About
"Alfred Hitchcock Presents really brought my father to the public because they got to see him. Often a writer would turn in a script for one of his lead-ins, and Norman Lloyd, the associate producer, would say, 'Hitch will never say this!' But he loved it. He got to show his sense of humor, and he used to say, 'if you didn't have a sense of humor about anything that happened in life, you may just as well quit.'"
In her one-hour interview, Pat Hitchcock O'Connell (1928-2021) shares her memories of her early life in the United Kingdom and moving to the United States as a child in the wake of World War II. She recalls her early visits to the movie sets of her father, Alfred Hitchcock, her education at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, and her stage career at both the La Jolla Playhouse and on Broadway. She describes appearing in her father's films Stage Fright and Strangers on a Train, where she befriended actors Marlene Dietrich and Robert Walker. She shares her experience in live television on CBS's Playhouse 90, as well as parts she played on network radio programs. Hitchcock O'Connell talks about Alfred Hitchcock Presents, her father's classic anthology series in which she played multiple parts over the years, and speaks of acting in the feature film Psycho, a film in which Alfred Hitchcock used the crew from his television show to cut costs. Finally, she recalls several actors with whom she worked over the years, and shares how she'd like to be remembered. Gary Rutkowski conducted the interview on June 29, 2004 in Westlake Village, CA.
Highlights
Pat Hitchcock on being on her father's movie sets at a young age
Pat Hitchcock on appearing in her father's film, "Strangers on a Train"
Pat Hitchcock on acting in Alfred Hitchcock's "Psycho"
Pat Hitchcock Alfred Hitchcock Presents
Pat Hitchcock on making her screen debut
Pat Hitchcock on her first stage role in the United States
Full Interview
Chapter 1
On her early life and influences; on visiting her father Alfred Hitchcock's movie sets; on acting on the stage
On appearing in various movie roles; on acting in Alfred Hitchock's "Strangers on a Train"; on appearing in live television in the 1950s
Chapter 2
On acting on Playhouse 90; on acting on network radio; on acting on Alfred Hitchcock Presents
On acting in the feature film "Psycho"; on various people with whom she's worked and how she'd like to be remembered
On B-roll pictures from her archives - early picture with her mother Alma; on the set of "The Lady Vanishes" with Margaret Lockwood; her green card from 1941; with her father Alfred Hitchcock; with her mother opening a present; with actor Victor Kilian; on stage doing a play titled "Solitaire"; a picture of her playing the character of "Violet" in a play; on stage in "Violet"; with Margaret Webster and Marian Selbys; on stage at the La Jolla Playhouse with Dame Mae Whitty and John Williams; reading during a play; on the set of "The Mudlock"; Alfred Hitchcock with Norman and Peggy Lloyd at the Hitchcock family ranch in Santa Cruz; on the set of the television show Outward Bound; photo from the set of Alfred Hitchcock Presents; on the set of Alfred Hitchcock Presents with her daughter Mary O'Connell; Alfred Hitchcock holding a sketch of himself; autographed picture of Alfred Hitchcock
Shows
Alfred Hitchcock Presents aka The Alfred Hitchcock Hour
Pat Hitchcock on Alfred Hitchcock Presents
Pat Hitchcock on acting in and the production of Alfred Hitchcock Presents
Playhouse 90
Pat Hitchcock on acting on Playhouse 90
Topics
War
Pat Hitchcock on coming to the United States as a child and her recollections of World War II
World War II
Pat Hitchcock on coming to the United States as a child and her recollections of World War II
Genres
Classic Anthology Series
Pat Hitchcock on Alfred Hitchcock Presents
People
John Frankenheimer
Pat Hitchcock on acting on Playhouse 90
Alfred Hitchcock
Pat Hitchcock on working with her father Alfred Hitchcock in his movies
Pat Hitchcock on appearing in her father's film, "Strangers on a Train"
Pat Hitchcock on being on her father's movie sets at a young age