Estimated read time: 2-3 minutes
This archived news story is available only for your personal, non-commercial use. Information in the story may be outdated or superseded by additional information. Reading or replaying the story in its archived form does not constitute a republication of the story.
Oct. 14--The ceremony Friday dedicating a downtown Stockton plaza to screen legend Janet Leigh was much like the woman herself -- a mix of Hollywood glamor and hometown spirit.
The glamor came courtesy of movie star Jamie Lee Curtis, who, accompanied by sister Kelly Curtis, was on hand for the event that dedicated the area in front of City Centre Cinemas 16 to their mother. The spirit took the form of extolling Leigh's Stockton roots and culminated in the unveiling of a plaque bearing her likeness.
"This was Janet's hometown," Jamie Lee Curtis, 47, said to the crowd gathered around the plaza's water feature for the noon ceremony. "(She) never, ever lost the essential goodness that we all hope we are all about when we're raised in a place like Stockton."
The family's Stockton connection was reinforced when University of the Pacific provost Philip Gilbertson announced at a Stockton Golf and Country luncheon that Jamie Lee Curtis would receive an honorary degree May 19. The actress attended Pacific for one semester in the mid-1970s.
Leigh (1927-2004) -- whose real name was Jeanette Helen Morrison -- was born in Merced but raised here.
She attended Weber Grammar School, Stockton High School and both San Joaquin Delta College and Pacific before finding fame in Hollywood through such films as "Touch of Evil" (1958), "Psycho" (1960) and "The Manchurian Candidate" (1962).
Leigh regularly returned to Stockton to see old friends and lend her name to local causes, said Vice Mayor Gary Giovanetti, who served as master of ceremonies.
Although Jamie Lee Curtis recently announced her retirement from acting, it was clear Friday that she still packs plenty of star power. She emerged from a black limousine with her sister and began working the crowd, signing autographs and shaking hands.
That adulation continued at a reception inside the lobby theater. Curtis stood behind a table while dozens of fans thrust pieces of paper at her. To the star's left was a display of Leigh memorabilia from Pacific's archives.
Steps away, Kelly Curtis, 50, said she was thrilled by Stockton's response.
"I'm happy today, because I can see what (Leigh) was speaking about all these years," she said. "I am so proud of the plaza."
For their part, local residents offered a more pragmatic take on Janet Leigh Plaza.
"I'm glad to see Stockton getting some recognition," said Amanda Thomason, 40. "It will bring people downtown."
"It's name recognition," said Jim Leary, 46. "It entices people to come downtown. It just shows (downtown) has more validity."
Friday's festivities also included a free screening of "Psycho" at the downtown multiplex and a Jamie Lee Curtis book signing at Borders Books & Music.
Contact Record Entertainment Editor Brian McCoy at (209) 546-8293 or bmccoy@recordnet.com
-----
Copyright (c) 2006, The Record, Stockton, Calif.
Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Business News.
For reprints, email tmsreprints@permissionsgroup.com, call 800-374-7985 or 847-635-6550, send a fax to 847-635-6968, or write to The Permissions Group Inc., 1247 Milwaukee Ave., Suite 303, Glenview, IL 60025, USA.
