Lick Magazine had a chat with Tippi Hedren about her life as a fashion model, Hollywood star and most importantly her lifelong love of animals and her dedication to wild animals and big cats in particular through her creation of the “Roar Foundation and the Shambala Preserve” Lick: How did you end up in Hollywood? Tippi: I was a fashion model in New York .. and the 50’s was the advent of television which usurped our lives and also the advent of the television commercial and I was doing a lot of those and made so much money I took 3 months off and went around the world. Toward the end of 1959, I decided to move to California with my daughter so that she could just go out and play (which you can’t do on the streets of New York because we lived right in Manhattan). Tippi: Ok .. So I moved back to California and thought “ok, what am I going to do now?” And then about Friday the 13th of November either 1960 or 1961 I received a call from Universal asking if I was the girl in the “Segal” commercial . I said, “Why, do you want to know?” And they said “There’s a producer that’s interested in you”. And they wouldn’t tell me who it was until I went to meet with them at Universal and then they told me it was “Alfred Hitchcock”! Lick: Wow! Tippi: They wanted me to sign a contract. I had never met him and they said read the contract carefully and if you agree with it we will go over and meet Mr Hitchcock. Lick: Wow! Incredible! Tippi: Yeah.. It “was” incredible! Lick: So what was it like being Alfred Hitchcock’s muse? Wait.. I have to tell you something.. You are gorgeous.. You were gorgeous then but you’re just as gorgeous now. I have that picture of you on the cake (laughing) “Oh my Gosh”! (laughing) Wonderful!! Tippi: Yeah, I didn’t have an 85th Birthday Party I had a little one but I will do an 86th Big Birthday Party and I want to do something fancy again on the invitation. Lick: That’s great! Tippi: I don’t know what it will be but “whatever” they are fun things to do.. Maybe a bathing suit? Lick: Well (laughing) that will be something! Tippi: (laughs) Lick: Ok, so what was it like to work with Hitchcock.. I have
to tell you I was a kid then and he looked pretty scary to me (laughing) Tippi: It was wonderful at fifirst. When I met him he was absolutely wonderful, so brilliant in his choice of films his directorships. Everything about him was so perfect. And he was one of the most well known directors/producers in the entire industry. To be chosen by him was a phenomenon... and for a long period of time it was absolutely wonderful. Of course he decided to use me in “The Birds” Lick: Right Tippi: as the starring role and then again in “Marni” and it wasn’t until the end of “Marni” that all of that changed. Because he was such a fifine producer/director. It was amazing. He had such a great sense of humor. It was.. Was a dream kind of situation. And then all of a sudden he became very possessive over me and eventually made advances on me and demands on me and then in that fifirst moment I said I cannot do this I wanted to get out of the contract and he said I won’t let you out. And he didn’t. He said, “I will ruin your career”. Lick: Oh my god Tippi: And he did. And he kept paying me $600.00 a week and by the time I got out of “The Birds” and “Marni” I was hot as an actress and so many directors wanted me for their movies but to get to me they had to go through him (Hitchcock). Lick: Oh my.. Tippi: And he said “ She isn’t available”. And he kept me under contract for over 2 years.. Lick: Wow, I feel like crying Tippi: Well it was a very sad time for me as well.. It was really such a cruel thing to do. Lick: I know. Tippi: To make demands .. This is not the fifirst time this happened with actresses he had under contract. I wasn’t the fifirst one. Lick: Unbelievable Tippi: Typical Hollywood Crap! Lick: Yes, it still goes on today. Unbelievable