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JANET LEIGH
Janet Leigh made history when
she screamed in the shower in the movie, “Psycho,” in 1960. She
spent seven days filming, in the shower, because the scene took
about 70 takes of two to three seconds each. Ms. Leigh often said
she never took another shower. They were too frightening.
Born in 1927 in Merced, California, her birth name was
Jeanette Helen Morrison. She was attending the University of the
Pacific, when the Hollywood star of the 1920’s and 1930’s, Norma
Shearer, saw Leigh’s photograph where Leigh’s father worked. Shearer
asked if she could borrow the photo and that led to a screen test at
MGM.
Leigh then landed a starring role in “The Romance of Rosy
Ridge,” with Van Johnson. She went on to work with Errol Flynn, Gary
Cooper, James Stewart,
John Wayne,
Robert Mitchum, Orson Welles and Judy Garland, among others.
A few of her successful films were “Little Women” in 1949,
“Angels in the Outfield” in 1951, and “The Black Shield of Falworth”
in 1954.
She also starred with Frank Sinatra
in” The Manchurian Candidate” in 1962. She eventually appeared
in over 50 movies and also on television.
Leigh was very versatile and played in westerns, musicals and
comedies. But of all her movies, her most memorable role was in
“Psycho.” Directed by Alfred Hitchcock,
it was a small-budget thriller. She was killed off early in the
movie, and only seen for 45 minutes, but that scene became a film
landmark. By today’s standards, the shower scene would appear pretty
tame. But in 1960 it was unique and shocking.
For her role in Psycho, Leigh received $25,000. For her first
role in “The Romance of Rosy Ridge,” she earned $50 a week.
People who worked with Leigh said she was always pleasant and
had no big ego or vanity, even with newcomers.
Dick Van Dyke’s big-screen break came in the 1963
musical, “Bye Bye Birdie,” in which he starred with Leigh. He said
she was always a very nice lady when they worked together. Van Dyke
said, “She was a doll.”
Leigh was married to Tony Curtis, her third husband, from
1951 to 1962. She had two daughters, Jamie Lee Curtis and Kelly
Curtis. In 1980 she appeared with Jamie Lee in The Fog. They
appeared together again in 1998 in “Halloween H2O: 20 Years Later.”
Leigh was also an author and wrote the book, “Psycho: Behind
the Scenes in the Classic Thriller,” which was published in 1995.
In 1964 she married Robert Brandt and they remained married
until her death in 2004 at the age of 77. Her husband and daughters
were at her side.
Janet Leigh was a legendary actress, author and humanitarian.
She’ll always be best remembered though for that shower scene in
“Psycho.”
by Shirley A.
Ramaley
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