Linda Blair: Genre Legend, Possessed Activist and a World Heart. By Brian Kirst

“I didn’t know what I was doing.” So says Linda Blair about her Academy Award nominated performance of the possessed and physically violent Regan in The Exorcist. “I was 13. I didn’t understand what was going on. I just have this intense look – even as a kid – and they utilized it.”

In fact, years later while filming The Exorcist spoof Repossessed, Blair knew the way she was being captured was too extreme to be as funny as the picture warranted to succeed. She had her pick of co-stars – Leslie Nielson, who at the time of filming was bigger than Tom Hanks, a second choice – and was sure the film would be successful if done properly. Indeed, after looking at the dailies, the production staff agreed with Blair’s assessment and major re-shoots occurred.

Of course, this was not Blair’s most difficult shoot by far. After the success of the Exorcist and an appearance in blockbuster Airport 75, her management positioned her as the teen queen of television movies. In telefilms such as Sarah T: Portrait of a Teenage Alcoholic and Born Innocent, Blair’s characters found themselves addicted, kidnapped and brutally raped. “I was 15,” she recalls at a recent panel discussion, “and no one helped me deal with the emotions of that. I was half naked, still crying – feeling as if I had been raped – and it was boom – onto the next shot.”

Still, where others might have turned bitter about Hollywood’s hardboiled machinations, Blair in turn developed her compassion and strength. In fact, when questioned about her seeming fall off the entertainment landscape in a 1991 Details magazine article, Blair stated “I know how much I’ve worked!” But it is her humanity that has guided her even more than her self composure.

“I want to work,” states Blair, whose recent credits include a charming turn as a mom and nurse to stalwart George Kennedy in the enjoyable Hallmark film Monster Makers and a superior, highly touted turn on the second season of Supernatural. Still, until a new challenge presents itself she remains devoted to the Linda Blair WorldHeart Foundation (www.LindaBlairWorldheart.org). Founded out of necessity by Blair, LBWIF rescues abandoned and abused companion animals (“I still have Katrina dogs,” Blair states, at one point.) and also educates and brings awareness to such major issues as pet overpopulation and dog fighting. It is this mission that has captured her heart and soul. In a recent news release to fans and concerned citizens Blair exclaims, “Please help me save more lives and educate people to adopt these innocent animals and their almost certain, untimely deaths. We need your financial support – please won’t you help me help them? There’s no donation too small or large. I’m begging you from the bottom of my heart…”

But, as seriously as Blair takes this desperate situation, she also uses a clever brand of creativity to plug the cause, branding one campaign “Born Innocent” after that emotional television film of so long ago – ultimately proving that her ingenuity and devoted heart definitely deserve your undivided support.

Meanwhile, when you’re browsing through the LBWH website, be sure to keep remembering these alternative Linda Blair career highlights.

Night Patrol – As Officer Sue Perman (get it?), Blair’s love for The Unknown Comic is written all over her face – literally.

Roller Boogie – As Terry, a privileged LA princess, Blair shows enjoyable shock as she realizes she has no idea how to stop herself while executing a complicated backwards skating routine.

The Chilling – Here, Blair seeks understanding and compassion from a complicated businessman who is freezing his family for future revival – true love (and zombies), no?

Grotesque – Blair’s Lisa outruns Linnea Quigley in Animals as she treks through the woods trying to escape a monstrous gang led by Maniac Cop’s Robert Z’Dar. (Blair also produced this one!)

Witchery – Blair’s love, as Jane, shines through as her character embraces her younger brother and travels through time via a bathtub of blood.