Thomas H. Friedkin

Airplanes Friedkin also owned numerous warbirds, including a North American F-86F Sabre, a Chinese Air Force MiG-15, a Republic P-47D Thunderbolt and the General Motors version of a Grumman F4F Wildcat, among other planes. Many have been used in motion picture and television production. When asked to allow his F4U Corsair to be used in the television show Baa Baa Black Sheep, Friedkin insisted on piloting it himself; he has since flown in several films. Friedkin is a member of the Screen Actors Guild and the Motion Picture Pilots Association.

Hunting Wildlife conservation and Big-game hunting were two additional passions of Friedkin. He created Tanzania Game Tracker Safaris in 1989. Profits from those expeditions help fund the Friedkin Conservation Fund, which works with the Tanzanian government to protect 3.2 million acres of wild Tanzania from poachers and illegal harvesting of natural resources.

Philanthropy The Friedkin Group, the owner of Gulf States Toyota, contributed $2 million in 2005 to establish the Friedkin Disaster Relief Fund to help provide relief to Hurricane Katrina victims who worked for Toyota and other dealerships. The Friedkin Foundation takes care of his philanthropic activities.

Personal life In 1961, Friedkin married Susan Wille Friedkin; and they had four children: Dan Friedkin (Debra), Tomisu Friedkin Dawley (James Raymond Dawley III), Dorothy Friedkin Tang, and Kenneth Friedkin (Mary). His son Dan is chairman of the family-owned holding company, Friedkin Group, which owns the auto distributorship Gulf States Toyota.

Friedkin died after a short illness on March 14, 2017.

Film/TV credits Friedkin served in several movies either on the crew working as a pilot or as an actor, including: Miscellaneous crew: The Cat from Outer Space (1978) (pilot) (as Tom Friedkin) Uncommon Valor (1983) (helicopter pilot) Police Academy 4: Citizens on Patrol (1987) (pilot) (as Tom Friedkin) Jaws: The Revenge (1987) (pilot) (as Thomas Friedkin) Actor: The Gauntlet (1977) .... Helicopter Pilot #2 (as Tom Friedkin) Blue Thunder (1983) .... Helicopter Pilot #4 (as Tom Friedkin) Pale Rider (1985) .... Miner Tom (as Tom Friedkin) The Rookie (1990) .... Pilot #2 (as Thomas Friedkin) (final film role) Stunts: Heartbeeps (1981) (stunts) (as Tom Friedkin) Mulholland Falls (1996) (stunt pilot) (as Thomas Friedkin) Thanks: Firefox (1982) (special thanks) (as Tom Friedkin)