Updated 05-May-2020.
Mondo shtuff from around the internet, all about JANET LEIGH!
made only at TCM!
My botty best at summarizing from Wikipedia: Janet Leigh was an American actress, singer, dancer, and author . she made her film debut in the Romance of Rosy Ridge (1947) early in her career, she appeared in several popular films for MGM Leigh’s marriage to actor Tony Curtis ended in divorce in 1962 . she continued to appear in films, including Bye Bye Birdie (1963), Harper (1966), Night of the Lepus (1972), and she died in October 2004 at age 77, following a year-long battle with vasculitis, an inflammation of the blood vessels . her maternal grandparents were immigrants from Denmark, and her father had Scots-Ir Leigh excelled in academics and graduated from high school at age 16 . she enrolled at the college of the Pacific, where she majored in music and psychology . while in college, she joined the Alpha Theta “that smile made it the most fascinating face I had seen in years,” she says . leigh dropped out of college that year, and was soon placed under the tutelage of drama coach Lillian Burns . Leigh got the role when performing Phyllis Thaxter’s long speech in Thirty Seconds over Tokyo . her name was first changed to “Jeanette Reames”, then to “Janet Le the project was eventually shelved and released in 1949 as The Stratton Story . another film that Leigh was set to star in, before being replaced, was Alias a Gentleman . by late 1947 Leigh had a big hit with MGM’s version of Little Women (1949) based on the novel by Louisa May Alcott . she was then in the anti-communist drama The Red Danube (1949 Leigh and Curtis appeared in numerous home movies directed by their friend Jerry Lewis . at MGM she appeared in Strictly Dishonorable (1951), a flop comedy with Enzio Pinza she was top billed in Fearless Fagan (1952) and appeared with James Stewart in a popular Western . less well received was Confidentially Connie (1953) with Van Johnson . she was loaned to she also signed a contract with Columbia to make one film a year for five years . in 1958, she starred as Susan Vargas in the orson welles film noir classic Touch of Evil . she later described shooting leigh’s role in Psycho became career-defining . she later commented: “i’ve been in a great many films, but if an actor can be remembered for one role then they’re very fortunate.” her character’s death early in the film has been noted as historically relevant by film scholars as it violated narrative conventions of the time . her murder scene itself is considered among critics and film scholars to be one of the most iconic her first television appearances were on anthology programs . she also starred in several made-for-TV films . in 1975, she played a retired Hollywood song and dance star opposite Peter Falk and John Payne the episode utilizes footage of Leigh from the film Walking My Baby Back Home (1953) her many guest appearances on television series include The Man from U.N.C.L.E. two-part episode, “The Concrete in 1973, she appeared in the episode “Beginner’s Luck” of the romantic anthology series Love Story . she made her stage debut opposite Jack Cassidy in the original Broadway production of Murder Among Friends in 1979, leigh appeared in a supporting role in Boardwalk opposite Ruth Gordon and Lee Strasberg . she would appear opposite her daughter again in Halloween H20: 20 Years Later . her first memoir, There Really Was in 1995, she published the non-fiction book Psycho: Behind the Scenes of the Classic Thriller . her first novel, House of Destiny, was published in 1996 . the marriage was annulled four months later on December Leigh and Reames married on October 5, 1945, when she was eighteen . their marriage, however, was also short-lived, and they divorced four years later . on June 4, 1951, Leigh married leigh and Curtis’s marriage was a frequent topic in gossip columns and film tabloids . on September 15, 1962, Leigh married stockbroker Robert Brandt . she remained married to Brandt for 42 leigh’s health was compromised by vasculitis, and she delivered a speech from a wheelchair . she was honored posthumously by university of the Pacific with the naming of the “Janet Leigh Theatre memorial is a tribute to Janet Leigh’s life and career in the Stockton region . she was cremated, and her ashes interred at westwood village Memorial Park Cemetery . Psycho: Behind the Scenes of the Classic Thriller. Harmony Books, 1995; ISBN 0-517-70112-X. House of Destiny. Mira Books, 1996; ISBN 1-551-66159-4. Janet Leigh: A Biography. McFarland. ISBN 978-0-786-47022-8. Doubleday. Doubleday . DoubleDay. Doubledday.