What happend to the girl from the Psycho shower?

It is one of the most famous scenes in cinema history - Janet Leigh getting sliced in the shower in Alfred Hitchcock's Psycho - only it wasn't Ms. Leigh, she refused to go naked, but model, Marli Renfo. And her story is just as mysterious as the screenplay to the film itself - in fact, to this day, we don't know if she is alive or dead.

Now a new book, THE GIRL IN ALFRED HITCHCOCK’S SHOWER gives readers a behind-the-scenes look at one of the most iconic scenes in American film, while exploring the psychology of a cold-blooded killer. Robert Graysmith tells the story of what really happened to Janet Leigh's body double in Psycho, while revealing a murder that could only have happened in the shadows of Hollywood.

Leigh, who was uncomfortable with the idea of nudity on screen, refused to bare all for the terrifying 1960 shower scene. Instead, Alfred Hitchcock hired self-proclaimed “nudist” Marli Renfo, described by Graysmith: "Robust, energetic, and breezy, the redhead exuded health and wholesomeness. Her carriage was erect, graceful, poised, and as limber and lithe as a cat’s." After the filming of Psycho, Renfro went on to star in Francis Ford Coppola’s first movie, The Peeper. She became one of the first Playboy bunnies after posing for the front page of Hugh Hefner’s revolutionary magazine, before suddenly and inexplicably… she vanished! Marli Renfro's disappearance led to rumours, lies, and seemingly unsubstantiated reports that she had been murdered. For over forty years Robert Graysmith kept her photos, as obsessed as the detective in Laura who fell in love with a dead woman’s picture. But as he wrote the beautiful redhead’s story, a nagging doubt entered his mind. What if, like “Laura,” she was still alive, and someone else had been murdered in her place? And if she was alive could he find her?



"I am not only a visual person but an obsessive one. Once I start a project I finish it, I can’t let go. For over forty years I kept her photos (and have them in front of me as I write this), as obsessed as the detective in the classic noir film "Laura" who fell in love with a dead woman’s portrait. But as I finally wrote the vivacious redhead’s story after all the rumors and reports in print said that she had been murdered, a nagging doubt entered my mind. What if, like “Laura,” she were still alive and someone else had been murdered in her place? And if she were could I find her? " Author, Robert Graysmith