Alfred Hitchcock, the master of suspense, was best known for creating spine-chilling movies like Psycho and The Birds. But behind the camera, he was quite the jokester. Hitchcock had a playful side that often came out in the most unexpected ways.
Hitchcock loved practical jokes. One famous story is about his time working on a movie set. He found out that one of his crew members was scared of heights. So, Hitchcock had a crane lift the man’s car onto the roof of a building. When the man came out to go home, he was shocked to see his car up high. Hitchcock found this hilarious and even arranged for a photographer to capture the moment.
He also enjoyed playing tricks with his actors. On the set of The Birds, he sent leading lady Tippi Hedren a small coffin. Inside, she found a doll that looked exactly like her character from the movie. This strange and spooky gift left her and everyone else in stitches.
Hitchcock’s sense of humor wasn’t limited to pranks. He was known for his witty remarks and often made fun of himself. In interviews, he would deadpan about his own weight, joking that he had lost a lot but it was only in his “little finger.”
One of his favorite tricks was to pretend to be mysterious. He would tell elaborate stories about his childhood, full of strange and eerie events. Although most of these stories were fictional, they kept his audience intrigued and amused.
On set, he was notorious for his unexpected directions. During the making of Lifeboat, Hitchcock insisted on wearing a tuxedo. The movie was set entirely on a small boat, but Hitchcock claimed he needed to maintain “standards.” This caused a lot of laughter among the crew, as they worked in more practical attire.
