LA JOLLA, Calif., March 18 (UPI) -- Academy-Award-winning actress Mercedes McCambridge has died in the La Jolla, Calif., area at the age of 87.
She supplied the voice of the demon in "The Exorcist," and won an Oscar as best supporting actress in 1949's "All the King's Men," the Los Angeles Times said. She died March 2.
"All the King's Men," which was McCambridge's movie debut, captured two other Academy Awards -- for best picture and best actor.
McCambridge was talked into doing the "Exorcist" role by Orson Welles.
"I didn't think I wanted to do it, and Orson said, 'Listen, you began in radio. This is a 100 percent radio performance," McCambridge told the Hartford Courant in a 1993 interview. "'You go ahead and do it.' And I'm awfully glad I did. I loved it."
McCambridge was born on St. Patrick's Day in 1916, in Joliet, Ill., the Times said.
Her autobiography, "The Quality of Mercy," talks about being a recovering alcoholic.
