Alfred Hitchcock
Facts & trivia

Life span

born: August 13, 1899
died: April 29, 1980
lived: 80 years

Height

170cm (5'7")

Place of birth

Leytonstone 517 the High Road - it was the address of the family grocery store. Above the store was where Hitchcocks lived and there he was born.

Nicknames

Hitch - he didn't like either of his names and preferred people to call him Hitch.

Pseudonym

Master of Suspense - while Hitchcock was working on Lodger's adaptation, the adman involved in the project came with the idea to update the name "Master of Melodrama" that David Selznick earlier gave him to aid promotion of the movie Rebecca.

Childhood dog breed

hound

Favorite football club

West Ham United - when Hitchcock moved to the USA, one of the main reasons why he subscribed to London newspapers was to monitor how his favorite team is doing.

Favorite classical pieces

• Edward Elgar
• Richard Wagner
• Albert Roussel
• Ernst von Dohnanyi - "Variations on the Nursery Suite"
• Artur Rubinstein's version of Schumann's "Carnaval"

Favorite fairy tales

• Hansel and Gretel
• Little Red Riding Hood

Loved food

• steak
• dover sole

Hated food

eggs

Favorite alcohol

• champagne
• vodka

Favorite drink

Mimosa

Hated classes

Chemistry

Favorite chase scenes

• Way Down East
• The Birth of a Nation
• Intolerance

Biggest complex

being fat

Favorite play

Juno and the Paycock

Favorite music

Classical - Hitch often read books together with his wife while listening to classical music.

Favorite show

All in Wrestling - knew that it's crap, but he still loved it.

Favorite actor

Gerald du Maurier - father of Daphne du Maurier, the writer of "Rebecca".

Favorite directors

• Friedrich Wilhelm Murnau
• Georges Méliès
• David Wark Griffith
• Alice Guy

Favorite game

Scrabble

Favorite sports

• golf
• tennis
• boxing
• horse racing
• skiing

Favorite cities/countries

• Paris
• St. Moritz
• Munich
• Rome
• Vienna
• San Francisco
• Cuba

Favorite hobbies

• gardening
• wines

Favorite restaurant

Chasen's

Favorite books

• Under Capricorn
• Edgar Allan Poe's works
• Gilbert Keith Chesterton's works

Cats or dogs?

dogs

Biggest fears

• knowing the future
• heights
• darkness
• Gilbert Keith Chesterton's works
• being mocked and ridiculed

Inspired by

• John Galsworthy
• John Buchan
• Billy Wilder

Political views

Hitchcock avoided talking about politics at all costs, refusing to specify his leaning to almost everyone that asked. Few times that the director did talk about it, he revealed to be a mild socialist and a liberal, but agreed with Republicans on financial matters.

Presidential votes

• 1948: Harry S. Truman
• 1956: Dwight Eisenhower

Favorite magazine

Punch

Real estate

• Cromwell Road, Kensington, London
• Winter's Grace, Shamley Green (near Guildford)

Church attended

Good Shepherd Church, Beverly Hills, USA

Personal cars

• UK: Austin
• USA: Chevrolet

Capital punishment?

opposed