LYCOS RETRIEVER 
Janet Leigh: Norma Shearer
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The only child of a very young married couple, American actress Janet Leigh spent her childhood moving from town to town due to her father's changing jobs. A bright child who skipped several grades in school, Leigh took music and dancing lessons, making her public debut at age 10 as a baton twirler for a marching band. Her favorite times were the afternoons spent at the local movie house, which she referred to as her "babysitter." In 1946, Leigh's mother was working at a ski lodge where actress Norma Shearer was vacationing; impressed by a photograph of Leigh, Shearer arranged for the girl (whose prior acting experience consisted of a college play) to be signed with the MCA talent agency. One year later Leigh was at MGM, playing the ingenue in the 1947 film Romance of Rosy Ridge. The actress became one of the busiest contractees at the studio, building her following with solid performances in such films as Little Women (1949), The Doctor and the Girl (1950), and Scaramouche (1952) -- and catching the eye of RKO Radio's owner Howard Hughes, who hoped that her several RKO appearances (on loan from MGM) would lead to something substantial in private life.
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Born Jeanette Helen Morrison and reportedly discovered by Norma Shearer, who was visiting a ski resort where her parents were working, Janet Leigh began her film career at the age of 19. She signed a contract with MGM for $50 a week and appeared in her first film, The Romance of Rosy Ridge, in 1947.
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Born Jeanette Helen Morrison, Janet managed to finish high school and elope by the age of 15. The first marriage was annulled while Janet forged ahead with her education at the University of the Pacific, studying psychology and music. It was while still a student that Norma Shearer, the ex-Queen of MGM, discovered Janet while she was working as a maid at a ski resort. Shearer, the widow of studio wunderkind Irving Thalberg, had considerable pull and a screen test was made. The executives liked what they saw in the fresh-faced teenager and cast Janet in The Romance of Rosy Ridge (1947). It was a solid debut and she followed this with a similar role in Mervyn LeRoy’s big budget remake of Little Women (1949) where she starred opposite June Allyson.
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Leigh was born Jeanette Helen Morrison in Merced, California, the only child of Helen Lita (née Westergard) and Frederick Robert Morrison. She was discovered by actress Norma Shearer, whose late husband Irving Thalberg had been a senior executive at Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. Shearer showed talent agent Lew Wasserman the photograph she had seen of Leigh while vacationing at the ski resort where the girl's parents worked. She left the University of the Pacific, where she was studying music and psychology, after Wasserman secured a contract with MGM.
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Leigh was discovered by the famous Norma Sheerer. MGM was astounded by her good looks and signed her immedietly to a contract the afternoon of her first interview. THE ROMANCE OF ROSY RIDGE was her first endeavor into the film world. Three pictures a year followed, starring with everyone from Lassie to Gene Kelly. As her movie career developed, she met Tony Curtis. They became part of a dynamic young crowd in Hollywood...often hanging out with Jerry Lewis.
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Leigh, an only child who skipped several grades and finished high school at 15, was discovered while visiting her parents in Northern California. Her father was working the desk at a ski resort where her mother worked as a maid. Retired MGM actress Norma Shearer saw a picture of Janet on the front desk and asked if she could borrow it. At the time MGM was looking for someone to play a sort of naive, young country girl and Janet fit the role perfectly. Soon she had a starring role in THE ROMANCE OF ROSY RIDGE (1947). Her career in film had begun.
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Norma Shearer