Hitchcock, of course, did cameos in all of his films, often making fun of his girth (such as boarding a train while toting a double bass in "North By Northwest").

His most ingenious was in the film "Lifeboat," which took place in an open boat at sea. He thought of floating by as a dead body, but it created too many technical problems. So he arranged for a character to read an advertisement for a diet-aid product called "Reduco," featuring before and after photos of Hitchcock, who had just dieted down from 300 to 200 pounds in real life.

After the film came out, the producers were bombarded with requests from viewers wanting to know where they could get "Reduco."