Home> Facts and Trivia > Stars > Alfred Hitchcock
Alfred Hitchcock Facts
| Sign | Leo |
| Born |
Aug 13, 1899 London, England |
| Died |
Apr 29, 1980 Bel Air, CA |
| Age | Died at 80 |
| Total Facts | 64 |
On August 2nd, 1968, he visited Finland to look 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".
Once dressed up in drag for a party he threw. Footage of this was in his office, but his office was cleaned out after his death, and it is not known if the footage still exists.
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.
Praised Luis Buñuel as the best director ever
Ranked #2 in Empire (UK) magazine's "The Greatest directors ever!" [2005]
Supported West Ham United Football Club - told colleagues in Hollywood that he subscribed to English newspapers in order to keep track of their results.
Though he was Oscar-nominated 5 times as Best Director, DGA-nominated 6 times as Best Director, and received 3 nominations from Cannes, he has never won in any of these competitive categories, a fact that surprises fans and film critics to this day.
Tied with Robert Altman and Clarence Brown for the most nominations for best director (5) at the academy awards without a single win. Martin Scorsese had been part or this group before his win for the Departed on his 6th nomination.
Told François Truffaut that although he had made two films prior to The Lodger: A Story of the London Fog (1927), he considered that to be his first real film.
Was a close friend of 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)
Was at his heaviest in the late 1930s, when he weighed over 300 pounds. Although always overweight, he dieted and lost a considerable amount of weight in the early 1950s, with pictures from sets like To Catch a Thief (1955) showing a surprisingly thin Hitchcock. His weight continued to fluctuate throughout his life.
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).
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.
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.