Trivia

When he won his Lifetime Achievement award in 1979, he joked with friends that he must be about to die soon. He died a year later.

He almost never socialized when not shooting films, and spent most of his evenings quietly at home with his wife Alma Reville and daughter Patricia Hitchcock.

In addition to his fear of the police, Hitchcock possessed one other phobia: eggs.

As a child, Hitchcock was sent to the local police station with a letter from his father. The desk sergeant read the letter and immediately locked the boy up for ten minutes. After that, the sergeant let young Alfred go, explaining, "This is what happens to people who do bad things." Hitchcock had a morbid fear of police from that day on. He also cited this phobia as the reason he never learned to drive (as a person who doesn't drive can never be pulled over and given a ticket). It was also cited as the reason for the recurring "wrong man" themes in his films.

Though he was Oscar-nominated five times as best director, DGA-nominated six times as best director, and received three nominations from Cannes, he never won in any of these competitive categories, a fact that surprises fans and film critics to this day.

Walt Disney refused to allow him to film at Disneyland in the early 1960s because Hitchcock had made "that disgusting movie Psycho (1960)".

For Psycho (1960), he deferred his standard $250,000 salary in lieu of 60% of the film's net profits. His personal earnings from the film exceeded $15 million. Adjusted for inflation, that amount would now top $150 million in 2006 terms.

Hitchcock's wife, Alma Reville, was one day younger than him. They were born on August 13 and August 14, 1899.

A statistical survey he did among audiences revealed that according to moviegoers the most frightening noise in films was the siren of a police patrol-car, followed by the crash of a road accident, cracklings of a burning forest, far galloping horses, howling dogs, the scream of a stabbed woman and the steps of a lame person in the dark.

According to Hitchcock himself, he was required to stand at the foot of his mother's bed, and tell her what happened to him each day.

He never won a best director Academy Award in competition, although he was awarded the Irving Thalberg Memorial Award at the 1967 Academy Awards.

During production of Alfred Hitchcock Presents (1955) he was said to have hid from producer Joan Harrison every time there was a problem with production. His favorite hiding place was behind the couch in his office.

Alma Reville and Hitchcock had one daughter, Patricia Hitchcock, who appeared in three of his movies: Stage Fright (1950), Strangers on a Train (1951) and Psycho (1960).

When finishing a cup of tea while on the set, he would often non-discriminatingly toss the cup and saucer over his shoulder, letting it fall (or break) wherever it may.

Was voted the Greatest Director of all time by Entertainment Weekly. The same magazine's list of the 100 Greatest Films of all time includes more films directed by Hitchcock than by any other director, with four. On the list were his masterworks Psycho (1960) (#11), Vertigo (1958) (#19), North by Northwest (1959) (#44) and Notorious (1946) (#66).

He delivered the shortest acceptance speech in Academy Award history: while accepting the Irving Thalberg Memorial Award at the 1967 Academy Awards, he simply said "Thank you".

He was awarded 2 Stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame for Motion Pictures at 6506 Hollywood Boulevard; and for Television at 7013 Hollywood Boulevard in Hollywood, California.

Is the "voice" of the "Jaws" ride at Universal Studios.

Often said that Shadow of a Doubt (1943) was his favorite film among those he had directed.

Steven Spielberg, Brian De Palma, John Carpenter, Sam Raimi, M. Night Shyamalan, Martin Scorsese, George A. Romero, Peter Bogdanovich, Dario Argento, William Friedkin, David Cronenberg and Quentin Tarantino have named him as an influence.

He would work closely with screenwriters, giving them a series of scenes that he wanted in the films, thus closely controlling what he considered the most important aspect of the filmmaking process. Although the screenwriter would write the actual dialogue and blocking, many of the scripts for his films were rigidly based on his ideas.

Had a hard time devising one of his signature walk-ons for Lifeboat (1944), a film about a small group of people trying to survive on a small boat. What he eventually came up with was to have his picture in a newspaper advertisement for weight loss that floated among some debris around the boat. He had happened to have lost a considerable amount of weight from dieting around that time, so he was seen in both the "Before" and the "After" pictures. The text of the ad uses the tag line, "Obesity Slayer".

He was naturalized as a United States citizen in 1956.

Many of Hitchcock's films have one-word titles: Blackmail (1929), Rebecca (1940), Suspicion (1941), Saboteur (1942), Lifeboat (1944), Spellbound (1945), Notorious (1946), Rope (1948), Vertigo (1958), Psycho (1960), Marnie (1964), Topaz (1969) and Frenzy (1972). He favored one-word titles because he felt that it was uncluttered, clean and easily remembered by the audience.

He once dressed up in drag for a party he threw. Footage of this was kept in his office, but after his death, his office was cleaned out and the footage not found. It is not known if the footage still exists.

He was infamous with cast and crews for his practical jokes. While some inspired laughs, such as suddenly showing up in a dress, most were said to have been a bit more scar than funny. Usually, he found out about somebody's phobias, such as mice or spiders, and in turn sent them a box full of them.

In the Press Conference for Family Plot (1976), Alfred Hitchcock revealed that his least favorite film out of all the films he directed was Champagne (1928).

As of the 5th edition of 1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die (edited by Steven Jay Schneider), Hitchcock is the most represented director, with 18 films. Included are his films Blackmail (1929), The 39 Steps (1935), Sabotage (1936), Rebecca (1940), Shadow of a Doubt (1943), Spellbound (1945), Notorious (1946), Rope (1948), Strangers on a Train (1951), Rear Window (1954), The Man Who Knew Too Much (1956), The Wrong Man (1956), Vertigo (1958), North by Northwest (1959), Psycho (1960), The Birds (1963), Marnie (1964) and Frenzy (1972).

He allegedly refused the British honour of CBE (Commander of the Order of the British Empire) in 1962.

First visited Hollywood in the late 1930s, but was turned down by virtually all major motion picture studios because they thought he could not make a Hollywood-style picture. He was finally offered a seven-year directing contract by producer David O. Selznick. His first project was supposed to be a film about the Titanic, but Selznick scrapped the project because he "couldn't find a boat to sink." Selznick assigned Hitch to direct Rebecca (1940) instead, which later won the best picture Oscar.

On August 2, 1968, he visited Finland to scout filming locations for his next film "The Short Night". Of course, the film was never made. In the airport, he was interviewed by Finnish reporters. He was asked why his films were so popular. His answer was: "Everybody likes to be scared".

As with W.C. Fields and Arthur Godfrey before him, he was legendary for gently tweaking his sponsors during the run of his television show. One typical example runs, "We now interrupt our story for an important announcement. I needn't tell you to whom it will be most important of all.".

Was a supporter of West Ham United Football Club. He told colleagues in Hollywood that he subscribed to English newspapers in order to keep track of their results.

On April 29, 1974, the Film Society of Lincoln Center in New York sponsored a gala homage to Alfred Hitchcock and his contributions to the cinema. Three hours of film excerpts were shown that night. François Truffaut who had published a book of interviews with Hitchcock a few years earlier, was there that night to present "two brilliant sequences: the clash of the cymbals in the second version of The Man Who Knew Too Much (1956) , and the plane attack on Cary Grant in North by Northwest (1959)." After the gala, Truffaut reflected again on what made Hitchcock unique and concluded: "It was impossible not to see that the love scenes were filmed like murder scenes, and the murder scenes like love scenes...It occurred to me that in Hitchcock's cinema...to make love and to die are one and the same.".

According to many people who knew Hitchcock, he could not stand to even look at his wife, Alma Reville, while she was pregnant.

One of the most successful Hitchcock tie-ins is a pulp publication titled "Alfred Hitchcock's Mystery Magazine". The publication is highly respected and has become one of the longest running mystery anthologies. It continues to be published almost a quarter century after Hitchock's death.

He appears momentarily in a trademark/cameo role in all of his movies. In addition the neon silhouette in Rope (1948), he is seen walking down the street during the opening credits. During the movie, the characters of Mrs. Atwater and Janet are discussing a movie whose one-word title they can not remember. It was a plug for one of Hitchcock's other movies, Notorious (1946).

For interviews, the director made it known that he wouldn't allow any questions regarding his private life.

Education: St. Ignatius College, London, School of Engineering and Navigation (Studied mechanics, electricity, acoustics and navigation); University of London (Studied art).

Was close friends with Albert R. Broccoli, well known as the producer of the James Bond - 007 franchise. Hitchcock's North by Northwest (1959) was the influence for the helicopter scene in From Russia with Love (1963). Actors Sean Connery, Karin Dor, Louis Jourdan and Anthony Dawson have appeared in both a Hitchcock film and a Bond film.

As of 2024, 6 of his movies are in the IMDB Top 250 movies. They are: Psycho (1960) (no. 34), Rear Window (1954) (no 52.), North by Northwest (1959) (no. 103), Vertigo (1958) (no. 108), Dial M for Murder (1954) (no. 161), Rebecca (1940) (no. 244).

His bridling under the heavy hand of producer David O. Selznick was exemplified by the final scene of Rebecca (1940). Selznick wanted his director to show smoke coming out of the burning house's chimney forming the letter 'R'. Hitchcock thought the touch lacked any subtlety; instead, he showed flames licking at a pillow embroidered with the letter 'R'.

Hitchcock had a love-hate relationship with food, which led him to alternately binge-eat and then crash-diet for much of his life. He was phobic about eggs, especially with runny yolks, and wouldn't eat them on their own in any form. His other food fears included cheese and cold deli meats.

Directed eight different actors in Oscar-nominated performances: Laurence Olivier, Joan Fontaine, Judith Anderson, Albert Bassermann, Michael Chekhov, Claude Rains, Ethel Barrymore and Janet Leigh. Fontaine won an Oscar for Suspicion (1941).

In a recent USC class on Hitchcock (fall 2000), guest speaker Patricia Hitchcock revealed that two guilty pleasures of Hitch's were Smokey and the Bandit (1977) and Benji (1974).

He has directed nine films that have been selected for the National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being "culturally, historically or aesthetically" significant: Rebecca (1940), Shadow of a Doubt (1943), Notorious (1946), Strangers on a Train (1951), Rear Window (1954), Vertigo (1958), North by Northwest (1959), Psycho (1960) and The Birds (1963).

From 1942 until his death, the Hitchcocks lived at 10957 Bellagio Road, Bel Air, California. They had been living at 609 St. Cloud Road in Bel Air in a home leased from friends Carole Lombard and Clark Gable.

Although some of the movie going public knew him, his fame really took off after 1955. That was when Alfred Hitchcock Presents (1955) started. When the show was broadcast in homes week after week, it gave him a much bigger exposure in the public eye. He also became quite rich from the show when it was syndicated in the United States and overseas.

Destiny (1921) by Fritz Lang was his declared favorite movie.

He directed Cary Grant in four films: Suspicion (1941), Notorious (1946), To Catch a Thief (1955) and North by Northwest (1959).