Tippi Hedren: The Birds, Hitchcock, Big Cats, and a Life of Courage

SPEAKER IDENTIFICATION

Speaker 1 - Announcer / Program Intro Voice: Identified from the opening introduction of the host and program format.

Speaker 2 - Mary Jane Popp, Host: Identified by the spoken introduction and her role conducting and presenting the archival interview. The source transcript variously renders the surname and program title as “Pop,” “Popp,” “Pop Talk,” and “Pop Star Talk”; this edition uses “Popp” and “Popp Star Talk” in alignment with the supplied episode file title.

Speaker 3 - Ken, Producer / Co-Host: Identified by the host as her producer and by his conversational exchanges with her. The full name is not confidently recoverable from the transcript.

Speaker 4 - Tippi Hedren, Archival Interview Guest: Identified explicitly by the host during the 2016 interview segment.

Speaker 5 - Prerecorded Commercial / Station Promo Voice(s): Used for advertisements and promotional announcements; individual announcer names are not stated.

[OPENING PROGRAM INTRODUCTION]

Speaker 1 - Announcer: Let’s remember to gather some of the greatest TV and movie stars of yesteryear with the woman who knew them. Mary Jane Popp hosted radio and TV shows for nearly five decades, meeting these stars and getting them to share their real-life stories. You’ll meet them up close and personal as Mary Jane searches her extensive archives for the best and brightest real star talk on Popp Star Talk. And here she is, Mary Jane Popp!

Speaker 2 - Mary Jane Popp: Have we got a star who made some 80 film and television appearances in her career, but perhaps one movie catapulted her to real stardom - although it was short-lived because the director was a total control freak. Who was this star? Well, let me share my feelings after seeing the movie. I was careful to sidestep flocks of birds that seemed as though maybe they didn’t like me.

I’m Mary Jane Popp with my producer, Ken, and we will explore her life, as well as hear firsthand how her meteoric rise made life a nightmare, on Popp Star Talk. Ken, can you guess who the star is and what the movie was?

Speaker 3 - Ken: The Birds.

Speaker 2 - Mary Jane Popp: Yes. Seriously, for a long time after that movie, I would go to the park or take a walk with the dogs, and if I saw a flock of birds I would think, “Are they going to stay there? Are they coming after me?” The birds in that movie included a variety of birds, but there were those big black birds, and they get huge.

Speaker 3 - Ken: It’s amazing. Anytime I’m around a bunch of birds, they usually poop on me.

Speaker 2 - Mary Jane Popp: Oh, they can. I wondered, while they were shooting those scenes, whether they had to stop and reshoot over and over because maybe the birds would poop on the actors.

Speaker 3 - Ken: It could happen. Birds don’t say, “I’ve got to take a potty break now.” They just do what they need to do when they need to do it, and that’s about it.

Speaker 2 - Mary Jane Popp: Right. Right. She is an incredible actress who worked with a classic director.

[Editorial note: The automatic transcript contains a heavily duplicated and garbled passage here. The recoverable discussion resumes with the host addressing a reported rumor about Tippi Hedren’s health.]

Speaker 2 - Mary Jane Popp: There was a report that she had dementia. Well, the rumor is not true. It started in London, I think with The Mirror newspaper, and someone said they thought she had dementia. It got blown out of proportion. What happened, and I just found out from a very reliable source who knows her and talks with her almost daily, is that she is 95 years old now and had surgery some time ago. She was under anesthesia. The older you get, being under anesthesia can cause some loss of memory that might appear to be dementia. Well, it is not, and her memory is coming back slowly but surely. So that whole thing about dementia was a crock.

Speaker 3 - Ken: Well, maybe we can get her on again.

Speaker 2 - Mary Jane Popp: That might be a problem because her family has basically decided that it is time for her not to have to do anything anymore. That includes Melanie Griffith, her daughter, and her grandchildren, Dakota Johnson and Stella Banderas. I had to look up the names because I was checking things out. Melanie Griffith’s name came from her father, whose last name was Griffith. Dakota Johnson was born when Melanie Griffith was married to actor Don Johnson, and Stella Banderas was born to Melanie Griffith and Antonio Banderas. It is a generational family, which is great, and they are very close. You will hear more in the interview about how family is very important to her.

They have pretty much made a decision that it is time for Tippi just to rest and not necessarily do interviews anymore. That does not mean I will not keep trying, but it is one of those things I have to respect, too. She worked very hard for a very long time and had a lot of problems. That is what I wanted to learn more about in the interview. This interview was conducted in 2016, so she was quite vibrant at the time and had a lot of stories for me. Tippi Hedren was a picture of grace and elegance, along with such honesty, when she and I had this great conversation.

[ARCHIVAL INTERVIEW INTRODUCTION - 2016]

Speaker 2 - Mary Jane Popp: This woman we are going to be talking to is extraordinary. Her career has been stellar. To say that she is an icon would be putting it mildly, and I am thrilled to talk with her. Quite a few years ago, I had a wonderful conversation with her, and I remember it to this day because she was so sincere and honest. I am not going to tell you who it is. I am going to start out by playing the theme from this movie, and you will know exactly whom I mean.

[Theme from The Birds plays.]

Speaker 2 - Mary Jane Popp: I will tell you, after I saw the movie The Birds, I was very aware of any kind of black bird around me for years. But this gal is a Hollywood icon, one of the biggest names of classic Hollywood and one of the most famous Hitchcock girls: Tippi Hedren, of course. She wants you to know about her fascinating life, including some behind-the-scenes stories.

In her memoir, Tippi, she delves into so much of her private life, including how a film like Roar became dangerous to her family, which, incidentally, is a family of actors. Does daughter Melanie Griffith sound familiar? Or granddaughter Dakota Johnson? Well, they should. Then there is Roar, the Roar Foundation, and the Shambala Preserve. I could go on and on. This gal is absolutely incredible. Tippi, it is nice to have you with us on the show.

Speaker 4 - Tippi Hedren: Well, I am delighted. Thank you. That was a lovely introduction.

Speaker 2 - Mary Jane Popp: How did your activism for animals begin?

Speaker 4 - Tippi Hedren: When I was born. I have always loved animals. All thinking, feeling beings on our planet are important, and they are here for a reason. It always fascinated me. Of course, I grew up with the puppy and the kitten and that sort of thing.

Speaker 2 - Mary Jane Popp: Were you the type of kid who picked up all the animals in the neighborhood and brought them home?

Speaker 4 - Tippi Hedren: Oh, as many as my mother would allow.

Speaker 2 - Mary Jane Popp: That is great. So how did you graduate from puppies and kittens to cats, tigers, and lions?

Speaker 4 - Tippi Hedren: I was just lucky, actually. I married a man who was very adventurous. He was also a director and producer. I did two films in Africa, and he went with me during those times. While we were there, in 1969 and 1970, environmentalists all over the world were telling us that if we did not do something right then to save and rescue wild animals, by the year 2000 they would all be gone due to encroaching civilization, hunting, and poaching.

Speaker 2 - Mary Jane Popp: Oh, wow.

Speaker 4 - Tippi Hedren: We were thinking about this issue, and we said, “Let’s do a movie about it, about the animals in the wild.” We chose the great cats as our movie stars.

Speaker 2 - Mary Jane Popp: That is a romantic notion, is it not?

Speaker 4 - Tippi Hedren: Well, to a certain extent it could be.

Speaker 2 - Mary Jane Popp: Yes, because they are so beautiful.

Speaker 4 - Tippi Hedren: They are gorgeous, elegant, and marvelous. They are also apex predators.

Speaker 2 - Mary Jane Popp: Absolutely.

Speaker 4 - Tippi Hedren: We did not really think too much about that.

Speaker 2 - Mary Jane Popp: You actually put the whole family at risk by doing this movie, did you not?

Speaker 4 - Tippi Hedren: We kind of did, yes. We were all hurt.

Speaker 2 - Mary Jane Popp: No kidding.

Speaker 4 - Tippi Hedren: Yes. We survived; nobody was killed, which is a good thing. They are so gorgeous that you want to touch them and be a part of it, and you do not realize that they are wild. They are predators. They have instinctual dictates, and they can come up in a second. The movie was not a great success. It was called Roar, like the lion’s roar.

What did come out of it was that, while we were doing the movie, we needed lions and tigers to perform. The owners and trainers of those animals read the script and said, “I am not going to let my cat work with a cat it does not know. They would kill each other. Get your own animals to do the movie.” Well, that sentence alone changed my life.

The first one was a rescue, a little lion cub, and pretty soon we had four little lion cubs destroying my house.

Speaker 2 - Mary Jane Popp: You had them in your house?

Speaker 4 - Tippi Hedren: Well, they were little.

Speaker 2 - Mary Jane Popp: And they were cute, right?

Speaker 4 - Tippi Hedren: They were cute. Every one of them is an individual destruction manufacturer. They really are. They do not care about your furniture or anything else. Pretty soon I had seven little lions running around my house, which is, of course, illegal. As they grew, one of them looked over the fence, and the neighbor looked up and said, “That is a lion.” The next day, there was pounding on my front door. It was animal control.

Speaker 2 - Mary Jane Popp: Oh, my God.

Speaker 4 - Tippi Hedren: You cannot have these animals in the city. I explained that they were not going to be with us very long because we were doing a movie. He said, “Yes, you have that right, lady. You have 24 hours to get them off the property.”

We knew about the place that the Roar Foundation now owns, where I live and which I love. We asked Steve Martin, the trainer who owned it, if we could board our little lions and tigers, and he said, “Sure.” From then on, we became known as the couple who accepted animals. Suddenly, we were aware of many people who had purchased a darling little lion cub or tiger cub and could not handle them. We had close to 100 animals here at one time.

Speaker 2 - Mary Jane Popp: No way. Seriously? Wow.

Speaker 4 - Tippi Hedren: Eventually I thought, “Why doesn’t our government have laws preventing people from breeding these apex predators to be sold as pets?” There was no law. I went to my own congressman, and he said, “Tippi, it is a huge business. You are never going to get this passed.”

I went on a real rampage about it and told officials in our government, “These are apex predators, and you people are the only ones who can stop this insanity.” I named about 20 serious accidents out of more than 100 that had happened. It passed unanimously, and President Bush signed it on December 9, 2003.

Speaker 2 - Mary Jane Popp: Good for you.

Speaker 4 - Tippi Hedren: I feel very good about it because I feel as though I have saved lives.

Speaker 2 - Mary Jane Popp: On both sides. Absolutely. Hang in there with us, because we have more to come.

[COMMERCIAL BREAK 1]

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[PROGRAM PROMO]

Speaker 5 - Promo Voice: I am Mary Jane Popp, host of Popp Talk, asking: Are you searching for the truth? On Popp Talk, my guests and I love to delve into stories that will make your life better, happier, perhaps even more resilient. Come join me as I take you on a journey to meet the best and brightest minds in health, wealth, and hope. I invite you to meet some gutsy people who have experienced the worlds of the unknown. They have gone beyond this life, from ghosts to the supernatural and unexplained. We need to know: Are we alone? Do you believe in UFOs and aliens, in the paranormal? What about the ancients, shamans, psychics, and your dreams? On Popp Talk, we ask the hard questions, and together we seek out the answers you want to know. We look for more than just what we see and hear. We look beyond our reality. Give Popp Talk a listen on the BBS Radio Network, Station One. Let’s explore this world, and who knows what we will discover together?

[ARCHIVAL INTERVIEW CONTINUES]

Speaker 2 - Mary Jane Popp: It is Popp Talk, and you know we do talk. Your background has been incredible. You speak up; you speak out. I love to see that in a person, especially when you are passionate about something. Going back, do you mind being called a Hitchcock girl?

Speaker 4 - Tippi Hedren: Not at all. Why?

Speaker 2 - Mary Jane Popp: I am just curious because it was kind of a complicated relationship between you and Hitch, was it not?

Speaker 4 - Tippi Hedren: Well, I was not the first one, and I never will be. This has happened as long as there have been men and women; there will be those problems. My suggestion to every woman is: Do not even let it get started. If that sort of situation starts, get out, no matter what kind of job you have. If you love your job, whatever - if that is what it takes, just get out. Do not become involved in it.

Speaker 2 - Mary Jane Popp: He actually started out as a kind of benefactor for you, but then he became controlling. I can see that with Hitchcock.

Speaker 4 - Tippi Hedren: Absolutely. Like I said, I was not the first one.

Speaker 2 - Mary Jane Popp: Did you know about the others?

Speaker 4 - Tippi Hedren: Not until it started happening with me. Then people would say, “Well, this happened; did that happen?” and whatever. I did get out. He said he would ruin my career, and I said, “Do what you have to do.” He did try. He kept me under contract, and I could not work. I do not know how many movies I would have been able to do after I got out of The Birds and Marnie.

Speaker 2 - Mary Jane Popp: Obviously he could hold a contract over you or try not to let you work. Was there any sexual harassment?

Speaker 4 - Tippi Hedren: No, there was not, because I did not let it happen. As soon as it started, I got out. He said, “I will ruin your career,” and he did try. He did for a while.

Speaker 2 - Mary Jane Popp: It is awful. It makes me mad. The thing is, it is still going on today. They try to say it is not.

Speaker 4 - Tippi Hedren: Yes, it does. Since men and women were created, that is when it started.

Speaker 2 - Mary Jane Popp: You have to be strong enough. It was pretty gutsy for you to do what you did.

Speaker 4 - Tippi Hedren: I had a really wonderful set of parents who taught my sister and me very good morals. We were good Lutherans, and I am so grateful to my parents for bringing my sister and me up with thought patterns, morals, and strength.

I am not sure that much of that exists these days. It is so wide open, and that is too bad: do whatever. It is not good.

Speaker 2 - Mary Jane Popp: Part of it, and I want to get your read on this, I think has to do with social media.

Speaker 4 - Tippi Hedren: I think you are right. So much has been opened to us that never was before, and everybody has such a lackadaisical attitude about sex and relationships and all of that. It is sad.

Speaker 2 - Mary Jane Popp: People do not want to work at a relationship anymore. In relationships, you have to work at them to make them successful.

Speaker 4 - Tippi Hedren: Yes, you do. And doggone it, where did we get off track? “You squeeze the toothpaste tube the wrong way, and that is it; we are separated.” Come on. It is so silly.

Speaker 2 - Mary Jane Popp: It is silly in so many ways. I do not know what your marital status is now. Are you married?

Speaker 4 - Tippi Hedren: I am not. Three times and out.

[CURRENT-DAY HOST DISCUSSION]

Speaker 2 - Mary Jane Popp: I love her attitude. It was always so special. And to fight back against Alfred Hitchcock - come on. At that time, he was at the top of his game. Oh, there is that little bell again. Did you have a thought?

Speaker 3 - Ken: No, that was not my bell.

Speaker 2 - Mary Jane Popp: It was not your bell. There you go. I do have a thought for you. To fight back against some of what was going on - and I am sure there were some who did not fight back - was something. If you notice, the female stars of his movies were always beautiful blonde women. I do not know if they all had blue eyes, but I am sure they were pretty close.

Speaker 3 - Ken: She was a glamour girl.

Speaker 2 - Mary Jane Popp: Yes. You know how he found her? It was a commercial she did. He took one glimpse; I guess he had a knack for picking out talent. She turned to look at someone in that commercial, and immediately she was the one he wanted.

Speaker 3 - Ken: That is the one he wanted. He could pick them right.

Speaker 2 - Mary Jane Popp: But obviously he did not treat them right. To hold her back, hold the contract, and not let her work anymore - that is not good.

Speaker 3 - Ken: Not good.

Speaker 2 - Mary Jane Popp: I guess that is what life is about. Sometimes it is good stuff and sometimes it is bad stuff. You have to live with the good, the bad, and sometimes the ugly, do you not think?

Speaker 3 - Ken: We are all human.

Speaker 2 - Mary Jane Popp: There are a few people I wonder about in the human aspect, but that is okay. It was wonderful talking to her. We will go back to the interview in a minute, because there are so many other things from her childhood and how she started. But can you imagine having seven or eight baby lion cubs running around your house, tearing it up? She loved them; it did not matter to her.

Speaker 3 - Ken: As a person who had a small lion cub for a short while, that is not good. Do not do it.

Speaker 2 - Mary Jane Popp: It is not legal anyway.

Speaker 3 - Ken: It is not legal, but people do it. Do not do it.

Speaker 2 - Mary Jane Popp: What do you think the mentality behind that is? Is it that having an animal that strong gives people a sense of power they otherwise do not have?

Speaker 3 - Ken: For women, they are cute. That is it. When they are babies, they are so cute. When they get big and start growling at you, they are wild animals. For men, it is a status thing.

Speaker 2 - Mary Jane Popp: You think so?

Speaker 3 - Ken: It is like having the fastest car.

Speaker 2 - Mary Jane Popp: Really? I guess. But an animal is a life. A car is a thing. You should not take advantage of that. I also find their son-in-law, Antonio Banderas, interesting.

Speaker 3 - Ken: You have not gotten past that, have you?

Speaker 2 - Mary Jane Popp: No. I do not know whether Melanie Griffith is still married to him.

Speaker 3 - Ken: Yes, they are still married. I saw an interview the other day.

Speaker 2 - Mary Jane Popp: Oh, you did? He is happily married, according to him, to Melanie Griffith?

Speaker 3 - Ken: Yes.

Speaker 2 - Mary Jane Popp: Good. She found the right one. I love Tippi’s comment: “Three times and out.” Anyway, let us get back to more of that interview. Now you know me, folks, and I am kind of nosy. Well, all right - I am a lot nosy. I asked Tippi Hedren what makes her happy.

[ARCHIVAL INTERVIEW CONTINUES]

Speaker 4 - Tippi Hedren: I think it is because I am content with my decisions. When a door opens to me - I almost called my book The Open Door.

Speaker 2 - Mary Jane Popp: I like that.

Speaker 4 - Tippi Hedren: I have had so many doors open to me, and fortunately the ones I have walked through have been a success. I also think of other doors that were opened to me, and I said, “Uh-uh, not going there.” All our lives, we have doors open to us. I was very careful about what I saw on the other side. I looked through and saw the good, the bad, and the ugly. If it was too ugly, I did not go through it.

Speaker 2 - Mary Jane Popp: Good for you.

Speaker 4 - Tippi Hedren: Or if it was not ugly at all, that was the best kind.

Speaker 2 - Mary Jane Popp: I assume you passed that on to Melanie, too.

Speaker 4 - Tippi Hedren: I think so.

Speaker 2 - Mary Jane Popp: Good for you.

Speaker 4 - Tippi Hedren: And Dakota, absolutely. But it is done by example. You can tell somebody all you want, but if you do not do it - if you say, “Do what I tell you to do, but do not do what I do” - they are not going to listen.

Speaker 2 - Mary Jane Popp: That is right. I have asked people lately, “What is your teaching method?” I say the best thing you can do is be a good parent, a good person, a good worker, an honest person - a good human being.

Speaker 4 - Tippi Hedren: Yes.

Speaker 2 - Mary Jane Popp: We are getting so far away from that. Some of the things said on social media - I have had people on the air say, “Social media is subject to the same rules that you are on radio and television.” I say that is bullcrap. Try to find what you want. Unfortunately, what worries me is that young people think that if it is on the internet, it has to be true.

Speaker 4 - Tippi Hedren: We have got to change that.

Speaker 2 - Mary Jane Popp: You bet. Anybody can say anything they want, and I do not know how valid it is. I am curious: Do you have a philosophy of life?

Speaker 4 - Tippi Hedren: I guess I do. It is so big that I cannot even begin to talk about it. But if you are doing something that you know is not right, you know it - stop it. Just stop it. If you are hurting somebody, stop it. If you are doing something illegal, stop it. If you are unkind, stop it.

Speaker 2 - Mary Jane Popp: You can do all of those things at any stage in your life.

Speaker 4 - Tippi Hedren: Yes, you can. It is never too late.

Speaker 2 - Mary Jane Popp: It is never too late to change your ways. Amazing. Hang in there with us, because we have more to come.

[COMMERCIAL BREAK 2]

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Consolidated Credit Solutions Incorporated, 5701 West Sunrise Boulevard, Fort Lauderdale, Florida 33313. Licensed by the New York Department of Financial Services and by the Vermont Department of Financial Regulation. Kansas CSO 0019051. Maryland DM 1492. Oregon DM 892. Licensed by the Virginia State Corporation Commission, license number TC83. Service may adversely affect the individual’s credit. Nonpayment of debt may lead to additional finance charges or collection activity, including legal action. Actual interest rates, length of program, and monthly payment reductions will vary by consumer and creditor. Yours could be higher or lower. Not a loan company. We do not lend money.

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[PROGRAM PROMO]

Speaker 5 - Promo Voice: I am Mary Jane Popp, host of Popp Talk, asking: Are you searching for the truth? On Popp Talk, my guests and I love to delve into stories that will make your life better, happier, perhaps even more resilient. Come join me as I take you on a journey to meet the best and brightest minds in health, wealth, and hope. I invite you to meet some gutsy people who have experienced the worlds of the unknown. They have gone beyond this life, from ghosts to the supernatural and unexplained. We need to know: Are we alone? Do you believe in UFOs and aliens, in the paranormal? What about the ancients, shamans, psychics, and your dreams? On Popp Talk, we ask the hard questions, and together we seek out the answers you want to know. We look for more than just what we see and hear. We look beyond our reality. Give Popp Talk a listen on the BBS Radio Network, Station One. Let’s explore this world, and who knows what we will discover together? And here she is, Mary Jane Popp.

[ARCHIVAL INTERVIEW CONTINUES]

Speaker 2 - Mary Jane Popp: One more thing. This is a personal thing. Stand two or three feet outside yourself and look back at Tippi, and in maybe 25 words or less, tell me who Tippi Hedren is.

Speaker 4 - Tippi Hedren: Oh, what a mean question.

Speaker 2 - Mary Jane Popp: I know. I love finding out about people. Everybody knows your career has been fantastic, but I would like to know how you view yourself.

Speaker 4 - Tippi Hedren: I am not always pleased with myself, but I try to be as thoughtful as I can. I try to plan ahead with what I am doing, what I am currently working on, so that it will be a success, whatever it is. I try to stay in touch with my family as much as I possibly can, and I love them so much: my daughter Melanie, Dakota, Stella, Alexander, my sister, and my nieces. I truly love and enjoy these people, and I like them.

Speaker 2 - Mary Jane Popp: That counts a lot. There are so many people who get together and do not really like each other.

Speaker 4 - Tippi Hedren: That is sad.

Speaker 2 - Mary Jane Popp: It is amazing. I think you first have to like yourself before you can really like anybody else, and ask, “Who am I, and would I like me if I were just to meet me?” We have too many people in this world who demand that they be respected.

Speaker 4 - Tippi Hedren: You can command respect by respecting yourself and respecting others.

Speaker 2 - Mary Jane Popp: Yes, you can. That is called a job.

Speaker 4 - Tippi Hedren: Thank you. Yes, that is a job. It really is.

Speaker 2 - Mary Jane Popp: Is it true that you actually had dreams at one time of becoming a figure skater?

Speaker 4 - Tippi Hedren: I did not even dream; I was practicing.

Speaker 2 - Mary Jane Popp: No kidding.

Speaker 4 - Tippi Hedren: Yes. I lived in Minnesota, where there are 10,000 lakes.

Speaker 2 - Mary Jane Popp: They all freeze over.

Speaker 4 - Tippi Hedren: Yes. I was born during the height of the Depression, so there was not much money. But my wonderful daddy, Ben Hedren, got enough money together to buy me a pair of figure skates. I had friends who were taking figure-skating lessons. We did not have the money for me to take the lessons, but I could sit, watch, and listen. Then I would go home after those lessons, go out on one of the little ponds or lakes around our house in Morningside, Minnesota, and practice and practice. That is what I wanted to be.

The following year, when we were to start skating again in the fall, when everything iced over, I had to have an operation on my left foot. All those years ago, they did not let you do anything for a year after an operation, so I could not skate that year. The following year I had an emergency appendectomy, and I could not skate. After that, the feeling was gone. Life changed, and we moved to California.

Speaker 2 - Mary Jane Popp: Do you think maybe that was part of fate, that you were meant to do what you did?

Speaker 4 - Tippi Hedren: I think so. I think so.

Speaker 2 - Mary Jane Popp: So many people say, “What if?” If you keep doing “what if,” you are never going to get anything done.

Speaker 4 - Tippi Hedren: That is true. I was talking about those doors. As soon as I got to California, another door opened for me, and it was to be in a film.

Speaker 2 - Mary Jane Popp: Did the film come before your modeling?

Speaker 4 - Tippi Hedren: No, no, no. I had modeled for 11 years. In the 1950s, I was living in New York, and I was with Eileen Ford. In the 1950s, the advent of the television set came into all of our lives, and with that came television commercials. I started doing television commercials, which was great because the residuals paid so much. They were so successful, and I did a lot of them. I was able to take three months off and go around the world.

Speaker 2 - Mary Jane Popp: Nice.

Speaker 4 - Tippi Hedren: Yes, it was. Then I had Melanie, and in 1961 my career was kind of fading. I thought, “Oh, Melanie, let’s go to California.” We packed up our puppy, our kitty, and the bunny, and we all moved to Los Angeles. We had not been there, of course, and I had to rent a very expensive home in Westwood. I was thinking, “How am I going to pay for this?” I was really getting worried and scared.

Then, on Friday the 13th of October 1961, I received a call asking if I was the girl in the [commercial brand unclear, heard as “Seaco”] commercial. I said, “Yes. Why?” She said, “There is someone who would like to meet with you - a director.” I thought, “Oh, boy. Light at the end of the tunnel.” I asked who it was, and they said, “Come over and meet with us, and we will talk about it.”

I went over to MCA, which was the biggest talent agency in California - in the world, actually. I talked to these people, and after quite a bit of conversation they said, “All right, here is a contract. Read through it, study it, understand it, and sign it. We are going to leave the room; call us when you are finished.” I did that, finished it, and called them back into the room. They said, “Wonderful. Fine. We are now going to go over and meet Alfred.”

Speaker 2 - Mary Jane Popp: Oh, my God.

Speaker 4 - Tippi Hedren: I picked my jaw up off the floor, and that is what we did. I was under contract to him before I met him.

Speaker 2 - Mary Jane Popp: Amazing. I have to tell you, you are still beautiful. What do you do to stay as gorgeous as you are?

Speaker 4 - Tippi Hedren: A lot of people are telling me that, and I do not know what it is. I use very simple cosmetic treatments - everything you could buy on the shelves. I do not know what it is.

Speaker 2 - Mary Jane Popp: Hang in there with us, because we have more to come.

[COMMERCIAL BREAK 3]

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[PROGRAM PROMO]

Speaker 5 - Promo Voice: I am Mary Jane Popp, host of Popp Talk, asking: Are you searching for the truth? On Popp Talk, my guests and I love to delve into stories that will make your life better, happier, perhaps even more resilient. Come join me as I take you on a journey to meet the best and brightest minds in health, wealth, and hope. I invite you to meet some gutsy people who have experienced the worlds of the unknown. They have gone beyond this life, from ghosts to the supernatural and unexplained. We need to know: Are we alone? Do you believe in UFOs and aliens, in the paranormal? What about the ancients, shamans, psychics, and your dreams? On Popp Talk, we ask the hard questions, and together we seek out the answers you want to know. We look for more than just what we see and hear. We look beyond our reality. Give Popp Talk a listen on the BBS Radio Network, Station One. Let’s explore this world, and who knows what we will discover together? And here she is, Mary Jane Popp.

[ARCHIVAL INTERVIEW CONCLUSION]

Speaker 2 - Mary Jane Popp: Do you exercise or do something?

Speaker 4 - Tippi Hedren: Yes, I do. I exercise before I leave my bedroom. I do my whole workout before I even leave my bedroom, because otherwise, all day long, you are thinking, “I have to do my workout.” I just get it done before I get out of my bedroom.

Speaker 2 - Mary Jane Popp: You feel off if you do not do it.

Speaker 4 - Tippi Hedren: Yes, you do. In a couple of days, you really feel it.

Speaker 2 - Mary Jane Popp: No kidding. What about supplements? Do you take vitamins or anything?

Speaker 4 - Tippi Hedren: A ton.

Speaker 2 - Mary Jane Popp: Thank God, I finally found somebody. I tell everybody I rattle when I walk.

Speaker 4 - Tippi Hedren: I eat well, and I spend a lot of effort making sure I get the right foods and drink a lot of water during the day. I do not make a big deal out of it; I just do it.

Speaker 2 - Mary Jane Popp: It is part of your life. Do you have any pets?

Speaker 4 - Tippi Hedren: A lot. I only have one cat now.

Speaker 2 - Mary Jane Popp: One cat? One kitty?

Speaker 4 - Tippi Hedren: Of course, I have the lions and tigers. I am looking out at a beautiful tiger named Mona right now. She is so cute. The other night, I was dozing off and the lions started to roar, and then she, as a tiger, started to roar. They speak entirely different languages.

Speaker 2 - Mary Jane Popp: Really?

Speaker 4 - Tippi Hedren: It was so interesting to hear the lions roaring and a tiger at the same time, because they do not even live on the same continent in the wild. It was such a beautiful thing. I wish I had a recording of it because it was so unusual.

Speaker 2 - Mary Jane Popp: What a life you have, Tippi.

Speaker 4 - Tippi Hedren: I have a great life, and you can come and visit. Look us up at Shambala.org.

Speaker 2 - Mary Jane Popp: I would love to. Shambala.org. It sounds wonderful. Is your book out yet?

Speaker 4 - Tippi Hedren: Yes, and it has been on the bestseller list and all kinds of wonderful things.

Speaker 2 - Mary Jane Popp: Fabulous. So we can get it anywhere?

Speaker 4 - Tippi Hedren: Yes. It is called Tippi: T-I-P-P-I. I am promoting it right now, and frankly I am exhausted.

Speaker 2 - Mary Jane Popp: I bet. I would love to talk with you more, but I understand they said half an hour only, so I said okay. Maybe some other time I can talk with you again?

Speaker 4 - Tippi Hedren: Of course. You can call [Harlan - spelling uncertain] and make an arrangement.

Speaker 2 - Mary Jane Popp: You are fantastic, Tippi. You are wonderful to talk to. I appreciate your time, because I know you have a whole lot of people to talk to, and I appreciate that you allowed me to do the questioning.

Speaker 4 - Tippi Hedren: I am delighted. And for all of your listeners, please look at animals as thinking, feeling beings and protect them, because they need it.

Speaker 2 - Mary Jane Popp: Yes, they do. We will get into that the next time around.

Speaker 4 - Tippi Hedren: Okay. I will look forward to it.

Speaker 2 - Mary Jane Popp: Tippi, thank you so much for taking the time today.

Speaker 4 - Tippi Hedren: You are welcome. Bye-bye, darling.

Speaker 2 - Mary Jane Popp: Bye-bye. Tippi Hedren. The book is called Tippi. It is her memoir, and I can hardly wait to get my hands on one so I can read all the different things. I would love to have her back. She is such a neat, straightforward, honest, charismatic person. That is the best I can say.

[CURRENT-DAY CLOSING DISCUSSION]

Speaker 2 - Mary Jane Popp: Is she not wonderful? This interview was in 2016, so she was up there in years then, and now she is 95.

Speaker 3 - Ken: Now she is 95.

Speaker 2 - Mary Jane Popp: Her last movie was in 2017, called The Ghost and the Whale. I did not see that. I am going to have to look it up just out of curiosity. At that time, in 2017, she was 87 and still doing movies, but that was the last one. One thing that did not come up: How did she get the name Tippi?

Speaker 3 - Ken: That is a good question. You should have asked her.

Speaker 2 - Mary Jane Popp: I will find out. You know me; I will find out why it is Tippi. It is not Tipsy, so we know that.

Speaker 3 - Ken: No, no, no. It is Tippi, and that is the name of her book, Tippi.

Speaker 2 - Mary Jane Popp: I did not realize that she was a model for 11 years before the acting started, and she was with Eileen Ford, the modeling agency, which was like the premier modeling agency in the country at that time. Just to be with them was a great thing. Then the figure skating - how sad. She really loved figure skating, but life hands you some things that you do not want, and you just have to deal with them. That is all there is to it.

What I would love for us to do is go down to the preserve, Shambala. It still exists because of the Roar Foundation. They made the movie Roar in 1981, the foundation still exists, and the preserve is still there. She did invite us to go down, and that was a few years ago, but I think we should. They do tours and picnics. You cannot touch the animals or be close because they are wild animals, and she wants to keep them that way. I understand it is a huge reserve, and it is all cats: lions and tigers and I do not know what else. It is in Los Angeles County.

Speaker 3 - Ken: It is north of Los Angeles, in Acton, California.

Speaker 2 - Mary Jane Popp: Right, it is actually in Acton. They do sunset safaris, and they have adoptive parents; you can adopt an animal, and that helps keep it going because it is run by the Roar Foundation. Can you imagine what the cost would be to keep a preserve like that going, how much they eat, and what it takes to keep them healthy? Obviously this has been going on for a long time, and you have to admire somebody who puts all her heart and soul into that.

I loved talking with her. I wish I could do it again, but I am not going to give up yet. I do not give up that easily. She did several other movies besides The Birds and Marnie, including Land of the Free, [film title unclear, heard as “Counters from Hong Kong”], and The Ghost and the Whale, which I mentioned earlier as the last movie she did. She just seemed like a nice person, and really honest. If she thought something was not right, she spoke out. I admire that, because too often now it is, “Maybe I should not say that.” Well, she did, and by golly she stood up to Alfred Hitchcock. Good for her for doing what she did.

Speaker 3 - Ken: It is amazing, those kinds of people.

Speaker 2 - Mary Jane Popp: Alfred was not very tall, so she probably looked down on Alfred Hitchcock.

Speaker 3 - Ken: Yes. Well, you know: power and money, money and power. They are interchangeable.

Speaker 2 - Mary Jane Popp: Ken, thanks so much. I appreciate it. What a talent. I am sad that she is not, at least at this point, up to doing interviews, but we will always have The Birds, Marnie, and all her other appearances to remember her wonderful years.

Again, you can check out Shambala.org to learn about the preserve and what they do there. It is open to tourists, and you can see the greatest love in her life: protecting animals. Again, thanks to Ken for sharing his insights, to our great engineer for pulling it all together, and to all of you for being with us on Popp Star Talk. Remember: live simply, laugh often, love deeply, and above all else, dare to dream.