Paul Bateson: The Serial Killer Who Starred In ‘The Exorcist’
Did you know that a real-life serial killer starred in The Exorcist? In 1972, director William Friedkin saw Paul Bateson perform a cerebral angiography in the New York University radiology lab. Wanting to keep things as real as possible, when Friedkin was making The Exorcist the next year, he arranged for the same procedure to be filmed in a hospital by real doctors and technicians. Friedkin was impressed by the way Bateson performed the real procedure the year before and invited him to be included in the scene as a radiographer not knowing of his crimes. Born in Lansdale, Pennsylvania, he was the son of a metallurgist. In the early 60s, he joined the Army and became an alcoholic while serving in Germany. When his service came to an end, he returned to Lansdale before moving to New York in 1964 where he began living a double life, working as a radiologist during the day, and exploring his sexuality and
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