Tippi Hedren

From Hitchcock and Chaplin to Ed Wood, Jr., and from drama and terror to droll comedy, the career of actress Tippi Hedren has been meteoric, and eclectic.

After a few weeks of filming The Birds with Rod Taylor, director Alfred Hitchcock told Associated Press reporter Bob Thomas, "Tippi Hedren is really remarkable. She's already reaching the lows and highs of terror." The former New York fashion model was making her debut as an actress in a starring role in The Birds, and such high praise from the enigmatic master of cinema shock and suspense was rare indeed.

"Like a dormant volcano we know one day is going to erupt," Hitchcock described her. "Get a look at that girl, she's going to be good. I gave her the leading part in The Birds. It is a big part. I think Svengali Hitch rides again."

In a cover article about The Birds in LOOK magazine (Dec. 4, 1962), Hitchcock continued to rave, "Tippi has a faster tempo, city glibness, more humor [than Grace Kelly]. She displayed jaunty assuredness, pertness, an attractive throw of the head. And she memorized and read lines extraordinarily well and is sharper in expression."

Although the critics were perplexed by the "end-less ending" of The Birds, the movie, which premiered at The Cannes Film Festival, was a sensation, earning over $11 million in the first few months, and is now a classic. Saturday Review's Arthur Knight wrote, "Hitchcock's newest 'find', Tippi Hedren is a decidedly lovely blonde." Her performance in the film earned her a Golden Globe award.

Hitchcock "discovered" the cover girl while viewing a commercial on NBC's Today Show and summoned her to Hollywood under personal contract. After the release of The Birds, he starred her in Marnie, with Sean Connery. Judith Crist wrote, "Alfred Hitchcock had given us one Grace Kelly in our generation and seems intent on giving us another in the person of Tippi Hedren, a classically beautiful, regally poised blonde". Marnie has achieved cult status as an offbeat psychological thriller, years ahead of its time.

Camille Paglia, Professor of Humanities at the University of the Arts in Philadelphia and author of several acclaimed books about women in film, and The Birds (BFI Publishing, 1998), a critical analysis of the film, wrote, "It's so unfair that Tippi Hedren has never had the credit she deserves for the two films she did with Hitchcock. I think the reason critics did not take her seriously is because she is too fashionable and therefore not 'serious'. The interplay between Hedren and [Suzanne] Pleshette in The Birds tells me more about women than any number of articles on feminist theory. Hitchcock captures the subtleties of females warring with each other; all those nuances of knives and guns conducted in looks and body language. He sculpts the human body in space. And I love the way Hedren handles cigarettes and a martini glass with such remarkable sophistication. It is gesturalism raised to the level of choreography."

Then came The Countess From Hong Kong with Marlon Brando and Sophia Loren, directed by Chaplin, in what was to be the Little Tramp's final film.

It was an auspicious start for the Minnesota girl of Scandinavian parentage. Between over 20 films and numerous television appearances, she's been involved in a wide variety of humanitarian and environmental causes, almost overshadowing her screen work.

As volunteer International Relief Coordinator for "Food for the Hungry," she traveled worldwide to set up relief programs following earthquakes, hurricanes, famine and war. She aided "boat people" in the South China Sea from a "Food for the Hungry” rescue ship. Lobbying efforts on behalf of Asian refugees have taken her before Congress and have earned her numerous awards including the "Humanitarian Award" presented to her by the B'hai Faith. She has been honored by the USO for entertaining troops in Vietnam and by the Celebrity Outreach Foundation for her charitable work.

She began her long love affair with wild animals in 1969 while doing a film, Satan's Harvest, in Africa. She "met" a mellow lion, and much of her life since then has been devoted to the big cats.
Deeply involved with international conservation groups to save wildlife, and an outspoken voice against cruelty to animals, both wild and domestic, she's a board member of The Wildlife Safari, founded by her friend, Frank Hart, in Winston, Oregon.

She also served on the board of The Elsa Wild Animal Appeal, which was founded by her friend, the late Joy Adamson. And currently, she is on the Board of Directors of Earth Communications Office (ECO), and President of the newly formed American Sanctuary Association. Her other charity work includes serving on The Board of Directors of The Women's Council of KCET (Channel 28), The Minnesota Film Council, The American Heart Association, The March of Dimes, Multiple Sclerosis, International Orphans, Inc., and several AIDS causes. She has been honored with "The Helen Woodward Animal Center's Annual Humane Award" (1995), the prestigious Founder's Award from the American Society or the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (1996) and the "Lion and Lamb Award" from Wildhaven (1997) for her work on behalf of animal rights and conservation.
Perhaps Tippi Hedren's most unique endeavor is being "den mother" and close friend to sixty-odd big cats and other animals, including a lion, tiger, leopard, cougar, serval and an African elephant, at The Roar Foundation's Shambala Preserve near Acton, California.

The high desert game preserve is home to the felines and pachyderms and was first established as an African-type set for the motion picture, Roar, which Tippi co-produced and starred in with her daughter, film actress Melanie Griffith. After the five-year filming was completed, it became the current, nonprofit center for big cat care and research.

In keeping with her outlook on the environment and conservation, many of Shambala's residents are cast-offs from private owners, zoos and circuses. They're living out their lives in safety and comfort. The Preserve is open to the public on a reservation basis. Tippi is founder and President of The Roar Foundation and resides at Shambala in a cottage surrounded by big cat compounds. "I awaken to their roars," she says. The story of Tippi's life and the animals dearest to her heart was told in Simon & Schuster's The Cats of Shambala (1985). The updated and revised edition (2003) will soon be available in paperback.

Several documentaries have been produced about the Shambala Preserve including, Lions: Kings of the Serengeti by the Richard Diercks Co, Inc. which won the Telly Award in 1995 for outstanding video documentary; and Life With Big Cats (1998), produced for Animal Planet, which won the Genesis Award for best documentary in 1999.

Tippi continues to work frequently in motion pictures, theatre, episodic and cable television, and her contributions to world cinema have been honored with Life Achievement awards in France at The Beauvais Film Festival Cinemalia 1994, and in Spain by The Fundacion Municipal De Cine in 1995. In 1999, Tippi was honored as "Woman of Vision" by Women of Film and Video in Washington, D.C., and received the Presidential Medal for her work in film from Hofstra University. And in 2000, Tippi was honored as "Best Actress in a Comedy Short" in the film Mulligans! at the Method Fest, Independent Film Festival, and in 2002, Tippi won "Best Actress" for the short film "Tea With Grandma" from the New York International Independent Film Festival.