JANET LEIGH
by Shirley A. Ramaley
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.”
