Psycho shower scene star Leigh dies at 77

JANET Leigh, the wholesome beauty whose shocking murder in the classic Alfred Hitchcock thriller Psycho was credited with making generations of film fans think twice about stepping into a hotel room shower, has died, aged 77.

The actress’ husband, Robert Brandt, and her daughters, actresses Kelly Curtis and Jamie Lee Curtis, were at their mother’s side when she died at her Beverly Hills home yesterday, said Heidi Schaeffer, a spokeswoman. “She died peacefully at home,” Schaeffer said. Ms Leigh had suffered from vasculitis, an inflammation of the blood vessels, for the past year.

The stunning blonde beauty enjoyed a long and distinguished career, appearing in such films as the 1962 political thriller The Manchurian Candidate and in Orson Welles’ 1958 film noir classic Touch of Evil.