Pat Hitchcock

Actress


The Academy of Television Arts & Sciences Foundation Presents

02:26

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About
About this interview

In her one-hour Archive 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 on which she played multiple parts over the years, and speaks of acting in the feature film Psycho, a film on 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.

All views expressed by interviewees are theirs alone and not necessarily those of the Television Academy.

"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.'"

People Talking About ...
Highlights
Pat Hitchcock O'Connell on being on her father's movie sets at a young age
01:23
Pat Hitchcock O'Connell on appearing in her father's film, "Strangers on a Train"
03:27
Pat Hitchcock O'Connell on acting in Alfred Hitchcock's "Psycho"
02:36
Pat Hitchcock O'Connell on Alfred Hitchcock Presents
03:54
Pat Hitchcock O'Connell on making her screen debut
01:22
Pat Hitchcock O'Connell on her first stage role in the United States
02:54
Full Interview

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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

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Pat Hitchcock O'Connell on Alfred Hitchcock Presents
03:54
Pat Hitchcock O'Connell on acting in and the production of Alfred Hitchcock Presents
05:41

Playhouse 90

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Pat Hitchcock O'Connell on acting on Playhouse 90
01:15
Topics

War

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Pat Hitchcock O'Connell on coming to the United States as a child and her recollections of World War II
01:42

World War II

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Pat Hitchcock O'Connell on coming to the United States as a child and her recollections of World War II
01:42
Genres

Classic Anthology Series

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Pat Hitchcock O'Connell on Alfred Hitchcock Presents
09:35
People

John Frankenheimer

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Pat Hitchcock O'Connell on acting on Playhouse 90
01:15

Alfred Hitchcock

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Pat Hitchcock O'Connell on working with her father Alfred Hitchcock in his movies
00:58
Pat Hitchcock O'Connell on appearing in her father's film, "Strangers on a Train"
03:27
Pat Hitchcock O'Connell on being on her father's movie sets at a young age
01:23

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