Possessive Type : Linda Blair Returns in ‘Exorcist’ Spoof

A 12-year-old Linda Blair achieved overnight stardom 17 years ago by spinning her head like a top while playing the satanically possessed child in “The Exorcist.”

She returned to the role in “The Exorcist II,” which failed to measure up to the original. Thereafter, Blair swore off demonic-possession roles.

Never again, the young actress vowed, would she allow herself to spew green goo, twirl her noggin and turn her eyes opaque when the devil took control of her body.

But now, Blair has tripped down the primrose path a third time. She finds herself starring in “Repossessed,” another tale of occult possession in which she finds herself spinning and spewing once more.

Linda, baby. How could you? Why? Why? Why?

A self-possessed Blair had a ready reply.

“Because it’s a comedy,” she said. “It’s a spoof of all occult pictures. Now maybe I can get the monkey off my back.”

Blair never really recovered from her screen encounters with Beelzebub. Her career careened downward from there in a series of dreadful pictures, the result of poor career counseling.

Somehow, Blair has survived her appearances in such nuggets as “Night Patrol,” “Roller Boogie,” “Hell Night” and “Up Your Alley”--none calculated to invite comparison with “Casablanca.”

Now, approaching 30 and wise to the ways of Hollywood agents, Blair hopes “Repossessed,” which opened last month, will change the direction and complexion of her career.

“(Director) Bob Logan talked me into doing a spoof of ‘The Exorcist’ because he knew I wanted to lay that image to rest,” Blair said, curled up on a sofa in her Studio City home.

“I didn’t want to do it until Carolco (a production company) called and asked me what it would take for me to do the film. Bob promised we could do it like ‘Naked Gun’ and ‘Airplane.’ But I would agree only if they got (‘Naked Gun’ star) Leslie Nielsen for the priest.

“They contacted Leslie, who thought the script was hilarious. He agreed to play the role.

“There’s a subtlety in the name of my character in ‘Repossessed.’ In ‘The Exorcist,’ I played Regan, right? This time, my name is Nancy. Ha!

“And, of course, I’m not a little kid. I play a married woman with children, and I start having problems. My head spins around, and I throw up on my family. Once again I turn into a horrible, full-blooded demon, which meant hours in makeup every morning.”

Of her recent work in TV films and theatrical pictures, Blair is somewhat more than rueful.

“I’ve worked as an actress since I was 5,” she said. “So I know about ups and downs in a career. For years there was no work for me in top-flight movies. Debra Winger would get the part when a good role turned up. . . .

“I was involved with a manager who put me in touch with an agent, and neither of them really protected my career. I did movies that didn’t give me any script approval.

“They kept me working, but in what? Trash. It was the worst nightmare of my life. I did a topless scene in a shower in one picture. They promised they would shoot only from the shoulders up. I learned the hard way.

“The critics picked on me a lot for that. Now audiences are used to seeing nudity and don’t make a fuss about it.

“Let me just say that ‘Repossessed’ is the biggest picture I’ve done for a long time. I feel that my 30s are going to be a lot better for my career than my 20s have been.”