Janet Leigh
by: Admin
Total views: 1029
Word Count: 247
Date
of Birth: July 6, 1927
Date
of Death: October 3, 2004
Cause
of Death: Cardiopulmonary
Arrest
Jeanette
Helen Morrison, better known as Janet Leigh was an American actress. Leigh was
born in Merced, California, and was the only child of Frederick Morrison and
Helen Lita Westergard. Leigh was discovered by actress Norma Shearer, whose
late husband Irving Thalberg was a senior executive at the Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer.
Shearer showed agent Lew Wasserman the photograph that she had seen of Leigh
while vacationing at the ski resort where Leigh’s parents worked. After
Wasserman secured a contract with MGM, Leigh left College of the Pacific where
she was studying music and psychology. Leigh best-known role was the secretary,
Marion Crane in Alfred Hitchcock’s 1960 film ‘Psycho’. Years later Leigh wrote
a book about the making of that film. Her performance earned a Golden Globe and
an Oscar nomination. In 1975 she played almost herself as a retired Hollywood
star in ‘Colombo: Forgotten Lady’. Leigh also appeared in two horror films with
her daughter, Jamie Lee Curtis, in 1980's ‘The Fog’ and in 1998's ‘Halloween
H2O: 20 Years Later’. These were her two last films. Leigh died at home after
suffering cardiopulmonary arrest due to a enlarged weak heart at the age of 77.
She also suffered from vasculitis and peripheral neuropathy, which caused her
right hand to become gangrenous. She was cremated, and her ashes was given to
her family.
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