Scream Queen Janet Leigh

 

"Psycho gave me very wrinkled skin.  I was in that shower for seven days - 70 setups.  At least he (Hitchcock) made sure the water was warm."

Janet Leigh was born Jeanette Helen Morrison in Merced, California on July 6, 1927.  She came to Hollywood in 1945 via actress Norma Shearer, who spotted a photograph of the teenager as taken by her father. Shearer took the photo to MGM Studios, who quickly signed Janet to a contract.

Her first film was The Romance of Rosey Ridge, a drama set during the Civil War. She played opposite Van Johnson, with whom she'd culminate a long-standing professional career.

By 1960, Leigh was a household name, having appeared in 35 feature films. It was then that director Alfred Hitchcock cast her in her most memorable role, that of murder victim Marion Crane in his classic film Psycho.  The iconic role would cement her legacy as a film scream queen. Check out the infamous scream on YouTube.

When Janet reached her 70s, she was diagnosed with vasculitis, which ultimately took her life on October 3, 2004.  She was 77 years old.  She was cremated, and her ashes were interred at Pierce Brothers Westwood Village in Los Angeles.  Her husband passed away five years later and joined her in the family crypt.

Rest in peace.

Trivia

• If you want to learn more about Janet Leigh, take a voyage to Amazon.  It's all in books.
  
  
• Janet was married four times.  Her third marriage to actor Tony Curtis produced two offspring, including future actress Jamie Lee Curtis.
  
  
• While there is no official Janet Leigh Museum, there is a theatre dedicated in her honor at her alma mater, the University of the Pacific in Stockton, California.  There, you will find an assortment of her memorabilia, donated by Jamie Lee upon her mother's passing.  There is also a Janet Leigh Plaza in downtown Stockton.
  
  
• There are a number of Janet Leigh documentaries available on YouTube, as well as this 1985 episode of The Phil Donahue Show, featuring both Janet and daughter Jamie Lee.
  
  
• Janet was quite active politically, joining fellow Hollywood heavyweights Sidney Poiter, Gregory Peck and Kirk Douglas for this 1964 get-out-the-vote commercial.