Lankester Merrin
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Lankester Merrin
Father Lankester Merrin is a fictional character in the novel ''The Exorcist (novel), The Exorcist'' (1971), one of the two main protagonists in The Exorcist, the 1973 film adaptation, who also figures prominently in several of its prequel and sequel films. In the novel Merrin, an elderly priest and paleontologist on an archeology, archeological dig in Iraq, finds images of the demon Pazuzu (The Exorcist), Pazuzu and subsequently experiences other unusual phenomena. He had previously faced the demon many years before during an exorcism in Africa. The find sparks a premonition that he will battle the demon again in a distant land. Merrin does not appear again until much later in the novel, when he joins the protagonist, Father Damien Karras, in Washington, D.C., to exorcise the demon from the body of a young girl (Regan MacNeil). Merrin, who has a heart disease for which he takes nitroglycerin, dies during the ritual, leaving the inexperienced Karras to complete the exorcism hims ...
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The Exorcist
''The Exorcist'' is a 1973 American supernatural horror film directed by William Friedkin and written for the screen by William Peter Blatty, based on his 1971 novel of the same name. It stars Ellen Burstyn, Max von Sydow, Lee J. Cobb, Kitty Winn, Jack MacGowran (in his final film role), Jason Miller and Linda Blair. It follows the demonic possession of a young girl and her mother's attempt to rescue her through an exorcism conducted by a pair of Catholic priests. The book was a bestseller, but Blatty, who also produced, and Friedkin, his choice for director, had difficulty casting the film. Unable to hire major stars of the era, they cast relative unknowns Burstyn, Blair and Miller (author of a hit play with no film acting experience), choices vigorously opposed by Warner Brothers executives. Principal photography was also difficult. Friedkin insisted on realism, going to northern Iraq to film the prologue despite political instability in the region, relying on live special e ...
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Paleontologist
Paleontology (), also spelled palaeontology or palæontology, is the scientific study of life that existed prior to, and sometimes including, the start of the Holocene epoch (roughly 11,700 years before present). It includes the study of fossils to classify organisms and study their interactions with each other and their environments (their paleoecology). Paleontological observations have been documented as far back as the 5th century BC. The science became established in the 18th century as a result of Georges Cuvier's work on comparative anatomy, and developed rapidly in the 19th century. The term itself originates from Greek (, "old, ancient"), (, ( gen. ), "being, creature"), and (, "speech, thought, study"). Paleontology lies on the border between biology and geology, but differs from archaeology in that it excludes the study of anatomically modern humans. It now uses techniques drawn from a wide range of sciences, including biochemistry, mathematics, and engineering. ...
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Exorcism Of Roland Doe
In the late 1940s, in the United States, priests of the Roman Catholic Church performed a series of exorcisms on an anonymous boy, documented under the pseudonym "Roland Doe" or "Robbie Mannheim". The 14-year-old boy was the alleged victim of demonic possession, and the events were recorded by the attending priest, Raymond J. Bishop. Subsequent supernatural claims surrounding the events were used as elements in William Peter Blatty's 1971 novel ''The Exorcist''. In December 2021, ''The Skeptical Inquirer'' and ''The Guardian'' reported the purported true identity of Roland Doe/Robbie Mannheim as Ronald Edwin Hunkeler (June 1, 1935 – May 10, 2020). Origin of claims In mid-1949, several newspaper articles printed anonymous reports of an alleged possession and exorcism. The source for these reports is thought to be the family's former pastor, Luther Miles Schulze. According to one account, a total of "forty-eight people witnessed this exorcism, nine of them Jesuits." According ...
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William Friedkin
William "Billy" Friedkin (born August 29, 1935)Biskind, p. 200. is an American film and television director, producer and screenwriter closely identified with the "New Hollywood" movement of the 1970s. Beginning his career in documentaries in the early 1960s, he directed the crime thriller film '' The French Connection'' (1971), which won five Academy Awards, including Best Picture, Best Adapted Screenplay and Best Director, and the supernatural horror film ''The Exorcist'' (1973), which earned him a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Director. His other films include the drama '' The Boys in the Band'' (1970), the thriller '' Sorcerer'' (1977), the crime comedy drama ''The Brink's Job'' (1978), the crime thriller '' Cruising'' (1980), the neo-noir thriller '' To Live and Die in L.A.'' (1985), the psychological horror film '' Bug'' (2006) and the black comedy '' Killer Joe'' (2011). Early life Friedkin was born in Chicago, Illinois, the son of Rachael (née Green) and L ...
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Marlon Brando
Marlon Brando Jr. (April 3, 1924 – July 1, 2004) was an American actor. Considered one of the most influential actors of the 20th century, he received numerous accolades throughout his career, which spanned six decades, including two Academy Awards, two Golden Globe Awards, one Cannes Film Festival Award and three British Academy Film Awards. Brando was also an activist for many causes, notably the civil rights movement and various Native American movements. Having studied with Stella Adler in the 1940s, he is credited with being one of the first actors to bring the Stanislavski system of acting, and method acting, to mainstream audiences. He initially gained acclaim and his first Academy Award nomination for Best Actor in a Leading Role for reprising the role of Stanley Kowalski in the 1951 film adaptation of Tennessee Williams' play ''A Streetcar Named Desire'', a role that he originated successfully on Broadway. He received further praise, and a first Academy Award ...
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Father Merrin (Skarsgard)
A father is the male parent of a child. Besides the paternal bonds of a father to his children, the father may have a parental, legal, and social relationship with the child that carries with it certain rights and obligations. An adoptive father is a male who has become the child's parent through the legal process of adoption. A biological father is the male genetic contributor to the creation of the infant, through sexual intercourse or sperm donation. A biological father may have legal obligations to a child not raised by him, such as an obligation of monetary support. A putative father is a man whose biological relationship to a child is alleged but has not been established. A stepfather is a male who is the husband of a child's mother and they may form a family unit, but who generally does not have the legal rights and responsibilities of a parent in relation to the child. The adjective "paternal" refers to a father and comparatively to "maternal" for a mother. The verb "to ...
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Gerald Lankester Harding
Gerald Lankester Harding (8 December 1901 – 11 February 1979) was a British archaeologist who was the director of the Department of Antiquities of Jordan from 1936 to 1956. His tenure spanned the period in which the Dead Sea Scrolls were discovered and brought to public awareness. Without his efforts many of the scrolls might have disappeared into private collections never to be seen again. Life Harding was born in Tientsin, North China in 1901, but spent his childhood from age two to 13 in Singapore. He returned to the UK with his parents in 1913, but his father was killed in World War I, and Harding earned his living in a number of jobs from the ages of 16 to 25. During this time, he became fascinated by Egyptian hieroglyphics and eventually joined the evening classes run by the distinguished Egyptologist Dr Margaret Murray. Recognising his brilliance, she encouraged him to write to Sir Flinders Petrie and apply to go on one of his excavations. In 1926, Petrie was excavatin ...
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Nitroglycerin
Nitroglycerin (NG), (alternative spelling of nitroglycerine) also known as trinitroglycerin (TNG), nitro, glyceryl trinitrate (GTN), or 1,2,3-trinitroxypropane, is a dense, colorless, oily, explosive liquid most commonly produced by nitrating glycerol with white fuming nitric acid under conditions appropriate to the formation of the nitric acid ester. Chemically, the substance is an organic nitrate compound rather than a nitro compound, but the traditional name is retained. Invented in 1847 by Ascanio Sobrero, nitroglycerin has been used ever since as an active ingredient in the manufacture of explosives, namely dynamite, and as such it is employed in the construction, demolition, and mining industries. Since the 1880s, it has been used by militaries as an active ingredient and gelatinizer for nitrocellulose in some solid propellants such as cordite and ballistite. It is a major component in double-based smokeless propellants used by reloaders. Combined with nitrocellulose, hund ...
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Heart Disease
Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is a class of diseases that involve the heart or blood vessels. CVD includes coronary artery diseases (CAD) such as angina and myocardial infarction (commonly known as a heart attack). Other CVDs include stroke, heart failure, hypertensive heart disease, rheumatic heart disease, cardiomyopathy, abnormal heart rhythms, congenital heart disease, valvular heart disease, carditis, aortic aneurysms, peripheral artery disease, thromboembolic disease, and venous thrombosis. The underlying mechanisms vary depending on the disease. It is estimated that dietary risk factors are associated with 53% of CVD deaths. Coronary artery disease, stroke, and peripheral artery disease involve atherosclerosis. This may be caused by high blood pressure, smoking, diabetes mellitus, lack of exercise, obesity, high blood cholesterol, poor diet, excessive alcohol consumption, and poor sleep, among other things. High blood pressure is estimated to account for approximatel ...
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Regan MacNeil
Regan Teresa MacNeil (born April 7, 1959) is a fictional character from William Peter Blatty's horror novel and film adaptation ''The Exorcist'' as a supporting character and its first sequel, '' Exorcist II: The Heretic'', and the sequel television series ''The Exorcist'' as one of the main protagonists in season one. She was portrayed by Linda Blair in both films and by Geena Davis in the television series. Character Regan MacNeil is a 12-year-old girl and the daughter of actress Chris MacNeil (played by actress Ellen Burstyn). Regan is caught between her mother's grueling working schedule and the fact that her parents are in the process of an acrimonious divorce (her father is in Europe and is not seen in the movie). She is named for the character of the same name in William Shakespeare's ''King Lear''. She is described as shy, even diffident, and it is not within her nature to behave aggressively. She is devoted to her mother, making clay animals as gifts for her and leavi ...
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Damien Karras
Father Damien Karras, SJ, is a fictional character from the 1971 novel ''The Exorcist'', its 1983 sequel ''Legion'', one of the main protagonists in the 1973 film ''The Exorcist'', and a supporting character in ''The Exorcist III'', the 1990 film adaptation of ''Legion''. He is portrayed by Jason Miller. Appearances ''The Exorcist'' In William Peter Blatty's 1971 novel, Father Damien Karras was one of the priests who exorcises the demon from young Regan MacNeil. He is a Jesuit psychiatrist suffering a crisis of faith. He searches for proof to lead an exorcism, yet during his investigation he comes to realize that there is no better way for God to prove His own existence than to reveal the foul presence of a demon. During the exorcism, the demon frequently brings up the subject of Karras's mother's death and how he wasn't there to see her die, which seems to trouble Karras emotionally. Karras dies by throwing himself down a flight of stairs in order to purge the demon from his o ...
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Africa
Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area and 20% of its land area.Sayre, April Pulley (1999), ''Africa'', Twenty-First Century Books. . With billion people as of , it accounts for about of the world's human population. Africa's population is the youngest amongst all the continents; the median age in 2012 was 19.7, when the worldwide median age was 30.4. Despite a wide range of natural resources, Africa is the least wealthy continent per capita and second-least wealthy by total wealth, behind Oceania. Scholars have attributed this to different factors including geography, climate, tribalism, colonialism, the Cold War, neocolonialism, lack of democracy, and corruption. Despite this low concentration of wealth, recent economic expansion and the large and young population make Afr ...
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