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John Mahon death: The Exorcist and LA Confidential actor dies aged 82

Mahon played the language lab director in infamous ‘The Exorcist’ scene

Clémence Michallon
New York City
Wednesday 20 May 2020 16:10 BST
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(Amazon Prime / Warner Bros Pictures)

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John Mahon, an actor remembered for his roles in The Exorcist and LA Confidential, has died at the age of 82.

Mahon died at his Los Angeles home of natural causes on 3 May, Deadline reported on Wednesday, citing the actor’s son Joseph Mahon.

Born in 1938 in Scranton, Pennsylvania, Mahon began his career in the Seventies.

He notably appeared in the 1973 The Exorcist as the language laboratory director who identifies the possessed Regan MacNeil’s demonic speak as being backwards English.

After a strong of TV credits on shows such as MacGyver and St Elsewhere, Mahon was featured in 1997 in LA Confidential as a police chief.

He later appeared on Frasier and The X-Files, and scored a role as Karl in the 1998 Armageddon.

Mahon went on to portray a police captain in the 2007 thriller Zodiac.

As a child, Mahon became sick with poliomyelitis and never recovered full function in his left arm.

He wrote about the experience, and his subsequent career in entertainment, in a 2014 memoir.

Mahon is survived by his two children.

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