Janet Leigh

Infobox actor


imagesize =
caption = from the trailer for "Little Women" (1949)
birthname = Jeanette Helen Morrison
birthdate = birth date|1927|7|6|mf=y
birthplace = Merced, California
deathdate = death date and age|2004|10|3|1927|7|6
deathplace = Los Angeles, California
yearsactive = 1947–1998
spouse = John Carlisle
(1942–1942) (annulled)
Stanley Reames
(1946–1948) (divorced)
Tony Curtis
(1951–1962) (divorced)
Robert Brandt
(1962–2004) (her death)
goldenglobeawards = Best Supporting Actress - Motion Picture
1960 "Psycho"

Janet Leigh (born Jeanette Helen Morrison; July 6, 1927 – October 3, 2004) was an American actress. Her most famous role was in Alfred Hitchcock's classic "Psycho", for which she received a Golden Globe and was nominated for an Academy Award.

Biography

Early life

Leigh was born in Merced, California, the only child of Helen Lita (née Westergard) and Frederick Robert Morrison. She was discovered by actress Norma Shearer, whose late husband Irving Thalberg had been a senior executive at Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. Shearer showed talent agent Lew Wasserman the photograph she had seen of Leigh while vacationing at the ski resort where the girl's parents worked. She left the University of the Pacific, where she was studying music and psychology, after Wasserman secured a contract with MGM.

Career

Leigh made her film debut in "The Romance of Rosy Ridge" in 1947, as the romantic interest of Van Johnson's character. Throughout the 1950s, she starred in movies, most notably in the leading role in the musical comedy "My Sister Eileen", co-starring Jack Lemmon, Betty Garrett and Dick York.

Leigh's best-known role was as the morally ambiguous Marion Crane in the Alfred Hitchcock classic 1960 film "Psycho". In spite of her outstanding performance as Crane and going on to becoming one of the most famous characters in Hollywood history, Leigh suffered typecasting due to the famous role. Her film career nosedived soon after, and as a result much of her post-"Psycho" career was spent performing guest appearances on TV shows. "Psycho" earned her a Golden Globe and an Academy award nomination. Years later, she wrote a book in which she dispelled the urban legends which had popped up around its production, notably the immortal "shower scene".

She had starring roles in many other films, including the Orson Welles film-noir classic "Touch of Evil", 1962's "The Manchurian Candidate" with Frank Sinatra and the 1963 musical "Bye Bye Birdie" based on the hit Broadway show.

In 1975, Leigh played a retired Hollywood song and dance star opposite Peter Falk and John Payne in '. She also appeared in two horror films with her daughter, Jamie Lee Curtis, playing a major role in "The Fog" (1980), and making a brief appearance in ' (1998).

Personal life

Leigh married her third husband, Tony Curtis, on June 4, 1951. They had two children, actresses Kelly and the more well known Jamie Lee. Curtis, who admitted to cheating on her throughout their marriage, left Leigh in 1962 for Christine Kaufmann, the 17-year-old German co-star of his latest film "Taras Bulba". Leigh was granted a quick divorce, and married stockbroker Robert Brandt later that year in Las Vegas. They remained married until her death.

Leigh served on the board of directors of the Motion Picture and Television Foundation, a medical-services provider for actors.

Leigh was awarded an honorary Doctor of Fine Arts degree at the University of the Pacific in Stockton, California on May 14, 2004.

She died at her home on October 3, 2004 after suffering cardiac arrest, aged 77. Her family was at her side. Leigh also suffered from vasculitis and peripheral neuropathy, which caused her right hand to become gangrenous.

Filmography

* "The Romance of Rosy Ridge" (1947)
* "Act of Violence" (1948)
* "Hills of Home" (1948)
* "Words and Music" (1948)
* "Holiday Affair" (1949)
* "Little Women" (1949)
* "That Forsyte Woman" (1950)
* "Angels in the Outfield" (1951)
* "Scaramouche" (1952)
* "Just This Once" (1952)
* "Confidentially Connie" (1953)
* "The Naked Spur" (1953)
* "Houdini" (1953)
* "Walking My Baby Back Home" (1953)
* "Prince Valiant" (1954)
* "The Black Shield of Falworth" (1954)
* "Living It Up" (1954)
* "Rogue Cop" (1954)
* "Pete Kelly's Blues" (1955)
* "My Sister Eileen" (1955)
* "Jet Pilot" (1957)
* "Touch of Evil" (1958)
* "The Vikings" (1958)
* "The Perfect Furlough" (1959)
* "Psycho" (1960)
* "Who Was That Lady?" (1960)
* "Pepe" (1961)
* "The Manchurian Candidate" (1962)
* "Bye Bye Birdie" (1963)
* "Three on a Couch" (1966)
* "Harper" (1966)
* "Grand Slam" (1967)
* "Hello Down There" (1969)
* "Night of the Lepus" (1972)
* "One Is a Lonely Number" (1972)
* "" (TV) (1975)
* "The Fog" (1980)
* "Psycho II" (1983) (cameo/flashback)
* "Terror in the Aisles" (1984) (archival appearance)
* "Psycho III" (1986) (cameo/flashback)
* "" (1998)

External links

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* [http://reelclassics.com/Actresses/Janet_Leigh/jleigh.htm Reelclassics.com Page]
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* [http://www.kruegerbooks.com/books/sig/leigh-janet.html Signature of Janet Leigh]

###@@@KEY@@@### s-achsuccession box
title = Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress - Motion Picture
years = 1961
for "Psycho"
before= Susan Kohner
for "Imitation of Life"
after = Rita Moreno
for "West Side Story"

Persondata
NAME= Leigh, Janet
ALTERNATIVE NAMES= Morrison, Jeanette Helen
SHORT DESCRIPTION=Actor
DATE OF BIRTH= 1927-7-6
PLACE OF BIRTH= Merced, California
DATE OF DEATH= 2004-10-3
PLACE OF DEATH= Los Angeles, California