Apr 19, 2012

William Finley (1942 - 2012)

ABOVE: William Finley in Sisters (1973)

Actor William Finley passed away in Manhattan last weekend at the age of 69. This offbeat-looking character actor, with prematurely thinning hair, bug eyes and long face, was a regular in many early works of director Brian De Palma, and whose unusual screen presence added to the strangeness of those films. The two had become friends while students at Columbia University, and worked together on De Palma's early underground works, Murder a La Mod (1968), The Wedding Party (1969) Dinonysus 69 (1969).  Finley also figured more prominently in Sisters (1973), and especially in the title role of Phantom of the Paradise (1974), films made during De Palma's crossover to mainstream success. Within his scant filmography, the actor appeared in works by Tobe Hooper (Eaten Alive; The Funhouse), Marshall Brickman's sci-fi farce Simon (1980), and in Chuck Norris' thriller Silent Rage (1982). He teamed up once again with Brian De Palma for a brief role in The Black Dahlia (2006).

(review for Sisters coming soon...)

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