Alfred Joseph Hitchcock was born in
Leytonstone (London) on
August 13, 1899. His father was a green grocer called
William Hitchcock (1862 - 1914); his mother was
Emma Jane Whelan (1863 - 1942), and he had two older siblings,
William Hitchcock (born 1890) and
Eileen Hitchcock (born 1892).
Hitchcock had his first shot of being the director of a film in 1923 when he was to direct the film '
The Number 13', though the production was stopped. Hitchcock didn't give up then. He directed a film called '
The Pleasure Garden' in 1925, a British/German production, which was very popular. In 1926, Hitchcock made his first trademark film, '
The Lodger'. In the same year on the 2nd of December, Hitchcock married
Alma Reville. They had one child,
Patricia Hitchcock (born 7th July 1928). After a successful career in his native
United Kingdom, Hitchcock moved to
Hollywood. In 1956 he became an American citizen while retaining his British citizenship. Hitchcock directed more than fifty feature films in a career spanning six decades.He pioneered many techniques in the suspense and psychological thriller genres. He framed shots to maximise anxiety, fear, or empathy, and used innovative film editing. His stories frequently feature fugitives on the run from the la

w alongside "icy blonde" female characters. Many of Hitchcock's films have twist endings and thrilling plots featuring depictions of violence, murder, and crime. Hitchcock's films also borrow many themes from psychoanalysis and feature strong sexual undertones. Through his cameo appearances in his own films, interviews, film trailers, and the television program '
Alfred Hitchcock Presents', he became a cultural icon. Often regarded as the greatest British filmmaker, he came first in a 2007 poll of film critics in
Britain's Daily Telegraph, which said:
"Unquestionably the greatest filmmaker to emerge from these islands, Hitchcock did more than any director to shape modern cinema, which would be utterly different without him. His flair was for narrative, cruelly withholding crucial information (from his characters and from us) and engaging the emotions of the audience like no one else.”. The magazine
MovieMaker has described him as
"the most influential filmmaker of all-time". In late 1979, Hitchcock was knighted, making him
Sir Alfred Hitchcock. He died peacefully on the
29th April 1980. His funeral was held in the
Church of Good Shepherd in
Beverly Hills. Around 600 people attended the service, among them where
Mel Brooks,
Louis Jourdan,
Karl Malden,
Tippi Hedren,
Janet Leigh and
Francois Truffaut.
You can watch
here the video in which Sir Alfred accepts the
7th AFI Life Achievement Award (1979).
Here, instead, you can watch the famous scene that shocked the world ('
Psycho', 1960)!
Happy birthday,
Sir Alfred!!!