In 1962, Leigh and Curtis divorced, and she married Robert Brandt. She then starred in the political thrillerThe Manchurian Candidate (1962), the musicalBye Bye Birdie (1963), and the thrillerHarper (1966) before scaling back her career. She made herBroadway debut in a production ofMurder Among Friends (1975) and appeared in the horror filmNight of the Lepus (1972) and the thrillerBoardwalk (1979). She later starred with her daughter,Jamie Lee Curtis, in the horror filmsThe Fog (1980) andHalloween H20: 20 Years Later (1998).
Outside of acting, Leigh co-foundedCurtleigh Productions with Curtis, who produced a handful of successful films between 1955 and 1962. She wrotefour books between 1984 and 2002, two of which were novels. On October 3, 2004, she died at the age of 77 ofvasculitis.
Jeanette Helen Morrison was born on July 6, 1927, inMerced, California, the child of Helen Lita (née Westergaard) and Frederick Robert Morrison.[1] Her maternal grandparents were immigrants from Denmark,[2] and her father had Scots-Irish and German ancestry.[3] Shortly after Leigh's birth, the family relocated toStockton where she spent her early life.[4] She was brought up in poverty as her father struggled to support the family with his factory employment, and he took various additional jobs after theGreat Depression.[5]
Leigh was raisedPresbyterian and sang in the local church choir throughout her childhood.[6] In 1941 when her paternal grandfather became terminally ill, the family relocated to Merced, moving into her grandparents' home.[7] She attended Weber Grammar School in Stockton[8] and laterStockton High School.[9] Leigh excelled in academics and graduated from high school at age sixteen.[9]
Leigh pictured at age eighteen,c. 1945; actressNorma Shearer helped facilitate her contract with MGM based on this photo.
In February 1946, actressNorma Shearer was vacationing atSugar Bowl, a ski resort in theSierra Nevada mountains where Leigh's parents were working at the time.[14][15] In the resort lobby, Shearer noticed a photograph of Leigh taken by her father over the Christmas holiday, which he had printed and placed in a photo album available for guests to browse.[9]
Upon returning to Los Angeles, Shearer showedMetro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) talent agentLew Wasserman the photograph of the then 18-year-old Leigh (Shearer's late husbandIrving Thalberg had been head of production at MGM). She would later recall that "that smile made it the most fascinating face I had seen in years. I felt I had to show that face to somebody at the studio."[16] Through her association with MGM, Shearer was able to facilitate screen tests for Leigh withSelena Royle,[17] after which Wasserman negotiated a contract for her, despite her having no acting experience.[18] Leigh dropped out of college that year and was soon placed under the tutelage of drama coach Lillian Burns.[19]
Prior to beginning her film career, Leigh was a guest star on the radiodrama anthologyThe Cresta Blanca Hollywood Players. Her initial appearance on radio[20] at age 19[21] was for the program's production "All Through the House," aChristmas special that aired on December 24, 1946.[22] She made her film debut in the big-budget Civil War filmThe Romance of Rosy Ridge (1947) as the romantic interest of box-office starVan Johnson's character. She got the role when performingPhyllis Thaxter's long speech inThirty Seconds Over Tokyo for the head of the studio talent department.[19] During the film shoot, Leigh's name was first changed to "Jeanette Reames", then to "Janet Leigh", and finally back to her birth name "Jeanette Morrison", as the studio felt "Janet Leigh" might cause confusion with actressVivien Leigh.[23] However, Johnson did not like the name and it was ultimately changed back to "Janet Leigh" (pronounced "Lee").[23]
Immediately after the release ofThe Romance of Rosy Ridge, Leigh was cast withWalter Pidgeon,Deborah Kerr, andAngela Lansbury in the dramaIf Winter Comes (1947), playing a young pregnant woman in an English village.[24] By early 1948, Leigh was occupied with the shooting of theLassie filmHills of Home (1948), her third feature and the first in which she received star billing.[25] She played the young wife of composerRichard Rodgers in MGM's all-star musical,Words and Music (1948). In late 1948, she was hailed the "No. 1 glamour girl" of Hollywood, even though she was known for her polite, generous, and down-to-earth persona.[26]
Leigh began 1953 with a role opposite James Stewart in the WesternThe Naked Spur.[38] The latter, though a low-budget feature, was one of the top-grossing films of the year and was noted by several critics for its psychological components.[35] Less well received was the comedyConfidentially Connie (1953), in which Leigh starred oppositeVan Johnson as a pregnant housewife who helps trigger aprice war at a local butcher shop.[35] Paramount borrowed Leigh andTony Curtis for the biographical featureHoudini (1953) – the couple's first film together – with the two appearing asBess andHarry Houdini, respectively.[39] The couple also appeared as guests onMartin and Lewis'Colgate Comedy Hour before Leigh was loaned to Universal to appear in the musicalWalking My Baby Back Home (1953).[40]
Leigh was cast asRobert Wagner's love interest in the Fox-produced adventure filmPrince Valiant (1954), a Viking-themed feature based onHal Foster'scomic of the same name.[41] Also in 1954, Leigh had a supporting role in theDean Martin and Jerry Lewis comedyLiving It Up (1954) for Paramount,[42] followed by Universal's swashbuckler filmThe Black Shield of Falworth (1954), in which she performed opposite Curtis for a second time.[43] Leigh also starred oppositeRobert Taylor in MGM's film noirRogue Cop (1954), portraying afemme fatale lounge singer.[44]Variety deemed her performance in the film "satisfactory" but faulted the screenplay for being illogical.[44] Following that film, Leigh ended her contract with MGM after eight years.[45] In April 1954 Leigh signed a four-picture contract with Universal, where her now husband Tony was based.[45] She also signed a contract with Columbia to make one film a year for five years.[46] Leigh appeared inPete Kelly's Blues (1954) withJack Webb (who also directed).
Leigh starred in her first feature under the deal with Columbia: the title role in the musical comedyMy Sister Eileen (1955), co-starringJack Lemmon,Betty Garrett, andDick York, and based on a series ofNew Yorker stories about two sisters living in New York City.[47] In early 1955, Leigh and Curtis formed their own independent film production company,Curtleigh Productions.[48][49] Columbia cast Leigh inSafari (1956), oppositeVictor Mature and shot in Kenya forWarwick Pictures.[50] The same year, Leigh and Curtis gave birth to their first child, daughterKelly.[51] She subsequently made her television debut in an episode ofSchlitz Playhouse, "Carriage from Britain". In 1957, the filmJet Pilot, which Leigh had filmed in 1949, was finally released.[52] Also in 1957,Josef von Sternberg's adventure-drama filmJet Pilot was released; Leigh was cast as the female lead oppositeJohn Wayne in 1948, and producerHoward Hughes' constant re-editing would cause the film to be delayed almost eight years before being released.[52]
Janet Leigh and Charlton Heston inTouch of Evil (1958)
In 1958, Leigh starred as Susan Vargas in theOrson Wellesfilm noir classicTouch of Evil (1958), made at Universal withCharlton Heston – a film with numerous similarities toAlfred Hitchcock'sPsycho, which was produced two years later. In it, she plays a newlywed tormented in a Mexican border town.[53] Leigh would later describe shooting the film as a "great experience" but added: "Universal just couldn't understand it, so they recut it. Gone was the undisciplined but brilliant film Orson had made."[14] Next, Leigh co-starred in her fourth film with Curtis,The Vikings (1958), produced by and co-starringKirk Douglas and released in June 1958.[54] Distributed byUnited Artists, the film had one of the most expensive marketing campaigns of the 1950s.[55] It was ultimately ablockbuster, grossing over $13 million internationally.[55] Leigh's next film,The Perfect Furlough, was released in early 1959, in which she again co-starred with Curtis, playing a psychiatrist lieutenant inParis.[56] Leigh and Curtis next co-starred in the Columbia Pictures farceWho Was That Lady? (released in early 1960), in which Leigh portrayed a wife who catches her professor husband (Curtis) cheating on her, triggering a series of mishaps.[57]
In 1960, Leigh played her most iconic role as the morally conflicted murder victimMarion Crane inAlfred Hitchcock'sPsycho, co-starring withJohn Gavin,Vera Miles, andAnthony Perkins, and released by Universal.[58] Leigh was reportedly so traumatized from watching hercharacter's shower murder scene that she went to great lengths to avoid showers for the rest of her life.[59] Released in June 1960,Psycho was a major critical and commercial success.[60] For her performance, Leigh received aGolden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress and was nominated for theAcademy Award for Best Supporting Actress.[61] Leigh's role inPsycho became career-defining[62] and she later commented: "I've been in a great many films, but I suppose if an actor can be remembered for one role, then they're very fortunate. And in that sense I'm fortunate."[59] 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,[63] while her murder scene itself is considered among both critics and film scholars to be one of the most iconic scenes in cinematic history.[64][65]
Leigh and Curtis both had cameos in Columbia's all-starPepe (1960), marking their last film together. Next, Leigh appeared in the musical comedyBye Bye Birdie (1963), based on the hit Broadway show.[66] She was also in the comedyWives and Lovers (1963) for director Hal Wallis at Paramount.[67] Leigh then took a three-year break from her acting career and turned down several roles, including the role of Simone Clouseau inThe Pink Panther, because she did not want to go on location and be separated from her young daughters.[68]
Her many other guest appearances on television series includeThe Man from U.N.C.L.E. in a two-part episode, "The Concrete Overcoat Affair", in which she played a sadistic Thrush agent named Miss Dyketon, a highly provocative role for mainstream television at the time. The two-part episode was released in Europe as a feature film entitledThe Spy in the Green Hat (1967).[73] She also appeared in the title role inThe Virginian episode "Jenny" (1970). In 1973, she appeared in the episode "Beginner's Luck" of the romantic anthology seriesLove Story.
Leigh made her stage debut oppositeJack Cassidy in the originalBroadway production ofMurder Among Friends, which opened at theBiltmore Theatre on December 28, 1975.[74] The play ran for seventeen performances, closing on January 10, 1976.[74] The play received varied reviews, with some critics who attended preview performances disliking the show.[75] In 1979, Leigh appeared in a supporting role inBoardwalk, oppositeRuth Gordon andLee Strasberg, and received critical praise, withVincent Canby ofThe New York Times lauding it as her "best role in years".[76]
In addition to her work as an actress, Leigh also authored four books. Her first, the memoirThere Really Was a Hollywood (1984), became aNew York Times bestseller. In 1995, Leigh published the non-fiction bookPsycho: Behind the Scenes of the Classic Thriller. In 1996, she published her first novel,House of Destiny, which explored the lives of two friends who forged an empire that would change the course of Hollywood's history. The book's success spawned a follow-up novel,The Dream Factory (2002), which was set in Hollywood during the height of the studio system.
When she was still in high school, Leigh married 18-year-old John Kenneth Carlisle inReno, Nevada, on August 1, 1942.[a] The marriage was annulled five months later on December 28, 1942.[79]
Leigh met Stanley Reames, aU.S. Navy sailor who was enrolled at a nearbyV-12 Program.[9] They married on October 6, 1945, when she was 18. Their marriage was short lived, and they divorced less than three years later.[80][81]
On June 4, 1951, Leigh married actorTony Curtis in a private ceremony inGreenwich, Connecticut.[82] Their romance and marriage were frequent topics in gossip columns and film tabloids.[83] From 1951 to 1954 Leigh and Curtis appeared in numerous home movies directed by their friendJerry Lewis. Leigh credited the experimental and informal nature of these films for allowing her to stretch her acting ability and attempt different roles.[84] On June 17, 1956, Leigh gave birth to her first daughter,Kelly Lee Curtis. On November 22, 1958, Leigh gave birth to her second daughter with Curtis,Jamie Lee Curtis.[85]
In 1962, while Leigh was filming the thrillerThe Manchurian Candidate, Curtis filed for divorce.[86][87] The divorce was finalized inCiudad Juárez, Mexico, on September 14, 1962; the following day, Leigh married stockbroker Robert Brandt (1927–2009) in a private ceremony inLas Vegas, Nevada.[88][89] Leigh would later comment that their divorce was the result of "outside problems", which included the death of Curtis's father.[90]
Leigh died at her home in Beverly Hills on October 3, 2004, at age 77 after a protracted battle withvasculitis.[95] Her death surprised many, as she had not disclosed her illness to the public. She was survived by her daughters Kelly and Jamie and her husband of 42 years, Robert Brandt.[14]
In December 2005, a ski trail at Sun Valley Resort'sBald Mountain skiing area inSun Valley, Idaho was named after Leigh. She kept a second home there for more than 30 years.[99]
On October 13, 2006, Jamie Lee Curtis and Kelly Curtis unveiled a bronze plaque of their mother to honor her early life in Stockton. The memorial is located in the downtown Stockton plaza adjacent to the City Center Cinemas, since renamed "Janet Leigh Plaza".[100]
Leigh was honored posthumously byUniversity of the Pacific with the naming of the "Janet Leigh Theatre" on the Stockton campus on June 25, 2010.[101] The plaque at the theatre reads:
Pacific's Janet Leigh Theatre - Made possible by a generous gift from the Robert Brandt and Janet Leigh Brandt Estate. The Janet Leigh Theatre was created to bind the experiences and friendships that Janet Leigh valued while a student at Pacific. This memorial is a tribute to her life and career in the Stockton region as well as her magnificent contributions to the Hollywood film industry as an actress, wife, mother and humanitarian. Dedicated Friday, June 25, 2010.
^For dramatic reasons, an article "Janet Leigh's Own Story—″I Was a Child Bride at 14!″", in the December 1960 issue ofMotion Picture Magazine, wrongly stated the marriage occurred in 1941, while she was only fourteen years old.[79]
^Indicates the year of ceremony. Each year is linked to the article about the awards held that year, wherever possible.
^abPryor, Thomas M. (April 17, 1954). "Janet Leigh Signs Contract at U.–I: Actress, Leaving M-G-M After 8 Years, to Make 4 Films – Also Seeks Columbia Pact".The New York Times. p. 7.
^Schallert, Edwin (April 19, 1954). "Warners to Launch Huge Cinerama Film; Ireland, Leigh, Falkenburg Sign".Los Angeles Times. p. A13.
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