San Mateo Times (04/Oct/1939) - Behind the Make-Up

Details

• article: Behind the Make-Up
• author(s): Erskine Johnson
• newspaper: San Mateo Times (04/Oct/1939)
• keywords: Alfred Hitchcock, Alma Reville

Article

Behind the Make-Up

Next to directing, the roly-poly Englishman, Alfred Hitchcock, enjoys nothing better than making his friends uncomfortable with well-planned ribs. Other night Hitchcock invited twelve people to a birthday party for his wife at a Hollywood cafe. When the guests arrived they found a gray-haired black satin clad old lady of about 70 seated at the table. "Who is she?" they asked Hitchcock. "Never saw he before." replied the director. Dinner was served and the old lady ate ravenously. But when the persons seated next to her tried to make conversation, she said nothing at all. By the time dinner was finished all of Hitchcock's guests were in extremely bad fettle, wondering why he did no ask the uninvited guest to leave. And not until next day did they learn that the old lady was a Hollywood extra, employed by Hitchcock through Central Casting bureau to attend the dinner party.