Former Exorcist Movie Star, Dr. X, Tells All

This movie was nominated for ten Academy Awards in 1973 and won two, the Academy Award for Sound and the Academy Award for Writing Adapted Screenplay. It also won four Golden Globes, including the award for the Best Picture-Drama for the year 1974. The Exorcist was based on the novel by William Peter Blatty, Exorcist (1971), which spent 55 weeks on the New York Times Bestseller List. Blatty earned an Oscar and a Golden Globe for the screenplay adaptation of his book.

The Exorcist was directed by William Friedkin and starred Linda Blair as Regan MacNeil (the possessed girl); Ellen Burstyn as Chris MacNeil (the mother of the possessed girl); Jason Miller as Father Damien Karras (a priest and psychiatrist); and Max von Sydow as Father Lankester Merrin (an older priest adept at exorcisms). The theme music is a part of the composition called Tubular Bells by Mike Oldfield. The horror begins when a visiting actress in Washington, D.C., Chris MacNeil, notices drastic changes in the behavior of her 12-year-old daughter, Regan, who is abnormally strong and can levitate her whole body.

To find the source of her daughter's strange behavior, Chris takes Regan for an electroencephalogram (EEG), angiogram (performed by Dr. X), and pneumoencephalogram. When these tests show no abnormalities, Chris and Regan are sent to Father Karras, who is also a psychiatrist. Convinced that Regan is possessed, Father Karras and a second priest experienced with exorcisms, Father Lankester Merrin, try to exorcise the spirit from Regan before she dies.

Dr. X became involved in the filming of The Exorcist while completing his/her second year of a neuroradiology fellowship at New York University (NYU) Medical Center. As the senior fellow, s/he did lots of procedures such as angiograms, pneumoencephalograms, myelograms, etc. One day in the fall of 1972, as Dr. X was performing a carotid angiogram, his/her chairman, Dr. Norman Chase, came by to observe, with a stranger in tow. This was not unusual because important visitors were occasionally allowed to visit and evaluate their procedures, equipment, etc. NYU Medical Center was one of the leading neuroradiology centers in New York. Later that day, Dr. Chase told Dr. X that they would be making a movie, and asked if s/he would be interested in participating. Dr. X said "Yes sure," and promptly forgot about the incident.

Several months later in January of 1973, a whole film crew descended upon the NYU Radiology Department for two weekends. The film crew closed off part of the Department, utilized their angiography and pneumoencephalography suites, and proceeded to set up and film the (now famous) carotid angiography and pneumoencephalography sequences. To read about these scenes, please see the excerpt from The Exorcist script below.

Dr. X's participation was for two full days on the first weekend. According to Dr. X, "The other people in the angiogram scene with me are not actors; they are the radiologic technologist and nurse who actually worked with me every day. We duplicated exactly what we did for any carotid angiogram; I am most proud of the fact that even now, 30-plus year later, it holds up as a very realistic demonstration of the procedure." Dr. X claims that s/he was given the part because the chairman liked him/her: "He [the chairman] also is the only one who got film credits. His name appears at the end, not mine. (That's when I first learned that the radiology chairman always takes the credit!) :)" Dr. X's chairman, Dr. Norman Chase, is listed under the "Other Crew" section in the credits as follows: "Norman E. Chase. M.D. . . . . technical advisor."

Although the film was a huge international hit in 1973 and became the highest-grossing film of the year (see Wikipedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Exorcist_%28film%29), Dr. X did not receive the lion's share of the profits. For his/her participation in the film, Dr. X was paid $200, which was a lot of money for a struggling fellow back in 1973! So far, The Exorcist has a total gross of $402,500,000 worldwide; if adjusted for inflation, this would be the top-grossing R-rated film of all time.

What were his/her fellows actors like? "As for the actors: I spent two solid days with Linda Blair who was an unknown thirteen-year old at the time; her mother was there too (actually has a bit part in the movie). Linda was very cooperative with all of us working on her. I remember she liked horses. I was able to meet the actress who plays the mother, Ellen Burstyn, too. The director, William Friedkin, was constantly directing us every step; he was incredibly professional and detail-oriented. So was the cinematographer, Owen Roizman, and the make-up guy who devised, with our help, the blood-spurting part of the sequence. I think he got on Oscar nomination for his work in the movie (think: pea soup and rotating heads!)."

When released in 1973, some theatre patrons reportedly screamed and fainted while viewing the film, requiring paramedics to be called to theaters. Theaters allegedly provided "Exorcist barf bags" (see http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qn4158/is_20061104/ai_n16829894).

Dr. X's acting contributed to the nausea: "Again, I kind of forgot about the thing, figuring this was an interesting episode but one that would never see the light of day. Much to my surprise, in December of that year [1973], The Exorcist movie was released with tremendous impact. It was considered shocking, over-the-top, scary as the dickens, and the part that most sickened people was the angiogram sequence I had done!!! Go figure."

Other trivia buffs (see http://www.thefleshfarm.com/exorcist/exorcist1.htm) allege that due to death threats against Linda Blair, Warner Brothers had bodyguards protecting her for six months after the film's release. Some trivia facts websites (see http://imdb.com/title/tt0070047/trivia) claim that one filmgoer, who saw the movie in 1974 during its original release, fainted and broke his jaw on the seat in front of him. Claiming that the use of subliminal imagery in the film had caused him to pass out, he sued Warner Brothers and the filmmakers. The studio settled out of court for an undisclosed sum. Another unsuspecting moviegoer was Dr. X's identical twin sibling, who is also a physician. Dr. X forgot to tell his/her sibling about his/her role in the movie. When Dr. X's sibling and his/her significant other saw the movie, Dr. X claims that "they both freaked out!!!"

Today, Dr. X is comfortable talking about his/her acting debut, but that was not always the case: "For many years I never volunteered to people that I was in the movie. My career as an academic neuroradiologist was beginning, and I thought this would only be damaging to it, especially if one of my patients saw the scene. Now that I'm an old has-been, I admit to it if someone asks. But it's still not in my CV!"

While s/he hasn't had any further movie offers, Dr. X did get to meet Linda Blair many years later: "I did get to meet Linda Blair 25 years later as she was touring the country, promoting the 25th anniversary Exorcist DVD. So I decided to go see her at a bookstore. She looked great, I thought, and was as nice as could be, although I don't think she really remembered me. But she signed a cool Exorcist poster for me, with the words 'To Dr. X: what you did to my neck was a real head-spinning experience!' (Corny, but I like it)."

Can you name Dr. X?

CAST FOR THE ANGIOGRAM SCENE FROM THE EXORCIST:
Doctor: Dr. X
Regan MacNeil (Linda Blair): the possessed girl
Chris MacNeil (Ellen Burstyn): Regan's mother
Male Radiologic Technologist (RT)

Prior to the following scene, Regan's mother, Chris MacNeil, has consulted with a neurologist and a pediatric neurologist about her daughter's erratic behavior. They have recommended that Mrs. MacNeil have her daughter examined for a possible lesion in the temporal lobe of her brain. So, Mrs. MacNeil takes her daughter to Dr. X for an angiogram.

INTERIOR OF THE HOSPITAL, ANGIOGRAPHY SUITE, DAYTIME
[Regan is being wheeled on a bed to the angiography table. They place the bed next to the table and pull the siderails down.]

MALE RADIOLOGIC TECHNOLOGIST (RT): Regan, could you sit up and scoot over here?

[Regan does so, and she lies back on the angiography table. The RT pushes a button and the table begins to move forward.]

MALE RT: Regan, I'm just gonna move you down to the table okay?

[The table comes to a halt.]

MALE RT: Just for a short time.

[The RT and the female nurse loosen Regan's gown around the neck to prep her for the doctor. They place monitors on her arms.]

MALE RT: Very sticky.

[The doctor approaches Regan with a cup of Betadine and puts a sponge into the cup.]

DOCTOR: Now Regan, you're going to feel something, a little bit cold and wet.

[S/he dabs the sponge onto her neck making it a light brown color. The doctor then picks up a hypodermic needle and syringe and moves toward her. We see Chris and Dr. Klein, a pediatric neurologist, in the viewing room.]

DOCTOR: Okay, now you're gonna feel a little stick here. Don't move.
[The doctor inserts the needle into Regan's neck and injects local anesthetic.]

DOCTOR: Good.

[S/he then picks up a carotid angiogram needle and moves toward her.]

DOCTOR: Okay, you're gonna feel some pressure here, now don't move.

[The doctor places the carotid needle into her neck. Regan is quietly yelping in pain, and Chris is in pain watching her daughter suffer.

The doctor takes the stylet from the needle, which squirts pulsating blood, and fastens a tube onto the needle's hub. We see the blood rush from Regan's neck through the tube. The male RT then tapes Regan's chin down to prevent her from moving. The RT then wheels in a huge machine (the film changer), with parts on either side of Regan's head and a piece above.

The lights fade out, and all we can see is Regan's face illuminated by this huge machine above her.]

DOCTOR: Hook up.

[We see a finger flip a switch and the machine comes to life. Another RT in the view room pushes another button and the machine lets off several loud bangs. In the angiography room, we can see Regan crying.]
END OF ANGIOGRAM SCENE

The X-ray films from Regan's cerebral angiogram are normal. The doctors recommend that Regan have a pneumoencephalogram in a last attempt to locate the suspected lesion.

The results from the pneumoencephalogram are also negative.