Acting
Janet Leigh
Janet Leigh (born Jeanette Helen Morrison; July 6, 1927 – October 3, 2004) was an American actress, singer, dancer, and author. Her career spanned over five decades. Raised in Stockton, California, by working-class parents, Leigh was discovered at 18 by actress Norma Shearer, who helped her secure a contract with Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. Leigh appeared in radio programs before her first formal foray into acting, making her film debut in the drama The Romance of Rosy Ridge (1947). With MGM, she appeared in many films which spanned a wide variety of genres, which include the crime-drama Act of Violence (1948), the drama Little Women (1949), the comedy Angels in the Outfield (1951), the romance Scaramouche (1952) and the western drama The Naked Spur (1953). She played dramatic roles during the late 1950s, in such films as Safari (1956) and Orson Welles's film noir Touch of Evil (1958). With RKO Radio pictures she co-starred in the romantic comedy Holiday Affair (1949) with Robert Mitchum. Leigh achieved her biggest success starring as Marion Crane in Alfred Hitchcock's psychological thriller Psycho (1960). For her performance, Leigh won the Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress and earned a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress. Intermittently, she continued to appear in films, including Bye Bye Birdie (1963), Harper (1966), Night of the Lepus (1972), and Boardwalk (1979). She made her Broadway debut in 1975 in a production of Murder Among Friends. She would also go on to appear in two horror films with her daughter, Jamie Lee Curtis: The Fog (1980) and Halloween H20: 20 Years Later (1998). In addition to her work as an actress, Leigh also wrote four books between 1984 and 2002, two of which were novels. Leigh had two brief marriages as a teenager (one of which was annulled) before marrying actor Tony Curtis in 1951. The pair's highly publicized union ended in divorce in 1962, and after starring in The Manchurian Candidate that same year, Leigh remarried and scaled back her career. She died in October 2004 at age 77, following a year-long battle with vasculitis, an inflammation of the blood vessels.
Filmography
100 Years of the Idiot: A Jerry Lewis Centenary
Film · 2026
Jaws @ 50: The Definitive Inside Story
Film · 2025
Pictures of Ghosts
Film · 2023
Rat Pack
Film · 2022
Jamie Lee Curtis: Hollywood Call of Freedom
Film · 2022
I Am Alfred Hitchcock
Film · 2021
Emergency: Donald Trump’s "Touch of Evil"
Film · 2019
Hollywood: No Sex, Please!
Film · 2018
The Fabulous Allan Carr
Film · 2017
Fascination: Unauthorized Story of Marilyn Monroe
Film · 2012
The Making of 'Psycho'
Film · 2005
Bad Girls from Valley High
Film · 2005
Tales from the Mist: Inside 'The Fog'
Film · 2002
The American Nightmare
Film · 2000
Mary Pickford: A Life on Film
Film · 2000
Cubby Broccoli: The Man Behind Bond
Film · 2000
Howard Hughes: His Women and His Movies
Film · 2000
Anthony Perkins: A Life in the Shadows
Film · 1999
Rat Pack: A Conference of Cool
Film · 1999
Hitchcock: Shadow of a Genius
Film · 1999
Saturday Night Live: 25th Anniversary Special
Film · 1999
Family Law
Series · 1999
Halloween H20: 20 Years Later
Film · 1998
In My Sister's Shadow
Film · 1997
Scene by Scene
Series · 1997
Jerry Lewis: The Last American Clown
Film · 1996
E! True Hollywood Story
Series · 1996
Charlton Heston: For All Seasons
Film · 1995
Inside the Dream Factory
Film · 1995
Secret Lives
Series · 1995
The Story of Lassie
Film · 1994
Hitchcock: Alfred the Great
Film · 1994
Touched by an Angel
Series · 1994
The Egg
Film · 1993
Intimate Portrait
Series · 1993
Intimate Portrait
Series · 1993
Happy 100th Birthday, Hollywood
Film · 1987
The Fantasy Film Worlds of George Pal
Film · 1986
Psycho III
Film · 1986
The Making Of Psycho III
Film · 1986
Night of 100 Stars II
Film · 1985
The Twilight Zone
Series · 1985
Murder, She Wrote
Series · 1984
Hollywood Out-takes and Rare Footage
Film · 1983
Psycho II
Film · 1983
Night of 100 Stars
Film · 1982
Matt Houston
Series · 1982
The Fog
Film · 1980
The Horror Show
Film · 1979
Mirror, Mirror
Film · 1979
Boardwalk
Film · 1979
Tales of the Unexpected
Series · 1979
Telethon
Film · 1977
Murder at the World Series
Film · 1977
The Love Boat
Series · 1977
Murdock's Gang
Film · 1973
The American Film Institute Salute to ...
Series · 1973
Night of the Lepus
Film · 1972
One Is a Lonely Number
Film · 1972
Hollywood: The Dream Factory
Film · 1972
Ghost Story
Series · 1972
The Deadly Dream
Film · 1971
Columbo
Series · 1971
House on Greenapple Road
Film · 1970
Hello Down There
Film · 1969
Honeymoon with a Stranger
Film · 1969
The Monk
Film · 1969
Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In
Series · 1968
Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In
Series · 1968
Grand Slam
Film · 1967
The Spy in the Green Hat
Film · 1967
Harper
Film · 1966
Three on a Couch
Film · 1966
Kid Rodelo
Film · 1966
An American Dream
Film · 1966
Bob Hope Christmas Show
Film · 1965
The Hollywood Palace
Series · 1964
The Man from U.N.C.L.E.
Series · 1964
Bye Bye Birdie
Film · 1963
Wives and Lovers
Film · 1963
Bob Hope Presents the Chrysler Theatre
Series · 1963
The Manchurian Candidate
Film · 1962
The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson
Series · 1962
Psycho
Film · 1960
People, Hopes, Medals
Film · 1960
Pepe
Film · 1960
Who Was That Lady?
Film · 1960
Touch of Evil
Film · 1958
The Vikings
Film · 1958
The Perfect Furlough
Film · 1958
Jet Pilot
Film · 1957
Safari
Film · 1956
Nightmare
Film · 1956
The Rosemary Clooney Show
Series · 1956
Pete Kelly's Blues
Film · 1955
My Sister Eileen
Film · 1955
Rogue Cop
Film · 1954
The Black Shield of Falworth
Film · 1954
Prince Valiant
Film · 1954
Living It Up
Film · 1954
A Star Is Born World Premiere
Film · 1954
Miss Glucksman Visits Hollywood
Film · 1954
The Naked Spur
Film · 1953
Houdini
Film · 1953
Walking My Baby Back Home
Film · 1953
Confidentially Connie
Film · 1953
The Oscars
Series · 1953
Scaramouche
Film · 1952
Fearless Fagan
Film · 1952
Just This Once
Film · 1952
Come Back Little Shiksa
Film · 1952
An Eye for an Eye
Film · 1952
This Is Your Life
Series · 1952
Angels in the Outfield
Film · 1951
It's a Big Country
Film · 1951
Two Tickets to Broadway
Film · 1951
Strictly Dishonorable
Film · 1951
Fairfax Avenue
Film · 1951
The Re-Inforcer
Film · 1951
A Spot In The Shade
Film · 1951
Nightmare
Film · 1951
Watch On The Lime
Film · 1951
Schlitz Playhouse of Stars
Series · 1951
The Colgate Comedy Hour
Series · 1950
What's My Line?
Series · 1950
The Bob Hope Show
Series · 1950
Holiday Affair
Film · 1949
Act of Violence
Film · 1949
The Red Danube
Film · 1949
That Forsyte Woman
Film · 1949
Little Women
Film · 1949
The Doctor and the Girl
Film · 1949
How to Smuggle a Hernia Across the Border
Film · 1949
Hills of Home
Film · 1948
Words and Music
Film · 1948
The Ed Sullivan Show
Series · 1948
If Winter Comes
Film · 1947
The Romance of Rosy Ridge
Film · 1947
Golden Globe Awards
Series · 1944