Days after Hitchcock lunged at her in the limo that was taking them both back to their hotel in Santa Rosa, Tippi Hedren filmed the phone booth scene. The booth was supposedly outfitted with shatterproof glass. Mechanical birds were suspended above on wires and were flung into the phone booth. The third bird shattered the glass and shards were lodged into Tippi’s face. Makeup man Howard Smit had to delicately remove the glass pieces from her face. Howard Smit was the major advocate for hair and makeup artists in Hollywood, campaigning for health and pension benefits. His influence created the Academy Award category for hair and makeup – the first award went to An American Werewolf in London in 1982.
Rose Gaffney (third from left) was a big deal in the early 1960s in Sonoma County. She was part of a group of activists who defeated a proposed nuclear power plant in Bodega Bay. The 60th anniversary of the defeat PG & E’s proposal was commemorated in November, 2024 with this fabulous webinar from Stewards of the Coast and Redwoods, Museum of Sonoma County and the Rancho Bodega Historical Society. How is The Birds connected? Hitchcock and his crew were scouting locations during this time period, and came across Rose Gaffney. Rancher, country girl and serious-minded person that she was, she had no idea who Hitchcock was. Nonetheless, she allowed the production to use her homestead at Bodega Head as a set. (photo: Sonoma County Library Digital Collection)
