Alfred Hitchcock

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Sir Alfred (Joseph) Hitchcock (1899–1980). Film director, born in London, UK. The son of a London poultry dealer, he studied engineering at London, and began in films as a junior technician in 1920. He directed his first film in 1925, and rose to become an unexcelled master of suspense, internationally recognized for his intricate plots, insight into human psychology, and novel camera techniques. His British films included The Thirty-Nine Steps (1935) and The Lady Vanishes (1938). In 1939 he left England for Hollywood where his first US film, Rebecca (1940), won an Oscar. Later films included Psycho (1960), The Birds (1963), and Frenzy (1972). From the 1940s onwards, Hitchcock usually made a fleeting appearance in a bit part in each of his films. He was knighted in 1980.