Alfred Hitchcock

Born

1899 · Leytonstone, London, England

Roots

English; Catholic family

Family

Middle class

His greengrocer father died when he was 15; by his telling, the father once had the police lock the five-year-old in a cell 'to show what happens to naughty boys.'

Education

Jesuit school → engineering and navigation courses → art classes

Started with

A title-card desk

Hired in 1919 to design silent-film title cards in London; he was directing within six years.

Affiliations & societies

None documented.

Information only — claims like these are often unverifiable and may be wrong.

The pathway

1. 1925 · age 25
   First film

   The Pleasure Garden, shot in Germany under Ufa's influence.

2. 1929 · age 29
   Blackmail

   Britain's celebrated early talkie; he is the country's best-known director by 30.

3. 1939 · age 39
   Hollywood

   Selznick imports him; Rebecca wins Best Picture — the producer's Oscar, not his.

4. 1955 · age 55
   Television host

   Alfred Hitchcock Presents makes the silhouette a brand.

5. 1960 · age 60
   Psycho$800K → ~$15M

   Paramount refuses the budget, so he funds it himself with his TV crew for $800K and takes profits instead of salary — reportedly his most lucrative decision.

6. 1980 · age 80
   Knighted

   Months before his death; five directing nominations, no competitive Oscar.