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Janet Leigh Occupation: Actress Died: October 3, 2004, Beverly Hills CA Links Janet Leigh's Biography in the Internet Movie Database. Janet Leigh's Internet Movie Database Filmography entry. |
Signed by MGM in 1946 after Norma Shearer "discovered" her via a photograph. Leigh (her new surname was chosen by Louis B. Mayer) evolved from a fetching ingenue into a competent leading lady, turning in creditable performances in The Manchurian Candidate (1962) Touch of Evil (1958) and Psycho (1960).
The role earned her an Oscar nomination as best supporting actress.
Hitchcock compiled the shower sequence in 70-odd takes of two and three seconds each, for which Leigh spent seven days in the shower.
Although tame by today's standards, the scene was shocking for the time for its brutality.
Leigh wrote in her 1995 book "Psycho: Behind
the Scenes in the Classic Thriller" that the filming was easy until the last
20 seconds when she had to express total horror as her character was being slashed
to death.
She often said she hadn't been able to take a shower since the movie.
Leigh's third husband was American actor Tony Curtis, to whom she was married for eleven years (1951-1962). Her children from this marriage included actress Jamie Lee Curtis and Kelly Curtis. In 1962, Leigh married her fourth husband, Robert Brandt; the two 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.