Psycho screenwriter dead at 84

The man who penned the screenplay for cult thriller Psycho has died at 84.

The man who penned the screenplay for cult thriller Psycho has died at 84.

Joseph Stefano, who was a close friend of Psycho director Alfred Hitchcock, was also the co-creator of science-fiction TV series The Outer Limits.

The Philadelphia native was also a talented pianist and lyricist, who began his career touring in a modern jazz band.

His big break as a screenwriter came in the mid-1950s when he penned The Black Orchid, which became a hit film in 1958 starring Anthony Quinn and Sophia Loren.

He moved to Hollywood in 1960 and started work with Hitchcock on an adaptation of a Robert Bloch novel for the big screen. The project became Psycho.

Stefano's other celebrated screenplays have included Eye of the Cat, Home for the Holidays and Hitchcock's The Birds.

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