Alfred Hitchcock Day: Its Origins As Mysterious as the Director’s Movies

One of the dates on the Weird Holidays & Observances page that has always intrigued me but that I’ve never investigated is Alfred Hitchcock Day. It’s celebrated annually on March 12.

Although, maybe “celebrated” is too grandiose a description? I’m not sure how many people even know Alfred Hitchcock Day exists.

I mean, I love it because I’ve always been an admirer of his work. But who started “Alfie’s,” when, and why? Let’s take a look and see if we can figure it out.

Alfred Hitchcock Day Origins

A lot of times special days like these honor birth, death, or release days.

For instance, J.R.R. Tolkien Day is celebrated on January 3, the author’s birthday. Ghostbusters Day on June 8 commemorates the release of the original movie in 1984. National Magic Day on October 31 memorializes the death of Harry Houdini.

Alfred Hitchcock was born on August 13, 1899 and died on April 29, 1980.

None of his movies have March 12 release days. So why is March 12 Alfred Hitchcock Day?

{Insert big shrug here.}

No one seems to know anything about who, why, or when March 12 was proclaimed Alfred Hitchcock Day. As Greeting Card Poet pointed out, “The date does not correspond to any important dates in Hitchcock’s life. Like his movies, the date is a mystery.”

The Plot Thickens

One of the earliest references I found acknowledging the day was from a Mar. 12, 2003 issue of The Montgomery Advertiser in their “Today is…” section.

And an interesting note about that, right under it was a story titled “A Bird In Everyone’s Hand.” It was about the new (at that time) Audubon State Birds collection by Wild Republic.

Did they choose to run the story about the new plush bird collectibles on March 12 as a sort of clever (or perhaps cheeky) nod to one of Hitchcock’s movies?

However, I found earlier references to unofficial Alfred Hitchcock Days in the 1980s shortly after his death. TV stations and movie theaters would have Hitchcock marathons and showings of his movies in August.

But the very earliest mention I found of someone officially proclaiming a certain date Alfred Hitchcock Day did not involve March 12 at all. An Aug. 5, 1966 edition of the Valley Times included a photo of Julie Andrews cutting a cake to celebrate Hitchcock’s latest thriller, Torn Curtain.

Here’s what the caption read:

Julie Andrew, star of Alfred Hitchcock’s 50th picture, “Torn Curtain,” cuts piece of Van de Kamp’s congratulatory cake for Mayor Sam Yorty who proclaimed Aug. 3 as “Alfred Hitchcock Day.” The Universal movie, which co-stars Paul Newman, is being featured at 27 local theaters whose managers also received cake from Van de Kamp’s.

If, like me, you’re wondering who Van de Kamp’s was because it rang a bell, yes. They do sell frozen battered fish which you may have seen, or even bought, while grocery shopping.

But they were also a California chain restaurant and sold baked goods.

But I digress. Why didn’t August 3 stick as Alfred Hitchcock Day? Actually, anytime in August would’ve made more sense for it than the seemingly arbitrary pick of March 12.

If I ever crack the case, I’ll be sure to post an update.

How to Celebrate Alfred Hitchcock Day

The obvious answer is to pop on your favorite Hitchcock movie —or even movies and have a marathon.

But you could also take a jaunt to one of his 13 haunted (and haunting) movie locations. Most of which, but not all, you’ll find in California.

Or you could always visit an aviary.

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What’s your favorite Hitchcock movie(s)?