Sad news broke yesterday evening with the announcement that film director William Friedkin has died. He was 87.

The Chicago-born Friedkin was best known for directing the iconic first 'Exorcist' film in 1973 and 'The French Connection' in 1971, which he won as Oscar for - but had a plethora of other feature films and documentaries to his name.

His final film was the upcoming 'The Caine Mutiny Court-Martial', which stars Kiefer Sutherland and is set to premiere in Venice next month..

Friedkin, who was known for his straight-talking approach and his sense of humour, passed away at his Bel-Air home yesterday due to heart failure and pneumonia. He is survived by his fourth wife Sherry Lansing and his two sons from previous relationships, Cedric and Jack.

Many of Friedkin's peers and associates have been paying tribute and sharing stories about him on social media, some of which you can see below.

R.I.P.