Blatty became interested in exorcism while a junior at Georgetown University, following 1949 newspaper coverage of a reportedly possessed 14-year-old boy. After a 20-year gestation period, this seed became "The Exorcist", and the writer successfully adapted (and produced) the sensational 1973 screen version directed by William Friedkin, winning both the Golden Globe and the Oscar for his screenplay. Blatty returned to comedy for his directorial debut, adapting material from two novels for "Twinkle, Twinkle, 'Killer' Kane/The Ninth Configuration" (1980), an uproarious, yet thought-provoking tale set in a US government asylum where the new head shrink (Stacy Keach) is nuttier than the patients. Its endlessly quotable dialogue helped earn Blatty his second Golden Globe Award (Best Screenplay). Though he had nothing to do with "Exorcist II: The Heretic" (1977), he wrote and directed "William Peter Blatty's 'The Exorcist III'" (1990), based on his 1983 novel "Legion". Not one to abandon a meal ticket, Blatty had been announced as executive produced and writer of yet another version of his most famous work ("The Exorcist"), this time as a TV miniseries but the project stalled in development.