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'Psycho' star Janet Leigh dies at 77

BEVERLY HILLS, Calif., Oct. 4 (UPI) -- Janet Leigh, who gained her greatest fame as the victim of the shocking shower murder scene in "Psycho," has died at her home in Beverly Hills. She was 77.

Leigh died Sunday after suffering for the past year from vasculitis, an inflammation of the circulatory system.

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Leigh was already a major Hollywood star when she made "Psycho," Alfred Hitchcock's 1960 thriller about a woman who embezzles money from a bank and is killed by a psychotic motel operator, played by the late Anthony Perkins.

She broke into Hollywood in 1947 and had starred in such classics as "Angels in the Outfield," "The Vikings" and "Touch of Evil," before Hitchcock cast her in her signature role -- which earned her an Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actress.

Leigh went on to star in such hits as "The Manchurian Candidate," "Bye Bye Birdie" and "Wives and Lovers."

Leigh's marriage to actor Tony Curtis made them one of Hollywood's most glamorous couples. Their daughter, Jamie Lee Curtis, went on to become a successful film star.

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Curtis was at her mother's side when she died, as was Leigh's husband Robert Brandt.

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