Janet Leigh was an American actress of film, television, stage, and radio, whose career spanned over five decades. Discovered by actress Norma Shearer, Leigh began her career appearing in several popular films for MGM which spanned a wide variety of genres, including Act of Violence (1948), Little Women (1949), Angels in the Outfield (1951), Scaramouche (1952), The Naked Spur (1953), and Living It Up (1954).
In the latter part of the 1950s, Leigh had supporting roles in Safari (1956), and Orson Welles's film noir Touch of Evil (1958). She went on to gain lasting recognition for her portrayal of the doomed Marion Crane in Alfred Hitchcock's horror film Psycho (1960), which earned her a Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress and an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actress. [1]
In 1962, she starred in the thriller The Manchurian Candidate , before deciding to scale back her career. Leigh continued to appear in films intermittently throughout the 1960s, with roles in Bye Bye Birdie (1963) and Harper (1966). She began to appear in television frequently in the 1970s, and had roles in such films as Night of the Lepus (1972) and Boardwalk (1979). In 1975, she made her Broadway debut in a production of Murder Among Friends. Leigh subsequently starred in two horror films with her daughter, Jamie Lee Curtis: John Carpenter's The Fog (1980) and Halloween H20: 20 Years Later (1998).
Her last film role was in the comedy Bad Girls from Valley High , filmed in 2000 and released posthumously. Leigh died in 2004 of vasculitis, aged 77.
Year | Title | Role | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
1954–1961 | What's My Line? | Mystery Guest | 4 episodes |
1957 | Schlitz Playhouse of Stars | Mother | Episode: "Carriage from Britain" |
1961 | I've Got a Secret | Herself | Episode dated December 11, 1961 |
1964 | Bob Hope Presents the Chrysler Theatre | Carol Hartley | Episode: "Murder in the First" |
1965 | The Bob Hope Special | Herself | Television special |
1966 | Bob Hope Presents the Chrysler Theatre | Virginia Ballard | Episode: "Dear Deductible" |
The Man from U.N.C.L.E. | Miss Diketon | Episodes: "The Concrete Overcoat Affair" (Parts 1 & 2) | |
The Red Skelton Show | Daisy June | Episode: "Jerk Be Nimble" | |
1967 | The Jerry Lewis Show | Miss Fagelter | Episode: #1.4 |
The Dean Martin Show | Herself | Episode: #3.4 | |
1968 | The Bob Hope Special | Herself | Television special |
The Danny Thomas Hour | Liza Merrick | Episode: "One for My Baby" | |
1969 | The Monk | Janice Barnes | Television film |
The Red Skelton Show | Clara Appleby | Episode: "It's Better to Have Loved and Lost - Much Better" | |
Honeymoon with a Stranger | Sandra Latham | Television film | |
1970 | House on Greenapple Road | Marian Ord | Television film |
The Virginian | Jenny Davis | Episode: "Jenny" | |
Bracken's World | Maggie Morgan | Episode: "The Anonymous Star" | |
1971 | The Name of the Game | Glory Bates | Episode: "The Man Who Killed a Ghost" |
My Wives Jane | Jane Franklin | Television pilot | |
The Deadly Dream | Laurel Hanley | Television film | |
1973 | Circle of Fear | Carol | Episode: "Death's Head" |
Murdock's Gang | Laura Talbot | Television film | |
Love Story | Leonie | Episode: "Beginner's Luck" | |
1975 | Movin' On | Nina Smith | Episode: "Weddin' Bells" |
Columbo | Grace Wheeler | Episode: "Forgotten Lady" | |
1977 | Murder at the World Series | Karen Weese | Television film |
Telethon | Elaine Cotten | Television film | |
1978 | The Love Boat | Gail | Episode: "Till Death Do Us Part-Maybe/Locked Away/Chubs" |
1979 | Fantasy Island | Carol Gates | Episode: "Birthday Party/Ghostbreaker" |
Mirror, Mirror | Millie Gorman | Television film | |
1982 | Tales of the Unexpected | Joan Stackpole | Episode: "Light Fingers" |
Matt Houston | Ramona Launders | Episode: "Who Would Kill Ramona?" | |
Fantasy Island | Suzanne King | Episode: "Roller Derby Dolls/Thanks a Million" | |
1985 | The Love Boat | Joan Philipps | Episode: "Instinct/Unmade for Each Other/BOS" |
On Our Way | Kate Walsh | Television film | |
1986 | Starman | Antonia Weyburn | Episode: "Society's Pet" |
1987 | Murder, She Wrote | Cornelia Montaigne Harper | Episode: "Doom with a View" |
1989 | The Twilight Zone | Barbara LeMay | Episode: "Rendezvous in a Dark Place" |
1997 | Touched by an Angel | Vera King | Episode: "Charades" |
1999 | In My Sister's Shadow | Kay Connor | Television film |
2001 | Family Law | Mary Sawyer | Episode: "The Quality of Mercy" |
Year | Title | Episode | Ref. |
---|---|---|---|
1952 | Lux Radio Theatre | Strictly Dishonorable | [52] |
Stars in the Air | Model Wife | [53] |
Title | Role | Opening date | Closing date | Venue | Notes | Ref. |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Murder Among Friends | Angela Forrester | December 28, 1975 | January 10, 1976 | Biltmore Theatre | Broadway debut |
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