Janet’s
introduction to showbiz was not too unique; she was an
active child, studied theatre and music in college. Retired
MGM actress Norma Shearer discovered Janet after seeing
a picture of her at a ski resort, recommending her for
a screen test. Janet then landed a contract, which of
course resulted in a movie with her as the major role;
she continued to bring in jobs throughout the 1950’s.
Janet was known as “The Queen of Scream”.
She was given this name for the infamous murder scene
in “Psycho”, directed by Alfred Hitchcock
(Janet’s character is murdered while naked in the
shower). After Janet saw the movie at the premier she
was never able to take a shower due to feeling “too
vulnerable”.
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Another
thing that Janet is known for is here marriages; She was
married twice at a young age, first in 1942 to John Carlyle
(annulled), and to Stanley Reames in 1946, ending in divorce
in 1948. Janet eventually married Tony Curtis, the union
of which produced Jamie-Lee Curtis (which would be perhaps
“The Princess of Scream”).
But as with all things “that which goes up must
come down”, and Janet’s career began to wind
down in the 1960s. She co-starred opposite Frank Sinatra
in “The Manchurian Candidate” (which eventually
became famous, but too little too late) and went into
TV and minor feature films. She died at the age of 77
in her Beverly Hills home in October 2004.
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Filmography:
Fate Totally Worse Than Death, A (2000)
Halloween H20: 20 Years Later (1998)
In My Sister's Shadow (1997)
Ei, Das (1993)
Fog, The (1980)
Boardwalk (1979)
Mirror, Mirror (1979)
Telethon (1977)
Murder at the World Series (1977)
Columbo: Forgotten Lady (1975)
Murdock's Gang (1973)
Night of the Lepus (1972)
Deadly Dream (1971)
House on Greenapple Road, The (1970)
Honeymoon with a Stranger (1969)
Monk, The (1969)
Hello Down There (1969)
Ad ogni costo (1967)
Spy in the Green Hat, The (1966)
American Dream, An (1966)
Three on a Couch (1966)
Harper (1966)
Kid Rodelo (1966)
Wives and Lovers (1963)
Bye Bye Birdie (1963)
Manchurian Candidate, The (1962)
Pepe (1960)
Psycho (1960)
Who Was That Lady? (1960)
Perfect Furlough, The (1959)
Vikings, The (1958)
Touch of Evil (1958)
Jet Pilot (1957)
Safari (1956)
My Sister Eileen (1955)
Pete Kelly's Blues (1955)
Rogue Cop (1954)
Black Shield of Falworth, The (1954)
Living It Up (1954)
Prince Valiant (1954)
Walking My Baby Back Home (1953)
Houdini (1953)
Confidentially Connie (1953)
Naked Spur, The (1953)
Fearless Fagan (1952)
Scaramouche (1952)
Just This Once (1952)
It's a Big Country (1951)
Two Tickets to Broadway (1951)
Angels in the Outfield (1951)
Strictly Dishonorable (1951)
How to Smuggle a Hernia Across the Border (1949)
Holiday Affair (1949)
That Forsyte Woman (1949)
Doctor and the Girl, The (1949)
Red Danube, The (1949)
Little Women (1949)
Hills of Home (1948)
Act of Violence (1948)
Words and Music (1948)
If Winter Comes (1947)
Romance of Rosy Ridge, The (1947)
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