Studio City Walk of Fame Highlights: 'Alfred Hitchcock Presents'

Alfred Hitchcock Presents
Tile #122 on the Studio City Walk of Fame

Revue Productions Television
Shamley Productions
Universal Television

Hosted by Alfred Hitchcock

1955-1962 broadcast on CBS and NBC.
7 Seasons with 268 Episodes

SYNOPSIS: Alfred Hitchcock Presents is a half-hour television series hosted by the Master of Suspense Alfred Hitchcock. The dramatic anthology series premiered on October 2nd, 1955 on CBS. The stories are invariably surprising, often containing elements of horror, comedy, suspense, and the supernatural. Time magazine named Alfred Hitchcock Presents one of "The 100 Best TV Shows of All-Time"

By the time that Alfred Hitchcock came to Studio City to enter the television arena he had already made his mark as a feature film director with Dial M For Murder and Rear Window both released in 1954.

Hitchcock opened each TV show with his profile filling the now famous sketch of his silhouette. The caricature drawing, composed of just nine strokes, was drawn by Hitchcock. A clever monologue about the plot followed with an even more clever segue into the commercial all written for him by James B. Allardice. 

From Season 1, Episode 20, And So Died Riabouchinska

Host: Good evening. This misty bit of ectoplasm forming on the inside of your television screen is one Alfred Hitchcock, coming to you tonight from across that great barrier that divides the quick from the dead: the Atlantic Ocean. I have materialized tonight for the express purpose of warning you; that during tonight's seance, you will witness a playlet entitled "And So Died Riabouchinska". But first, I would like to make an announcement to those of you who can't stay until the end... the butler did it.

Host: (introducing commercials at the end of the show) I hope you have enjoyed our program. Seeing a murder on television can help to work off one's antagonisms. And if you haven't any antagonisms, these commercials will give you some.

The iconic series had some well known faces in their guest stars which included Charles Bronson, Robert Duvall, Tom Ewell, John Forsythe, Cloris Leachman, Walter Matthau, Steve McQueen, Vera Miles, Roger Moore, Robert Redford, Katherine Ross, Gena Rowlands, Joanne Woodward and daughter Patricia appeared in ten episodes of the series. Robert Altman, Sydney Pollack, Arthur Hiller, Stuart Rosenberg, Paul Henreid, Robert Stevens were among the directors and Alfred Hitchcock himself, directed several episodes.

In 1962, the eighth season, the show expanded to an hour and the name of the series was changed to, The Alfred Hitchcock Hour. The famous theme music was French composer Charles-François Gounod's short piece for the piano "Funeral March for a Marionette."

156 episodes of Alfred Hitchcock Presents are on Hulu for you to enjoy.

ABOUT ALFRED HITCHCOCK

Alfred Joseph Hitchcock was born on August, 13 1899 in London, England. He started working in the film industry in 1920 and left for Hollywood in 1939, where his first American film, Rebecca, won an Academy Award for best picture.

Hitchcock directed more than 50 films in a career that spanned six decades, including the classics Rear Window, Dial M for Murder, The 39 Steps, The Birds, Vertigo, Marnie and Psycho.

He received the AFI's Life Achievement Award in 1979 and died peacefully in his sleep on April 29, 1980 in Los Angeles.

Alfred Hitchcock Presents was filmed on Colonial Street in the Universal Studios Backlot and at Republic Studios, 4024 Radford Avenue in Studio City, CA now home to .

For more information, please visit the SCIA website Walk of Fame pages.