Alfred Hitchcock never won a Best Director Oscar

Alfred Hitchcock in 1955 (photo courtesy of Wikipedia)

Alfred Hitchcock, the master storyteller, was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Director 5 times but never took home the little gold man.

A prolific film-maker, he made over 50 films starring the best and brightest actors of their time including Cary Grant, Grace Kelly, James Stewart, Kim Novak, Doris Day, Ray Milland, Raymond Burr, Gregory Peck, Ingrid Bergman, Laurence Olivier, Joan Fontaine, just to name a few.

One of his famous trademarks was to make cameos in his movies. It became so popular with movie viewers that he made sure that his appearances happened in the few minutes of the film to avoid further distractions. 

Hitchcock and his famous profile

What I love about Hitchcock is that he was able to translate storylines from novels and make it his own. From Psycho to Strangers on the train to Rebecca ---- his favorite source of movie materials came from books.

Hitchcock was nominated for the following films, Rebecca (1940), Lifeboat (1944), Spellbound (1945), Rear Window (1954), and Psycho (1960). He was known to have said of his nominations, "Always the bridesmaid, never the bride."

In 1967, he was awarded the Irving G. Thalberg Memorial Award. He gave the shortest speech in Oscar history, "Thank you...very much indeed."

He was also honored by the British Academy of Film and Theater Arts Fellowship Award (BAFTA), the American Film Institute's Lifetime Achievement Award, Golden Globe Cecil B. DeMille Award, and the Directors Guild of America's Lifetime Achievement Award.

In 1980, he was made Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire.

Spellbound (1945) and Psycho (1960)

Rebecca (1940), Lifeboat (1944), and Rear Window (1954)