Happy Birthday To Linda Blair!
She is an Icon: from her head-spinning debut in “The Exorcist” to “Savage Streets”, “Chained Heat” and a head-spinning photo shoot as well!
To celebrate her 63rd birthday on January 21, my “2022 Sex Kitten Countdown: dives into the wildly successful career of this Cult Movie Queen!
Celebrating The “Wild” Career Of Linda Blair!
This Cult Movie Queen is best known for one of the most shocking scenes in movie history – the moment in the classic horror film “The Exorcist” when sweet little girl Regan “turns” around on the bed – without moving her body!
Yes, it’s just one of many shocking moments from this classic film – to me the greatest horror film of all time – so what could Actress Linda Blair do to “out do” the movie?
Well, I have the answer – because after Linda Blair grew up, she grew out of her shy persona and found a way to “shock” us all over again – when she grew up, she did THIS!
Hello, Linda!
Time to look at one of the more controversial moves that Linda Blair made in her career – her decision to pose topless in the “Gentleman’s” magazine of that era, Oui!
After starring in one of horror’s greatest films, this young Actress carved out a cult movie career that we can all still enjoy today – let’s look at Linda Blair’s road to her provocative photo spread!
Linda Blair’s Breakthrough Movie!
Linda Blair has had a long and acclaimed career, but she got her start in the biggest way possible – by starring in “The Exorcist” when she was just thirteen years old. She was Oscar nominated and won a Golden Globe for her performance, which is one of the most shocking performances of all time…
In the more than forty years since it was released, “The Exorcist” has remained one of the most shocking films ever made….because of moments like this:
“Cue The Soup!”
The moment when Linda Blair unloads gallons of green liquid onto her guests is a legendary horror moment that never fails to shock…
Great “Exorcist” Trivia!
Here is some great trivia about the film:
The refrigerated bedroom set was cooled with four air conditioners and temperatures would plunge to around 30 to 40 below zero. It was so cold that perspiration would freeze on some of the cast and crew.
The air was saturated with moisture, resulting in a thin layer of snow once falling on the set before the crew arrived for filming!
Oh yeah, and then there is the “head turn” sequence! As you can see in this picture, Blair is holding a crucifix for all the wrong reasons…another scene that was so shocking that audience members fled the theaters when it was playing – this type of horror reaction just doesn’t happen any more!
Making Controversial Choices!
Linda Blair took many courageous chances when she was young – such as starring in the TV movie “Born Innocent” in 1974, portraying a 14-year old girl sentenced to a women’s prison!
The film’s most notorious scene involved the rape of Blair’s character in the prison’s communal showers by a girl gang – with a plunger handle! This was the first all-female rape scene aired on American television!
Blair had a run of cult 80’s films as well, including “Savage Streets” – where she played a vigilante seeking revenge for her sister’s brutal rape and friend’s murder!
This is a “pure 80’s” film, with a visual style and colorful energy that captures Hollywood at that time perfectly!
Check out this wild trailer shot on the streets of Hollywood!
As you can see, Blair had a provocative pose in the film’s poster, as the Actress was pushing boundaries in her career.
Perhaps the most surprising choice she made was this one:
Oui! Oui!
Linda erased everyone’s memory of young Regan when she decided to pose for a very creative photo shoot!
Yes, in 1982 the Actress showed her most “adult” side ever by appearing in a photo spread for Oui magazine!
The pictures capture her at her most sensual and playful, and it was only a year later that Blair showed up in an Italian Playboy pictorial as well!
She wasn’t “Little Regan” any more!
Blair’s personal life made headlines as well.
In a 1982 interview, Blair said that Singer Rick James was”very sexy”.
They ultimately dated for two years and James wrote the song “Cold Blooded” about her.
Speaking on their relationship in his book “Glow: The Autobiography of Rick James“, the singer said this:
“Linda was incredible. A free spirit. A beautiful mind. A mind-blowing body. She liked getting high and getting down as much as I did. We posed topless for a photograph that showed up everywhere. We didn’t care. We were doing our own thing our own way. It was a love affair that I hoped would last. It didn’t.”
Linda continued to make wild exploitation films, like this one with Sybil Danning:
It included fully nude shower scene with Danning, one of the many reasons that “women in prison” films are so much fun to watch – the plentiful showers!
Sybil Danning is one of the greatest “Cult Movie Queens” and you can see more of her work by clicking on my story here:
Back to that great 80’s cult gem “Savage Streets”:
This film is very rough, “Hard R” to be sure – and the younger sister is played by Linnea Quigley, who went on to do this in a film shortly after:
You can see more of Linnea’s graveyard dance by clicking on my story here:
In 1985, Blair starred with Sylvia Kristel in “Red Heat”, another chance for her to shower:
As you know, Kristel had a wild cult film career as well:
She was the original “Emmanuelle” and so much more – see her wild career here:
As for Linda Blair, she continued to act, and while she has had some personal and professional issues over the years, she has also done so many great things with her fame – she become an animal rights activist and devotes time to a non-profit organization she organized, the Linda Blair WorldHeart Foundation, focused on rescuing abused, neglected and mistreated animals.
Happy 63rd birthday to Linda Blair!
If you like these stories, and don’t want to miss any of my “2022 Sex Kitten Countdown”, then just go to my website’s front page and sign on to follow me – there are NO ads at all, just lots of stories to come about the wild world of exploitation and cult films!
Click here and see the “follow” button on the upper right!
Bravo Linda for your terrific cult movie career!
Categories: 70's Films, Books / Media, Camp Cult Classics, Classic Action Films, Cult Classics, Exploitation Films, Extreme Cinema, Grindhouse, Horror films, JRsploitation, Nudity, sex kittens, Talent / Celebrites
JR-Sploitation! 
I’m afraid the only Linda Blair movies I’ve seen are “Roller Boogie”, “Dispossessed” and the hideous “Witchery”.
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“The Exorcist” is one of the greatest films of all time in my opinion, and “Savage Streets” is a great 80’s exploitation film as well…thanks for commenting!
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Oh wow, I didn’t realize that was Linnea Quigley! When I first saw Savage Streets at a very young impressionable age I became momentarily obsessed with Linda Blair. All I wanted for Christmas after that was a crossbow. Unfortunately, I only got a toy one.
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HA! Yes, I didn’t realize it until I watched it again a few months back…so young! Thanks for commenting, always great to hear from you!
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Linda’s career certainly changed direction after The Exorcist. She was very hot back then!
Best wishes, Pete.
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Yes, Pete…she abandoned the mainstream roles and went into cult filmdom and never looked back! Thanks for commenting!
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Big fan! I was in college when her Oui issue came out and I rushed to the store to grab it.
I met Blair at a convention in the early 2000’s and we chatted awhile. Such a nice lady.
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Thanks for the comment, great to hear she was nice to meet! What a great career she has!
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