'The Exorcist' Actress Linda Blair Discusses Her Relationship With Rick James

Academy Award nominated actress, Linda Blair, has taken time to talk about her relationship with musician Rick James during the 1980s, in the years since his passing. During her talk, Blair confessed how the relationship was troubled, and ultimately doomed, by James' steadily growing cocaine habit. Blair, the little girl Regan from 1973's 'The Exorcist', recounts that she was only 22 years old when she saw a photograph of Rick James in a magazine and instantly fell for him.

Despite her unwillingness to go into much detail about the relationship, it is known that Blair and James dated for two years. As part of a new documentary 'Rick James: Behind the Music Remastered', Blair discusses the soul legend, stating: "I wouldn't say that we were as romantic as people probably wished that we were, or thought that we were."

The 1983 funk song, 'Cold Blooded', was written by James in his own description of their relationship. Blair was pleased with the idea, yet a little confused by the wording. "Cold Blooded is, 'You're hot!' Cold Blooded is a compliment. That was pretty nice that he wrote that about me. I don't see it, but OK" she said.

It was 1984 that the couple began to drift apart as a result of James' drug problem. Blair decided to move on with her life, and later discussed the decision, stating: "I could not bear to be around that. It wasn't healthy for me and it wasn't healthy for him, so I chose after a while to walk away." In August, 2004, James passed away as a combination of various health problems. Though his drug addictions had continued and he was found with cocaine - amongst other substances - in his bloodstream during a post mortem, it was announced that these were not the cause of his death.