BEIJING, Jan. 13-- Gonzalo Gavira, a sound effects master from Mexico, who worked on films like The Exorcist, The Towering Inferno and The Good, the Bad and the Ugly, has died at the age of 79, a colleague said Tuesday.

Gavira died Sunday in Mexico City from blood circulation problems, Mario Aguinaga, the director of Mexico¡¦s largest film studio Estudios Churubusco, said.

¡§Gavira was a character in the film industry for his extraordinary inventiveness in creating sound effects,¡¨ said Aguinaga.

Gavira was part of an Oscar-winning team for best sound in the 1973 film The Exorcist, directed by William Friedkin.

Gavira was credited with creating the sound of the demonically possessed 12-year-old girl Regan¡¦s head revolving completely on her body¢w an excruciating effect the Mexican achieved by twisting a leather purse with credit cards inside.

(Source: Shenzhen Daily/Agencies)