Heads were spinning at Fordham Prep after a gruff but beloved teacher — known to horror fans for his role in the film “The Exorcist” — was cast out.
Administrators exorcised themselves of Father William O’Malley, a theology teacher at the Jesuit high school for the past 20 years, because they felt his old-school style was out of date.
“Father O’Malley’s style was probably more abrasive than we are used to and something we discussed with the principal over the years,” Father Kenneth Boller, president of Fordham Prep, told The Post.
“He has a somewhat confrontational style, and the times change and the [teaching] styles change,” he said. “His effectiveness, in view of the principal, has diminished. We thought it was time for him to end his career on an up note after completing a successful year.”
O’Malley, 80, played Father Joe Dyer in the 1973 demonic-possession horror flick.