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Eileen Dietz

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Eileen Dietz
Dietz in 2017
Other namesEileen Dietz Elber
Eileen Scott
OccupationActress
Years active1963–present
Height157 cm (5 ft 1 in)
Websitehttp://www.eileendietz.com

Eileen Dietz is an American actress who is best known for her appearances in many horror films such as the face of the demon in The Exorcist and for her portrayal of characters on the soap operas Guiding Light and General Hospital.

Early life and career

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As a child, Dietz appeared in commercials with her twin sister Marianne DeFossey, and beginning at the age of 12 she started studying acting at the Neighborhood Playhouse. She made her television debut in 1963 in a small guest role on The Doctors. Shortly thereafter she landed a recurring role on the soap opera Love of Life. She made her film debut starring in the 1966 movie Teenage Gang Debs as Ellie. The following year she portrayed Penny Wohl in the critically acclaimed independent film David Holzman's Diary. The film never got much in the way of theatrical distribution despite having Dietz's nude scene featured in Life Magazine's photo spread and in the book of the film. She did not recall if she auditioned for the role of Penny but she added, "it was a fun shoot."[1]

Dietz spent much of the late 1960s and early 1970s appearing in theatre productions. She notably appeared Off-Broadway as the Young Girl in the premiere of Bruce Jay Friedman's Steambath at the Truck and Warehouse Theater in 1970. In 1972, she portrayed an androgynous runaway in the premiere of Joyce Carol Oates' Ontological Proof of My Existence. Her portrayal in the play led to an invitation to do a screen test for The Exorcist. She was cast in two memorable roles in the film: Pazuzu the demon (better known as the face of death), and the 'possessed Regan' (the Linda Blair character) in some scenes. She performed in scenes that were too violent or disturbing for Blair to perform, including the crucifix scene and the fistfight with Father Karras.[2] [3] She recalled that director William Friedkin gave her no notes and said, "I wasn't playing a little girl, I was playing the demon that possessed a little girl." Blair, who recalls Friedkin telling her the film would not succeed if she was not in as many shots as possible, estimates that Dietz is in 17 seconds of the film. Dietz, angry that her contribution to the film had been minimized, claimed in the media to have performed all the possession scenes. Warners ultimately measured her screen presence at 28.25 seconds, but denied that her contribution was dramatically significant.[4]: 75 

After The Exorcist, Dietz had a highly active career on television during the 1970s, appearing as a guest star on such shows as Planet of the Apes, Korg: 70,000 B.C., Barnaby Jones, and Happy Days among others. She also portrayed the recurring role of Linette Waterman in the soap opera The Guiding Light and appeared in the films You Light Up My Life (1977) and Parts: The Clonus Horror (1979).

In 1980, Dietz joined the cast of General Hospital as Sarah Abbott, a role she played for several years. She also appeared as a guest star on Trapper John, M.D. (1982) and in the horror film Freeway Maniac (1989). More recent film credits include Naked in the Cold Sun (1997), Hurricane Festival (1997), Bad Guys (2000), Exorcism (2003), The Mojo Cafe (2004), Neighborhood Watch (2005), Constantine (2005), Karla (2006), Creepshow III (2006), Dog Lover's Symphony (2006), and Tracing Cowboys (2008).

Dietz appeared as Winnie Gilmore in Halloween II (2009) in an uncredited role.

Dietz was cast in the thriller Eden Falls, co-written by Victor Miller, creator of Friday the 13th, and then slated for a 2017 release.[citation needed] However, as of August 2020, the project was still in development.

Filmography

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Film
Year Title Role Notes
1966 Teenage Gang Debs Ellie Credited as Eileen Scott
1967 David Holzman's Diary Penny Wohl
The Game People Play Credited as Eileen Scott
1973 The Exorcist Pazuzu's face Uncredited
1974 Road Movie
1977 You Light Up My Life Bridesmaid
1979 Parts: The Clonus Horror Dana
1989 Freeway Maniac Costume Girl
1997 Naked in the Cold Sun Sadie
Hurricane Festival Junkie
2000 Bad Guys Bank Teller
Left-Overs
—
 Set director
2003 Exorcism Evil Nurse
2004 The Mojo Cafe Oscar Short film
2005 Constantine Zombie Uncredited
Neighborhood Watch Mrs. Crews
2006 Karla Helen Uncredited
Creepshow III Claire The Homeless Woman Segment: Call Girl
direct-to-video
Dog Lover's Symphony Frightened Mother
2008 Tracing Cowboys Marilyn
She Turns Back and Faces Forward at Peace Judy Short film
2009 Sibling Rivalry Mrs. Peters
The Queen of Screams Eleanor Maxwell
Void Helen Short film
Halloween II Winnie Gilmore Uncredited
2010 Kadís Librarian Short film
Freeway Killer Alice Bonin Benton
Hookers for Jesus Blanch Short film
Monsterpiece Theatre Volume 1 Nina Segment: Rottentail
Butterfly Joy Greenstahl also associate producer
The Custom Mary Mother post-production
See How They Run Grace post-production
The Legend of the Mountain Witch Creepy Lady post-production
Scream Queen Campfire Ethel Segment: Motherly Love
Hallow Pointe Fran
2011 Little Big Boy Jimmy's Mother - middle aged
Dead Girls Don't Cry Diane Thomas filming
Stingy Jack Esther Flower pre-production
2012 Witches Playground filming
2015 Fire Twister Sadie - The Mountain Woman Television film
2017 Eden Falls Barbara pre-production
2019 Itsy Bitsy Sally Post-production
2019 For We Are Many Mrs. Vasile Segment: The Damned Statue
2019 The Assent Rhonda
2020 The Amityville Harvest Mrs. O'Brian
2022 Staycation Griselda E. Necromancer
2023 The Fearway Old Woman
2023 Night of the Caregiver Lillian Gresham
2023 Lady Dreadcore Lady Dreadcore Short film
2023 Las Vegas Frankenstein Shopkeeper's Wife
Television
Year Title Role Notes
1963 The Doctors Guest role
Love of Life Recurring role
1974 Korg: 70,000 B.C. Sala
Planet of the Apes Jillia Episode: The Good Seeds
credited as Eileen Dietz Elber
1975 Barnaby Jones Carol Deelon Episode: Dangerous Summer
1976 Helter Skelter Family Girl Television film
credited as Eileen Dietz Elber
How to Break Up a Happy Divorce Television film
uncredited
1977 Happy Days Rebecca Episode: Time Capsule
1978 The Next Step Beyond Episode: A Matter of Pride
Guiding Light Linette Waterman
1980–1981 General Hospital Sarah Abbot
1982 Trapper John, M.D. Sister Charity Episode: The One and Only
2004 What Should You Do? Vicki Episodes: Bee Sting, Near Drowning
2005 Dante's Cove Emily Episodes: In the Beginning, Then There Was Darkness
2009 Tim and Eric Awesome Show, Great Job! Mother Episode: Origins

References

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  1. ^ "Interview with Eileen Dietz". Retrieved 2012-05-29.
  2. ^ ""We argued over the crucifix scene": what it was like being the demon in The Exorcist". New Statesman. February 5, 2020. Retrieved October 28, 2020.
  3. ^ "Exorcist Icon Eileen Dietz Dishes on "Of the Devil"". Rue Morgue. Retrieved 2023-03-25.
  4. ^ * Kermode, Mark (2003). The Exorcist. BFI Modern Classics (Revised 2nd ed.). British Film Institute. ISBN 978-0-85170-967-3.
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