087861/, https://www.themoviedb.org/person/57922

Writer. Born 7 January 1928 in New York, New York, USA. Died 12 January 2017.

## Details

- **Work:** Writer
- **Born:** 7 January 1928, New York, New York, USA
- **Died:** 12 January 2017
- **Active:** 1973–1977
- **Academy Awards:** 1 Oscar (1 won · 1 nominated)
- **Average Fi1m score:** 64, as writer, over 2 titles
- **Elsewhere:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Peter_Blatty, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q540784, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0087861/, https://www.themoviedb.org/person/57922

## Coming up

- *The Exorcist: Martyrs* (2027-03-10), Characters

## Biography

William Peter Blatty was an American novelist, screenwriter, director and producer. He wrote the 1971 novel *The Exorcist*, which he adapted into the screenplay for the 1973 film of the same name; he also served as producer on the film.

Blatty was born in New York City on 7 January 1928 and died on 12 January 2017. He graduated from Georgetown University in 1950 and received a master’s degree in English literature from George Washington University in 1954. He later served in the United States Air Force.

Blatty’s other notable credits include the screenplay for *A Shot in the Dark* (1964), the novel and film *The Ninth Configuration* (1980), on which he made his directorial debut, and *The Exorcist III* (1990), which he wrote and directed. He won the Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay for *The Exorcist* and received a nomination for Best Picture as producer.

*Sources: en.wikipedia.org, bfi.org.uk, nytimes.com.*

## On Fi1m (2)

- *Exorcist II: The Heretic* (1977), Fi1m 38, Characters — [page](https://film.one/film/exorcist-ii-the-heretic.md)
- *The Exorcist* (1973), Fi1m 89, as The Producer (uncredited) — [page](https://film.one/film/the-exorcist.md)

## Complete filmography (22)

Every credit, newest first. Titles without a page can be requested for review on the HTML page.

- *The Exorcist: Martyrs* (2027), Characters
- *Short Cuts : The Exorcist* (2024), Original Film Writer
- *The Exorcist* (2016), series, Novel
- *Dominion: Prequel to The Exorcist* (2005), Characters
- *Exorcist: The Beginning* (2004), Characters
- *Exorcists: The True Story* (2004), as Lui-même
- *The Fear of God: 25 Years of The Exorcist* (1998), Thanks
- *The Exorcist III* (1990), Director, Screenplay, Novel
- *The Ninth Configuration* (1980), as Dr. Fromme (uncredited) · Director, Novel, Screenplay, Producer
- *Exorcist II: The Heretic* (1977), Characters — Fi1m 38, [page](https://film.one/film/exorcist-ii-the-heretic.md)
- *Mastermind* (1976), Screenplay, Story
- *The Exorcist* (1973), as The Producer (uncredited) · Producer, Novel, Screenplay — Fi1m 89, [page](https://film.one/film/the-exorcist.md)
- *Darling Lili* (1970), Writer
- *The Great Bank Robbery* (1969), Screenplay
- *Gunn* (1967), Screenplay
- *What Did You Do in the War, Daddy?* (1966), Screenplay
- *Promise Her Anything* (1966), Screenplay
- *John Goldfarb, Please Come Home!* (1965), Writer
- *A Shot in the Dark* (1964), Screenplay
- *The Man from the Diners' Club* (1963), Story, Screenplay
- *No Place to Land* (1958), as Policeman (as Bill Blatty)
- *Compound 9*, Author

## Gallery

- ![William Peter Blatty](https://film.one/media/person/104384/gallery-1e4e7ab675af.jpg) William Peter Blatty — jtblatty, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons (https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/44/William-Peter-Blatty-2009.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail_unscaled)
- ![Director William Friedkin (left), cinematographer Owen Roizman and producer William Peter Blatty preparing to shoot a scene from The Exorcist (based on Blatty's (1973)](https://film.one/media/person/104384/gallery-b8e6b1b294b1.jpg) Director William Friedkin (left), cinematographer Owen Roizman and producer William Peter Blatty preparing to shoot a scene from The Exorcist (based on Blatty's (1973) — Warner Bros., Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons (https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/76/William_Friedkin%2C_Owen_Roizman_and_William_Peter_Blatty_making_The_Exorcist_in_the_streets_of_Georgetown.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail_unscaled)
- ![William Peter Blatty (2007)](https://film.one/media/person/104384/gallery-df25f6a39f8a.jpg) William Peter Blatty (2007) — Terry Ballard from Merrick, New York, USA, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons (https://thumb.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/0/03/William_Peter_Blatty_%284647730344%29.jpg/1280px-William_Peter_Blatty_%284647730344%29.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail)
- ![Meeting William Peter Blatty (author of The Exorcist) shortly after meeting Linda Blair (star of the film). (2009)](https://film.one/media/person/104384/gallery-4aae3a00013b.jpg) Meeting William Peter Blatty (author of The Exorcist) shortly after meeting Linda Blair (star of the film). (2009) — Henry Burrows, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons (https://thumb.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/8/8c/William_Peter_Blatty_at_Exorcist_Signing.jpg/1280px-William_Peter_Blatty_at_Exorcist_Signing.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail)
- ![William Peter Blatty](https://film.one/media/person/104384/gallery-d5e00a088191.jpg) William Peter Blatty — Image via TMDB
- ![William Peter Blatty (author of The Exorcist) at a book signing. (2009)](https://film.one/media/person/104384/gallery-a942b1d35242.jpg) William Peter Blatty (author of The Exorcist) at a book signing. (2009) — Henry Burrows, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons (https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/70/William_Peter_Blatty_at_Exorcist_Signing_%28crop%29.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail_unscaled)

## Awards

### Academy Awards — 1 won, 1 nominated

- 1974: Best Writing, Adapted Screenplay (won), for *The Exorcist*
- 1974: Best Picture (nominated), for *The Exorcist*

### Other awards — 2 won

- Bram Stoker Award for Lifetime Achievement 1997: Bram Stoker Award for Lifetime Achievement (won)
- Saturn Awards 1975: Best Writing (won), for *The Exorcist*

*From Wikidata, which records wins more completely than nominations.*

---
© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Canonical: https://film.one/person/william-peter-blatty