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69-508: My Sister Eileen is a series of autobiographical short stories by Ruth McKenney , originally published in The New Yorker , which eventually inspired many other works: her 1938 book My Sister Eileen , a play, a musical, a radio play (and an unproduced radio series), two motion pictures, and a CBS television series in the 1960–1961 season . The stories center on two sisters from Ohio who are out to make successful careers while living in

138-466: A Christmas special that aired on December 24, 1946. She made her film debut in the big-budget Civil War film The Romance of Rosy Ridge (1947), as the romantic interest of box office star Van Johnson 's character. She got the role when performing Phyllis Thaxter 's long speech in Thirty Seconds Over Tokyo for the head of the studio talent department. During the shooting, Leigh's name

207-468: A basement apartment in the Greenwich Village section of New York City. Older, sensible Ruth aspires to be a writer, while Eileen dreams of success on the stage. A variety of oddball characters bring color and humor to their lives. The stories were adapted for the stage by Joseph Fields and Jerome Chodorov . The Broadway production, directed by George S. Kaufman , opened on December 26, 1940 at

276-586: A femme fatale lounge singer. Variety deemed her performance in the film "satisfactory," but faulted the screenplay for being illogical. Following that film, Leigh ended her contract with MGM after eight years. In April 1954 Leigh signed a 4-picture contract with Universal, where her husband was based. She also signed a contract with Columbia to make one film a year for five years. Leigh appeared in Pete Kelly's Blues (1954) with Jack Webb (who also directed), and subsequently starred in her first feature under

345-807: A play , a radio play (and unproduced radio series), two films , and a CBS television series . It was also the basis for the Leonard Bernstein musical Wonderful Town . Ruth Marguerite McKenney was born in Mishawaka, Indiana on November 18, 1911, to John Sidney McKenney, a mechanical engineer and Marguerite Flynn, a grade school teacher. Her younger sister, Eileen (born April 3, 1913), later married author Nathanael West . In 1919 her family moved to East Cleveland, Ohio , where she lived until adulthood. She attended East Cleveland Evangelical Church. She graduated from Shaw High School, where she skipped two grades. Among other subjects, she studied French. She

414-557: A Viking-themed feature based on Hal Foster 's comic of the same name . Also in 1954, Leigh had a supporting role in the Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis comedy Living It Up (1954) for Paramount, followed by Universal's swashbuckler film The Black Shield of Falworth (1954), in which she appeared opposite Curtis, marking their second feature together. Leigh also starred opposite Robert Taylor in MGM's film noir Rogue Cop (1954), portraying

483-691: A car accident in Southern California four days before the Broadway opening. Fields and Chodorov adapted their play for a 1942 film released by Columbia Pictures (their biggest hit of 1942/3). Alexander Hall directed a cast that includes Rosalind Russell as Ruth (in an Academy Award –nominated performance) and Janet Blair as Eileen, with Brian Aherne , George Tobias , Allyn Joslyn , Elizabeth Patterson , Grant Mitchell , Jeff Donnell , and Richard Quine in supporting roles. On May 18, 1946 Rosalind Russell and Janet Blair reprised their roles in

552-457: A contract for her, despite her having no acting experience. Leigh dropped out of college that year, and was soon placed under the tutelage of drama coach Lillian Burns. Prior to beginning her film career, Leigh was a guest star on the radio dramatic anthology The Cresta Blanca Hollywood Players . Her initial appearance on radio at age 19 was in the program's production "All Through the House,"

621-466: A half-hour radio adaptation of the 1942 film for the CBS Radio anthology series Academy Award Theater . During the closing credits show announcer Hugh Brundage stated that a radio series based on the two main characters was being prepared by writer Arthur Kurlan. He added that it would star Lucille Ball and it would premiere in the fall. However CBS ultimately turned down the proposed series after only

690-601: A nomination for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress . Her most enduring role, Leigh was established as one of the earliest scream queens and received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame that same year. After marrying Robert Brandt in 1962, Leigh starred in the political thriller film The Manchurian Candidate (1962), the musical film Bye Bye Birdie (1963), and the thriller film Harper (1966) before scaling back her career. She made her Broadway debut in

759-513: A number of times for stage, film and television. In 1940, Joseph A. Fields and Jerome Chodorov first adapted My Sister Eileen for Broadway , focusing mostly on the last two chapters of the book detailing Ruth and Eileen's young adult experiences in New York City. (The book mostly concerns their childhood in East Cleveland.) The play opened on December 26, 1940 (four days after the death of

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828-504: A play by Preston Sturges . The film received mild critical acclaim. Leigh then appeared in the baseball-themed fantasy farce Angels in the Outfield (1951), which was a significant commercial success. The same year, RKO borrowed Leigh to appear in the musical Two Tickets to Broadway (1951), which was a box-office success. She was one of many stars in the anthology film It's a Big Country: An American Anthology (1952) and appeared in

897-553: A production of Murder Among Friends (1975), and appeared in the horror film Night of the Lepus (1972) and the thriller film Boardwalk (1979). She later starred with her daughter, Jamie Lee Curtis , in the horror films The Fog (1980) and Halloween H20: 20 Years Later (1998). Leigh amassed several screen and stage credits in a career spanning five decades. In addition to her work as an actress, she wrote four books between 1984 and 2002, two of which were novels. She died at

966-527: A role opposite James Stewart in the Western The Naked Spur (1953). The latter, though a low-budget feature, was one of the top-grossing films of the year, and noted by several critics for its psychological components. Less well received was the comedy Confidentially Connie (1953), in which Leigh starred opposite Van Johnson as a pregnant housewife who helps trigger a price war at a local butcher shop. Paramount borrowed Leigh and Curtis for

1035-405: A romantic comedy with Peter Lawford , Just This Once (1952). Leigh had a significant commercial success with the swashbuckler-themed Scaramouche (1952), in which she starred as Aline de Gavrillac opposite Stewart Granger and Eleanor Parker . Next, she received top-billing in the critically acclaimed comedy Fearless Fagan (1952), about a clown drafted into the military, followed by

1104-416: A sample audition record was made. In 1947 CBS began airing a new radio series, My Friend Irma , which contained the same basic premise and characterizations. In response, Arthur Kurlan sued CBS on behalf of himself and Ruth McKenney, ultimately winning compensation from CBS. Wonderful Town , with lyrics by Betty Comden and Adolph Green , music by Leonard Bernstein , and book by Fields and Chodorov,

1173-585: A script titled "Maggie," which was based on her girlhood stories as collected in My Sister Eileen and The McKenneys Carry On . The final script was written by F. Hugh Herbert , produced by 20th Century-Fox, and released as Margie in 1946. The film was later adapted for television in the early 1960s. In 1955 a second musical film based on McKenney's childhood stories was written and directed by Richard Quine and starred Betty Garrett , Janet Leigh , and Jack Lemmon , featuring all original songs (none of

1242-665: A second home there for more than 30 years. In 2003, she received the Ted M. Larson Award at the Fargo Film Festival for his contribution to cinema. Leigh was awarded an honorary Doctor of Fine Arts degree at the University of the Pacific in Stockton, California , on May 14, 2004, where she had attended college. At the time, Leigh's health was compromised by vasculitis , and she delivered

1311-544: A series of mishaps. Also in 1960, Leigh was cast in her most iconic role, as the morally conflicted murder victim Marion Crane in Alfred Hitchcock 's Psycho , co-starring with John Gavin and Anthony Perkins , and released by Universal. Leigh was reportedly so traumatized by watching her character's shower murder scene that she went to great lengths to avoid showers for the rest of her life. Released in June 1960, Psycho

1380-654: A small business writing homework papers for football players, wrestlers, and other students. She also wrote for the student newspaper, the Ohio State Lantern ; and was the campus correspondent for the Columbus Dispatch . While in college, McKenney worked part-time for the Columbus Citizen . She also contributed to the International News Service. Following this, she became a full-time reporter for

1449-530: A speech at the ceremony from a wheelchair. 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". Leigh was honored posthumously by University of the Pacific with the naming of the "Janet Leigh Theatre" on

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1518-461: A university student, Leigh met Stanley Reames, a U.S. Navy sailor who was enrolled at a nearby V-12 Program . Leigh and Reames married on October 6, 1945, when she was eighteen; their marriage, however, was also short-lived, and they divorced less than three years later. On June 4, 1951, Leigh married actor Tony Curtis in a private ceremony in Greenwich, Connecticut . Their romance and marriage

1587-530: A variety of publications, including Harper's , The New Yorker , the New York Post , Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine , Collier's , Argosy , Woman's Journal , Encore , The Saturday Evening Post , Holiday and New Masses . She also wrote screenplays with her husband, including Margie and The Trouble with Women . Janet Leigh Jeanette Helen Morrison (July 6, 1927 – October 3, 2004), known professionally as Janet Leigh ,

1656-438: Is a musical stage adaptation of the 1940 play, which was in turn based on McKenney's stories. Rosalind Russell reprised the part of Ruth for the Broadway production and appeared in a CBS broadcast of the musical on November 30, 1958. It was revived on Broadway, starring Donna Murphy, in 2004. In 1955, Columbia made a film as a musical comedy with a score by Jule Styne and Leo Robin . Richard Quine and Blake Edwards wrote

1725-519: The Akron Beacon Journal . In 1934, McKenney moved to New Jersey, where she joined the staff of the Newark Ledger . From there, she and Eileen moved to New York City, specifically a moldy, one-room basement apartment near Sheridan Square at 14 Gay Street in Greenwich Village , for which she paid $ 45 a month (equivalent to $ 970 in 2023) The apartment was burgled within the first week of

1794-463: The Columbo episode Forgotten Lady . The episode utilizes footage of Leigh from the film Walking My Baby Back Home (1953). Her many guest appearances on television series include The Man from U.N.C.L.E. 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

1863-576: The Murder, She Wrote episode "Doom with a View" (1987), as Barbara LeMay in an episode of The Twilight Zone ("Rendezvous in a dark place", 1989) and the Touched by an Angel episode "Charade" (1997). She guest-starred twice as different characters on both Fantasy Island and The Love Boat , as well as Tales of the Unexpected . Leigh continued to grant interviews and appear at red carpet events through

1932-529: The 1960 U.S. presidential election and Lyndon B. Johnson in the 1964 presidential election . She also served on the board of directors of the Motion Picture and Television Foundation, a medical-services provider for actors. Leigh died at her home in Beverly Hills on October 3, 2004, at age 77 after a protracted battle with vasculitis . Her death surprised many, as she had not disclosed her illness to

2001-465: The Biltmore Theatre and moved three times before finally completing its run of 864 performances on January 16, 1943. The opening night cast included Shirley Booth as Ruth and Jo Ann Sayers as Eileen, with Richard Quine and Morris Carnovsky in supporting roles. Eileen McKenney, the inspiration for the title character, and her husband, novelist and screenwriter Nathanael West , were killed in

2070-580: The Biltmore Theatre on December 28, 1975. The play ran for seventeen performances, closing on January 10, 1976. The play received varied reviews, with some critics who attended preview performances disliking the show. In 1979, Leigh appeared in a supporting role in Boardwalk opposite Ruth Gordon and Lee Strasberg , and received critical praise, with Vincent Canby of The New York Times lauding it as her "best role in years". In addition to her work as an actress, Leigh also authored four books. Her first,

2139-601: The College of the Pacific (now University of the Pacific ) in September 1943, where she majored in music and psychology . While in college, she joined the Alpha Theta Tau sorority, and also sang with the college's a cappella choir. In order to help support her family, she spent Christmas and summer vacations working at retail shops and dime stores , as well as working at the college's information desk during her studies. While

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2208-459: The United States during the 1960–1961 season as the situation comedy My Sister Eileen . The series premiered on October 5, 1960. It was canceled after one season, and last aired on April 12, 1961. Ruth McKenney Originally published as a series of short stories in The New Yorker , My Sister Eileen was published in book form in 1938, and later adapted under the same name into

2277-629: The University of Southern California in early 1947. In February 1946, actress Norma Shearer was vacationing at Sugar Bowl , a ski resort in the Sierra Nevada mountains where Leigh's parents were working at the time. 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. Upon returning to Los Angeles, Shearer showed Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) talent agent Lew Wasserman

2346-548: The Wonderful Town music was used). In 1960–61, My Sister Eileen was adapted as a television series that ran for 26 episodes. In 1956, John Boruff adapted McKenney's novel The Loud Red Patrick for Broadway. It ran for 93 performances from October 3 to December 22 and soon became a favorite of regional theaters. In 1937, McKenney married fellow writer Richard Bransten (pen name Bruce Minton ). McKenney and Bransten were both one-time Communists , although they were purged from

2415-414: The "No. 1 glamour girl" of Hollywood, although known for her polite, generous and down-to-earth persona. Leigh appeared in a number of films in 1949, including the thriller, Act of Violence (1949), with Van Heflin and Robert Ryan , directed by Fred Zinnemann . Though a financial failure, it was well received by critics. She also had a significant hit with MGM's version of Little Women , based on

2484-579: The 1950s. It was ultimately a blockbuster , grossing over $ 13 million internationally. Leigh's next film, The Perfect Furlough , was released in early 1959, in which she again co-starred with Curtis, playing a psychiatrist lieutenant in Paris . Leigh and Curtis next co-starred in the Columbia Pictures farce Who Was That Lady? (released in early 1960), in which Leigh portrayed a wife who catches her professor husband (Curtis) cheating on her, triggering

2553-635: The Chrysler Theatre and The Red Skelton Hour . She also starred in several made-for-TV films, most notably the off-length (135 minutes instead of the usual 100) The House on Greenapple Road , which premiered on ABC in January 1970 to high ratings. In 1972, Leigh starred in the science fiction film Night of the Lepus with Stuart Whitman , as well as the drama One Is a Lonely Number with Trish Van Devere . In 1975, she played an ex-Hollywood song and dance star opposite Peter Falk and John Payne in

2622-669: The Eileen of the title), and ran until January 16, 1943. A film adaptation was made in 1942, directed by Alexander Hall and starring Rosalind Russell as Ruth. Fields and Chodorov later adapted their play My Sister Eileen as the musical Wonderful Town , with lyrics by Betty Comden and Adolph Green and music by Leonard Bernstein , and starring Rosalind Russell and Edie Adams . It opened on Broadway on February 25, 1953, and ran for 559 performances until July 3, 1954. Since then it has been periodically revived both on and off Broadway. In 1945, McKenney and her husband Richard Bransten wrote

2691-554: The RKO-produced Holiday Affair (1949). That December, she started work on Josef von Sternberg 's adventure-drama film Jet Pilot , in which she starred as the female lead opposite John Wayne . Producer Howard Hughes ' constant re-editing would cause the film to be delayed almost eight years before being released. At MGM she appeared in Strictly Dishonorable (1951), a comedy with Ezio Pinza , based on

2760-503: The Stockton campus on June 25, 2010. The plaque at the theatre reads as follows: 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

2829-474: The age of 77 after a year-long battle with vasculitis . Jeanette Helen Morrison was born on July 6, 1927, in Merced, California , the only child of Helen Lita (née Westergaard) and Frederick Robert Morrison. Her maternal grandparents were immigrants from Denmark, and her father had Scots-Irish and German ancestry. Shortly after Leigh's birth, the family relocated to Stockton , where she spent her early life. She

My Sister Eileen - Misplaced Pages Continue

2898-495: The biographical feature Houdini (1953)–the couple's first film together–with the two appearing as Harry and Bess Houdini , respectively. The couple also appeared as guests on Martin and Lewis ' Colgate Comedy Hour before Leigh was loaned to Universal to appear in the musical Walking My Baby Back Home (1953). Leigh was cast as Robert Wagner 's love interest in the Fox-produced adventure film Prince Valiant (1954),

2967-756: The deal with Columbia: the title role in the musical comedy My Sister Eileen (1955), co-starring Jack Lemmon , Betty Garrett and Dick York , and based on a series of New Yorker stories about two sisters living in New York City. In early 1955, Leigh and Curtis formed their own independent film production company, Curtleigh Productions . Columbia cast Leigh in Safari (1956) opposite Victor Mature , shot in Kenya for Warwick Pictures . The same year, Leigh and Curtis gave birth to their first child, daughter Kelly . She subsequently made her television debut in an episode of Schlitz Playhouse , "Carriage from Britain". In 1957,

3036-448: The drama If Winter Comes (1947), playing a young pregnant woman in an English village. By early 1948, Leigh was occupied with the shooting of the Lassie film Hills of Home (1948), her third feature and the first in which she received star billing. She played the young wife of composer Richard Rodgers in MGM's all-star musical, Words and Music (1948). In late 1948, she was hailed

3105-504: The early 2000s. Her final film credit was in the teen film Bad Girls from Valley High (2005), opposite Christopher Lloyd . While in high school, Leigh married eighteen-year-old John Kenneth Carlisle in Reno, Nevada , on August 1, 1942. The marriage was annulled five months later on December 28, 1942. After a tenure at Stockton College (now San Joaquin Delta College ), Leigh enrolled at

3174-496: The film Jet Pilot , which Leigh had filmed in 1949, was finally released. In 1958, Leigh starred as Susan Vargas in the Orson Welles film noir classic Touch of Evil (1958), done at Universal with Charlton Heston , a film with numerous similarities to Alfred Hitchcock 's later film Psycho , which was produced two years later; in it, she plays a newlywed tormented in a Mexican border town. Leigh would later describe shooting

3243-412: 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." Next, Leigh co-starred in her fourth film with Curtis, The Vikings (1958), produced by and co-starring Kirk Douglas , and released in June 1958. Distributed by United Artists , the film had one of the most expensive marketing campaigns of

3312-528: The film has been noted as historically relevant by film scholars as it violated narrative conventions of the time, while her murder scene itself is considered among both critics and film scholars to be one of the most iconic scenes in film history. Leigh and Curtis both had cameos in Columbia's all-star Pepe (1960), marking their last film together. In 1962, while Leigh was filming the thriller The Manchurian Candidate , Curtis filed for divorce. The divorce

3381-553: The memoir There Really Was a Hollywood (1984), became a New York Times bestseller. In 1995, Leigh published the non-fiction book Psycho: 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

3450-701: The novel by Louisa May Alcott , in which she portrayed Meg March, alongside June Allyson and Elizabeth Taylor . The film was generally well received by critics. Also in 1949, Leigh appeared as a nun in the anti-communist drama The Red Danube , which earned her critical acclaim, followed by a role as Glenn Ford 's love interest in The Doctor and the Girl . Other credits from 1949 include as June Forsyte in That Forsyte Woman (1949) opposite Greer Garson and Errol Flynn , and as Robert Mitchum 's leading co-star in

3519-460: The party in 1946. They had a son Paul and a daughter Eileen, named in memory of Ruth's sister. Eileen Bransten was a New York State Supreme Court justice in Manhattan. In 1939, Ruth's sister Eileen married novelist Nathanael West . Eileen had been an ink-and-paint artist at Walt Disney Studios and was just 27 when she died in a road accident on December 22, 1940, two years after My Sister Eileen

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3588-427: The photograph of the then-eighteen-year-old Leigh (Shearer's late husband Irving 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." Through her association with MGM, Shearer was able to facilitate screen tests for Leigh with Selena Royle , after which Wasserman negotiated

3657-577: The private detective story Harper (1966), in which she played Paul Newman 's estranged wife opposite Lauren Bacall . She next portrayed a psychiatrist opposite Jerry Lewis in the comedy Three on a Couch , followed by a lead role in An American Dream , based on the Norman Mailer novel of the same name ; the latter film received critical backlash. Leigh's initial television appearances were on anthology programs such as Bob Hope Presents

3726-575: The public. She was survived by her daughters Kelly and Jamie and her husband of 42 years, Robert Brandt. Leigh was cremated and her ashes were entombed at Westwood Village Memorial Park Cemetery in the Westwood Village neighborhood of Los Angeles. In the 2012 film Hitchcock , Leigh is played by Scarlett Johansson . She has a ski trail named after her, Leigh Lane, at Sun Valley Resort's Bald Mountain skiing area in Sun Valley, Idaho . Leigh kept

3795-560: The romance Scaramouche (1952), and the Western drama The Naked Spur (1953). Leigh was married to actor Tony Curtis from 1951 to 1962. After leaving MGM in 1954, she starred in films such as Safari (1956) and Orson Welles ' Touch of Evil (1958). She then achieved her biggest success playing Marion Crane in Alfred Hitchcock 's horror film Psycho (1960), winning the Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress and

3864-661: The screenplay, and Quine directed. The cast includes Betty Garrett as Ruth and Janet Leigh as Eileen, with Jack Lemmon , Bob Fosse (who choreographed the musical numbers), Kurt Kasznar , Dick York , Arnold Stang , and Tommy Rall in supporting roles. A pilot for a television series based on the short stories and subsequent film adaptations aired on NBC as an episode of Alcoa-Goodyear Theater titled "You Should Meet My Sister" on May 16, 1960, starring Elaine Stritch as Ruth and Anne Helm as Eileen. Twenty-six more episodes were produced with Stritch as Ruth and Shirley Bonne portraying Eileen, and CBS broadcast these in

3933-562: The six months they lived there. The apartment would become the setting of a series of stories in The New Yorker , later republished in book form as My Sister Eileen (1938). In 1939 McKenney published Industrial Valley , a then-controversial book about the Akron rubber strike (1932–36). She considered it her best work. Her best-selling novel Jake Home (1943) chronicled the struggles of some common Americans between 1900 and 1930. McKenney's story collection My Sister Eileen has been adapted

4002-632: Was a frequent topic in gossip columns and film tabloids. From 1951 to 1954, Leigh and Curtis appeared in numerous home movies directed by their friend Jerry Lewis . Leigh credited the experimental and informal nature of these films for allowing her to stretch her acting ability and attempt new roles. 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 . Curtis and Leigh divorced in 1962. She married stockbroker Robert Brandt later that year. A lifelong Democrat , Leigh supported John F. Kennedy in

4071-512: Was a major critical and commercial success. For her performance, Leigh received a Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress and was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress . Leigh's role in Psycho became career-defining 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." Her character's death early in

4140-495: Was also in the comedy Wives and Lovers (1963) for director Hal Wallis at Paramount. Leigh took a three-year break from her acting career, turning down several roles, including the role of Simone Clouseau in The Pink Panther , because she did not want to go on location and be separated from her young daughters. She returned to film in 1966, appearing in multiple films: first, the western Kid Rodelo (1966), followed by

4209-414: Was an American actress. 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 . With MGM, she appeared in films such as the dramas The Romance of Rosy Ridge (1947), the crime-drama Act of Violence (1948), the drama Little Women (1949), the comedy Angels in the Outfield (1951),

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4278-721: Was brought up in poverty, as her father struggled to support the family with his factory employment, and he took various additional jobs after the Great Depression . Leigh was raised Presbyterian and sang in the local church choir throughout her childhood. In 1941, when her paternal grandfather became terminally ill, the family relocated to Merced, where they moved into her grandparents' home. She attended Weber Grammar School in Stockton, and later Stockton High School . Leigh excelled in academics and graduated from high school at age sixteen. Though Leigh initially left college to pursue her film career, she re-enrolled in night classes at

4347-525: Was finalized in Ciudad Juárez , Mexico, on September 14, 1962; the following day, Leigh married stockbroker Robert Brandt (1927–2009) in a private ceremony in Las Vegas, Nevada . Leigh would later comment that their divorce was the result of "outside problems", which included the death of Curtis's father. Next, Leigh appeared in the musical comedy Bye Bye Birdie (1963), based on the hit Broadway show. She

4416-441: 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 actress Vivien Leigh . However, Johnson did not like the name and it was ultimately changed back to "Janet Leigh" (pronounced "Lee"). Immediately after the release of The Romance of Rosy Ridge , Leigh was cast opposite Walter Pidgeon and Deborah Kerr in

4485-472: Was known as something of a tomboy and was the only girl to play on the East Cleveland boys baseball team (she played first base). She joined the Northern Ohio Debating League. She described herself as "homely as a mud fence", especially compared to her sister Eileen, though she likely exaggerated for comic effect. She also stuttered. She attempted to commit suicide once during high school but

4554-723: Was published and four days before its first stage version opened on Broadway. West, who had run a stop sign, also died in the same accident. On November 18, 1955, Ruth McKenney's 44th birthday, her husband Richard Bransten committed suicide in London. After this, Ruth returned to New York City, but stopped writing. "My mother never quite recovered from her sister's death", Eileen Bransten noted. Ruth McKenney Bransten died in New York on July 25, 1972, aged 60. She had suffered from heart disease and diabetes. McKenney wrote 10 fiction and non-fiction books. They are: She wrote numerous short pieces for

4623-561: Was released in Europe as a feature film entitled The Spy in the Green Hat (1967). She also appeared in the title role in The Virginian episode "Jenny" (1970). In 1973, she appeared in the episode "Beginner's Luck" of the romantic anthology series Love Story . Leigh made her stage debut opposite Jack Cassidy in the original Broadway production of Murder Among Friends , which opened at

4692-613: Was rescued by Eileen. At the age of 14, she ran away from home, worked as a printer's devil , and joined the International Typographical Union . At 16, she and Eileen got jobs as waitresses at the Harvey Tea Room at the Cleveland Union Station. She attended Ohio State University from 1928 to 1931, majoring in journalism , but did not graduate. Early in her college career, she and her grandmother ran

4761-608: Was set in Hollywood during the height of the studio system. Leigh subsequently appeared opposite her daughter, Jamie Lee Curtis , in John Carpenter 's supernatural horror film The Fog (1980), in which a phantom schooner unleashes ghosts on a small coastal community. Leigh would appear opposite her daughter once again in Halloween H20: 20 Years Later (1998), playing the secretary of Laurie Strode . On television, Leigh acted in

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