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01
In 1979, after receiving the AFI Life Achievement Award, Hitchcock joked that he must be about to die soon. He died exactly one year later.
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02
Besides his fear of police, Hitchcock had a phobia of eggs, especially runny yolks, and refused to eat them in any form.
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03
When not filming, Hitchcock rarely socialized, choosing instead to spend evenings at home with his wife Alma and daughter Patricia.
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04
For Psycho, Hitchcock waived his $250,000 salary for 60% of net profits, personally earning over $15 million. Adjusted for 2006 inflation, that would exceed $150 million.
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05
A statistical survey conducted by Hitchcock found that moviegoers considered the most frightening film noise to be a police siren, followed by a car crash, forest fire cracks, horse galloping, dog howls, a woman’s scream, and the steps of a lame person in the dark.
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06
As a child, Hitchcock was sent to the police station with a letter from his father, locked up for ten minutes, and told by the sergeant, This is what happens to people who do bad things. He cited this as the reason for his fear of police and his refusal to learn to drive.
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07
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.
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08
Walt Disney refused to allow filming at Disneyland in the early 1960s because Hitchcock had made that disgusting movie Psycho 1960.
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09
Though Hitchcock was Oscar-nominated five times as best director, DGA-nominated six times, and received three Cannes nominations, he never won in those competitive categories.
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10
Hitchcock worked closely with screenwriters, providing a series of scenes he wanted and controlling the most important aspects; scripts were rigidly based on his ideas.
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11
According to Hitchcock, he was required to stand at the foot of his mother’s bed and tell her what happened to him each day.
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12
He would often non-discriminatingly toss his teacup and saucer over his shoulder after finishing tea on set.
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13
He was naturalized as a United States citizen in 1956.
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14
He is the voice of the Jaws ride at Universal Studios.
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15
Entertainment Weekly voted him the Greatest Director of all time. Their list of the 100 Greatest Films includes four Hitchcock films: Psycho #11, Vertigo #19, North by Northwest #44, and Notorious #66.
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16
He delivered the shortest acceptance speech in Academy Award history: while accepting the Irving Thalberg Memorial Award in 1967, he simply said Thank you.
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17
He never won a competitive Oscar but was awarded the Irving Thalberg Memorial Award in 1967.
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18
During production of Alfred Hitchcock Presents, he hid from producer Joan Harrison behind the couch in his office when problems arose.
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19
For Lifeboat 1944, his cameo was a weight-loss advertisement showing Before and After pictures among debris, after he had lost weight.
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20
Hitchcock’s wife Alma Reville was one day younger than him: born August 14, 1899.
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21
He has two stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame: for motion pictures at 6506 Hollywood Boulevard and for television at 7013 Hollywood Boulevard.
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22
Many of Hitchcock’s films have one-word titles, which he favored for being uncluttered and easily remembered: Blackmail, Rebecca, Suspicion, Saboteur, Lifeboat, Spellbound, Notorious, Rope, Vertigo, Psycho, Marnie, Topaz, and Frenzy.
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23
Directors 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.
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24
At the press conference for Family Plot 1976, Hitchcock revealed that his least favorite film among those he directed was Champagne 1928.
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25
He was infamous for practical jokes, such as sending cast members boxes of spiders or mice after learning their phobias.
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26
He once dressed in drag for a party; footage of this was kept in his office but lost after his death.
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27
He often said that Shadow of a Doubt 1943 was his favorite among his own films.
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28
For interviews, Hitchcock prohibited any questions about his private life.
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29
The pulp publication Alfred Hitchcock’s Mystery Magazine continues to be published and is highly respected.
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30
He allegedly refused the British honour of CBE Commander of the Order of the British Empire in 1962.
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31
His education included St. Ignatius College, the School of Engineering and Navigation studying mechanics, electricity, acoustics, navigation, and the University of London studying art.
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32
On April 29, 1974, the Film Society of Lincoln Center held a gala homage; François Truffaut presented sequences and noted that love scenes were filmed like murder scenes and vice versa.
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33
As of the 5th edition of 1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die, Hitchcock is the most represented director with 18 films including Blackmail, The 39 Steps, Sabotage, Rebecca, Shadow of a Doubt, Spellbound, Notorious, Rope, Strangers on a Train, Rear Window, The Man Who Knew Too Much, The Wrong Man, Vertigo, North by Northwest, Psycho, The Birds, Marnie, and Frenzy.
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34
He was legendary for gently tweaking his sponsors on his television show, e.g., ‘We now interrupt our story for an important announcement. I needn’t tell you to whom it will be most important of all.
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35
On his first visit to Hollywood in the late 1930s, he was turned down by virtually all major studios until David O. Selznick offered a seven-year contract; his first project for Selznick was Rebecca.
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36
Hitchcock had a love-hate relationship with food, binge-eating and crash-dieting; he was phobic about eggs, cheese, and cold deli meats.
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37
In a USC class, his daughter Patricia revealed that two guilty pleasures of Hitchcock’s were Smokey and the Bandit 1977 and Benji 1974.
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38
From 1942 until his death, the Hitchcocks lived at 10957 Bellagio Road, Bel Air, California.
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39
He was close friends with Albert R. Broccoli, producer of the James Bond franchise; his North by Northwest influenced the helicopter scene in From Russia with Love.
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40
Nine of his films have been selected for the National Film Registry: Rebecca, Shadow of a Doubt, Notorious, Strangers on a Train, Rear Window, Vertigo, North by Northwest, Psycho, and The Birds.
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41
He appears in cameo roles in all of his movies, including a neon silhouette in Rope and a plug for Notorious.
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42
In 1968, he visited Finland to scout locations for a never-made film; when asked why his films were popular, he said: Everybody likes to be scared.
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43
His public fame soared after the 1955 premiere of Alfred Hitchcock Presents, which was syndicated and made him wealthy.
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44
He directed Cary Grant in four films: Suspicion 1941, Notorious 1946, To Catch a Thief 1955, and North by Northwest 1959.
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45
He appeared in all but 18 of his 56 directed films; in Lifeboat and Dial M for Murder, he appears in photographs.
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46
According to those who knew him, Hitchcock could not stand to look at his wife while she was pregnant.
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47
He was at his heaviest in the late 1930s at over 300 pounds, but dieted significantly in the early 1950s.
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48
He was a supporter of West Ham United Football Club and kept track of their results via English newspapers.
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49
He was reportedly furious when Brian De Palma made Obsession 1976, seeing it as a remake of Vertigo; De Palma stopped making mystery/adventure films after Hitchcock’s death.
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50
As of 2024, six of his movies are in the IMDB Top 250: Psycho no. 34, Rear Window no. 52, North by Northwest no. 103, Vertigo no. 108, Dial M for Murder no. 161, and Rebecca no. 244.
