Jeanette Helen Morrison (July 6, 1927 – October 3, 2004), known professionally as Janet Leigh, was an American actress and author. She is best remembered for her performance in Psycho (1960), for which she was awarded the Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress and received an Academy Award nomination. Discovered by actress Norma Shearer, Leigh secured a contract with Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer and made her film debut with a starring role in The Romance of Rosy Ridge in 1947. Over the following years, she appeared in several popular films of a wide variety of genres, including Act of Violence (1948), Little Women (1949), Holiday Affair (1949), Angels in the Outfield (1951), Scaramouche (1952), The Naked Spur (1953), Walking My Baby Back Home (1953) and Living It Up (1954).After two brief marriages at an early age, Leigh married actor Tony Curtis in 1951, and they had two children together, Jamie Lee Curtis and Kelly Curtis. During their high-profile marriage, the couple starred in five films together: Houdini (1953), The Black Shield of Falworth (1954), The Vikings (1958), The Perfect Furlough (1958) and Who Was That Lady? (1960). They also had a scene together in another film, the musical comedy Pepe (1960). Leigh played mostly dramatic roles during the latter half of the 1950s, in films such as Safari (1955), and Touch of Evil (1958). She continued to appear occasionally in films and television, including The Manchurian Candidate (1962) and Bye Bye Birdie (1963), as well as two films with her daughter Jamie Lee Curtis: The Fog (1980) and Halloween H20: 20 Years Later (1998).Leigh died in 2004 at the age of 77, following a year-long battle with vasculitis, an inflammation of the blood vessels. She was survived by her fourth husband of 42 years, Robert Brandt, and her two daughters.
October 3, 2004, Beverly Hills, California, United States
Place Of Birth
Merced, California, USA
Height
5' 5½" (1.66 m)
Profession
Actress, Soundtrack, Miscellaneous Crew
Education
University of the Pacific
Nationality
American
Spouse
Robert Brandt (m. 1962–2004)
Children
Jamie Lee Curtis, Kelly Curtis
Parents
Helen Lita Westergard, Frederick Robert Morrison
Awards
Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress – Motion Picture
Nominations
Academy Award for Best Actress in a Supporting Role
Movies
Psycho, Touch of Evil, The Manchurian Candidate, The Fog, The Vikings, The Naked Spur, Halloween H20: 20 Years Later, Bye Bye Birdie, The Romance of Rosy Ridge, Little Women, Holiday Affair, The Black Shield of Falworth, Scaramouche, Act of Violence, My Sister Eileen, Who Was That Lady?, Jet Pilot, ...
[in 1953, on getting second billing to Tony Curtis in Houdini (1953)] I don't care if he's made one picture and I've made a hundred. I will always take second billing to my husband.
2
[on Night of the Lepus (1972)] I've forgotten as much as I could about that picture.
3
[on her Psycho (1960) co-star, the late Anthony Perkins] To me he was a leading man. But to the rest of the world, he'll always be "Norman Bates". People just wouldn't let him be anything else.
4
[on working with Alfred Hitchcock] Hitch relished scaring me. When we were making Psycho (1960), he experimented with the mother's corpse, using me as his gauge. I would return from lunch, open the door to the dressing room and propped up in my chair would be this hideous monstrosity. The horror in my scream, registered on his Richter scale, decided which dummy he'd use as the Madame.
5
I don't know what it is I exude. But whatever it is, it's whatever I am!
6
Psycho (1960) gave me very wrinkled skin. I was in that shower for seven days - 70 setups. At least, he [Alfred Hitchcock] made sure the water was warm.
7
[when asked if it was true that she doesn't take showers] It's actually, honestly true. And not because of the shooting of it. It was the seeing of it. It never dawned on me how truly vulnerable we are. But that's what [Alfred Hitchcock] did. A shower. A bird. All these things that are absolutely ordinary, he made extraordinary.
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Fact
1
Janet Leigh wrote four books: "There Really Was a Hollywood" (1984--an autobiography); "Psycho: Behind the Scenes of the Classic Thriller" (1995, co-authored with Christopher Nickens); "House of Destiny" (1996--a novel); and "The Dream Factory" (2002--a novel).
2
Said on TCM that Van Johnson was responsible for her stage name. While they were filming The Romance of Rosy Ridge (1947), he suggested she shorten her first name to Janet. He also thought that, since the film they were doing was a civil war drama, Lee would go well as her last name. But then he suggested she spell it Leigh. She was concerned there might a problem in being confused with Vivien Leigh; but then Van Johnson reminded her of Van Heflin. He said "there's two Van's and it hasn't hurt either of us".
3
Was 2 months pregnant with her daughter Kelly Curtis when she completed filming Safari (1956) and 5 months pregnant with her when she recorded her appearance on The Rosemary Clooney Show (1956).
4
Became pregnant with her 1st child by husband Tony Curtis in May 1953 but she suffered a miscarriage on July 8, 1953 at age 26.
5
She was cremated after death and her ashes are interred at Westwood Village Memorial Park Cemetery in Los Angeles, California.
6
Gave birth to her 2nd child at age 31, a daughter Jamie Lee Curtis on November 22, 1958. Child's father was her 3rd ex-husband, Tony Curtis.
7
Gave birth to her 1st child at age 28, a daughter Kelly Curtis on June 17, 1956. Child's father was her 3rd ex-husband, Tony Curtis.
She was an active Democrat and appeared alongside Tony Curtis at the 1960 Democratic National Convention in Los Angeles, California.
10
She was awarded a Star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 1777 Vine Street in Hollywood, California on February 8, 1960.
11
In June 2010, Pacific Theatre, the campus movie theater of the University of the Pacific, was renamed and dedicated as Janet Leigh Theatre. The theater houses Janet Leigh movie posters, movie stills, college and family photos, and a display cabinet with many personal and professional Janet Leigh artifacts. The lavender gown worn by Ms. Leigh to the 1961 Academy Awards (and created by Edith Head) is on display in the cabinet in the lobby.
12
Biography in: "The Scribner Encyclopedia of American Lives". Volume 7, 2003-2005, pages 326-329. Farmington Hills, MI: Thomson Gale, 2007.
13
Interviewed in Tom Weaver's book "Science Fiction Stars and Horror Heroes" (McFarland & Co., 1991).
14
She was the daughter of Frederick Robert Morrison, and his wife, Helen Lita (Westergard). Her father had English, German, Northern Irish (Scots-Irish), and Swiss-German ancestry. Her mother was from a family of Danish immigrants.
In 2006, the city of Stockton, California renamed and dedicated a downtown cinema and plaza in her honor. "Janet Leigh Plaza" is in the central core of the redeveloped downtown two blocks away from the "Bob Hope Theater".
17
She and her actress daughter Jamie Lee Curtis appear together in John Carpenter's The Fog (1980), though they do not meet until the film's end. They also appear together in Halloween H20: 20 Years Later (1998) early in the film when Janet reports to Jamie on a problem with the girls' shower at a private school.
18
Attended and graduated from the University of the Pacific in Stockton, California.
19
She was awarded an Honorary Doctor of Fine Arts degree at University of the Pacific in Stockton, California on May 14, 2004. She delivered an inspirational speech to graduating students, faculty, and administrators in accepting her award. Author Maxine Hong Kingston and US Solicitor General Ted Olson were also awarded honorary degrees on the same day.
20
Actually made Touch of Evil (1958), with a broken arm. Her arm was in a cast when she showed up for production, so they took her arm out of the cast and used every trick they could to hide it.
21
Eloped at the age of 14 - marriage was later annulled. Thus, Tony Curtis was her third husband when she married him at 23.
22
Chosen by Empire magazine as one of the 100 Sexiest Stars in film history (#99) (1995).
$300,000
