Remember Her Name: Mercedes McCambridge Was Pazuzu In THE EXORCIST But Her Name Was Cut From The Credits
Jonathan Barkan
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William Friedkin’s The Exorcist may very well be one of the most culturally significant and acclaimed horror films of all time. Adapted from the novel of the same name by William Peter Blatty, the film shocked an entire generation and to this day remains lauded as one of the scariest films ever. Its impact is hard to measure as it undoubtedly influenced countless other movies since it hit theaters, not to mention TV, books, video games, comics, and so much more.
However, as with many films from bygone times, there is a dark secret that some may not know. Here, it is the fact that the voice of the Pazuzu was not Linda Blair but rather Mercedes McCambridge, “the world’s greatest living radio actress”, per Orson Welles. However, McCambridge’s name was struck from the credits by Friedkin himself, who she claims promised her a special credit [source]. Alas, that wasn’t meant to be, something McCambridge speculated was, “…because they did not want to affect Linda Blair’s Oscar chances.”
For her performance, McCambridge demanded a near-torturous experience to get the right kind of voice. Here are descriptions of what she went through, all in her own words:
- Doing that soundtrack was a terrible experience. I didn’t just do the voice, I did all of the demon’s sounds. That wheezing, for instance. MY chronic bronchitis helped with that. I did it on one microphone, then on another, elevating it a bit, then a third and fourth, two tones higher each time, and they combined them, as a chorus.
- The wailing just before the Demon is driven out, that’s the keening sound I once heard at a wake in Ireland. I used moaning cries I had used when playing Lady Macbeth for Orson.
- For the groaning sounds, I pulled a scarf around my neck, tight, and almost strangled.
- I’ve been an alcoholic, saved by A.A., and I’ve seen people in state hospitals, vegetables in straitjackets, the hopeless, abysmal, bottomless groaning and screaming. I used imitations of those hellish cries.
- …when I spoke the scene in which the little girl spits out green vomit, when I made the ugly sounds of violent expectoration, I swallowed 18 raw eggs, with a pulpy apple.
- To convey the feeling of the Devil being trapped, I had the crew tear up a sheet and bind me. hand and foot, Sometimes I was so exhausted and my circulation was so sluggish that I wasn’t able to drive home; I stayed in a motel near the Burbank Studios. My voice was ruined. For weeks, I couldn’t talk above a whisper.
McCambridge didn’t hide in the shadows. Once she saw her name wasn’t in the credits, she went to trades such as Variety and Time. The above information comes from a 1974 interview with McCambridge conducted by the New York Times. Clearly, McCambridge, who described herself as a “devout Catholic”, was not a woman to sit idly by while being ignored for her hard work.
Horror fans know Linda Blair for her genuinely fantastic portrayal as Regan MacNeil. She brought a physicality and intensity to her role that still resonates and impresses. However, recognizing McCambridge and all she did for the film doesn’t diminish Blair’s contribution. If anything, it makes the film all the more appreciable due to how many put so much of themselves into it.
Many thanks to Sady Doyle.
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