Media Path Podcast A Scream Queen Childhood & The Critical Fight For Animal Rights with Linda Blair!
We’ve got Linda Blair! Pioneer Scream Queen, 70s and 80s Hollywood Trailblazer, Golden Globe Winner, cult classic icon, animal rights activist and humanitarian, Linda joins us for an exclusive conversation about her path to self discovery in a terrifying lane she navigated solo, carving her way towards light and purpose.
Linda and Fritz share a history in philanthropy. They catch up on The Linda Blair Worldheart Foundation, dedicated to rehabilitating and rehoming abused, neglected and abandoned animals.
We then trace Linda’s groundbreaking history from her work as a child model to landing the controversial role of a child possessed by the devil in the film adaption of THE book of the decade, The Exorcist. Linda then faced the bumpy task of discovering self while convincing friends, fans and reporters that she was not actually demonic. She went on to define the message-driven TV movie genre in Sarah T. Portrait of a Teenage Alcoholic and Born Innocent. But how could she say no to Exorcist II, co-starring Richard Burton?
Raised in the Protestant faith, charity, benevolence and helping the voiceless were ingrained in Linda from childhood. For the past several decades she has been dedicated to animal welfare and she shares the most pressing concerns on that front: 1) Corporate owned veterinary clinics pricing pet owners out of spaying and neutering, 2) Mass euthanasia in dog shelters and 3) The outlawing and extermination of breeds deemed to be “dangerous.”
We delve into Linda's experience on the set of The Exorcist where much of what was asked of her by director, William Friedkin was not healthy or appropriate for a child actor. She did share a close bond with writer, William Peter Blatty and she describes how Max Von Sydow would often hear the lines given to Linda, stop the scene, pull Billy Friedkin aside and say, “What are you doing!?” But Friedkin got what he wanted, a terrifyingly controversial film that stunned and horrified the world.
A household name since the age of 14, Linda matured into a young actress with head turning, Rick themed romantic relationships, such as Rick Springfield and Rick James!
Linda shares how her Pumpkin headed turn on The Masked Singer helped her solve a medical mystery. She describes her heroic rescue of 51 dogs after Hurricane Katrina and she takes on a challenging round of IMDB Roulette.
Plus, Fritz and Weezy are recommending Bad Sisters on Apple TV + and the Telepathy Tapes podcast.
Path Points of Interest:
Linda Blair
Linda Blair on Wikipedia
Linda Blair World Heart Foundation
Linda Blair World Heart Foundation on Facebook
Linda Blair World Heart Foundation on IG