Leigh, Janet

Jeanette Helen Morrison was born in Merced, California on July 6, 1927 and died Janet Leigh Brandt in Los Angeles on October 3, 2004. She started at the College of the Pacific in September of 1943 and studied music and psychology (music therapy), joined Alpha Theta Tau, and was involved in student government. She married a fellow student, Stanley Reames, in the fall of 1945. The Reameses left Pacific in the spring semester of 1946 and moved to Los Angeles - the same year that actress Norma Shearer discovered Jeanette. She soon signed a contract with MGM, changed her name to Janet Leigh, and debuted in The Romance of Rosy Ridge. She later married Tony Curtis (1951-1962) and Robert Brandt (1962-2004). Leigh is most famous for the shower scene in Alfred Hitchcock's Psycho. She was nominated for an Academy Award for best supporting actress and won the Golden Globe Award for best supporting actress in 1960. She also appeared in dozens of other films including Touch of Evil, Manchurian Candidate, and Bye Bye Birdie. Her daughter, Jamie Lee Curtis, attended the University of the Pacific briefly (fall semester 1976 and winter session 1977) before her film career took off. Throughout the years Leigh focused her energy on helping numerous charitable causes, including SHARE, Inc. (women who raise funds for the "developmentally disabled, abused and neglected children as well as medical research for all forms of developmental disabilities") and the Motion Picture and Television Fund (assists those in the industry with limited means). Leigh received an honorary degree from the University of the Pacific in May of 2004.

From the description of Janet Leigh Collection, 1947 - 2004. (University of the Pacific). WorldCat record id: 505869675

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