TWO ALL-TIME GREATS:

Janet Leigh, Actress of 'Psycho' Fame, Dies at 77 (AP, 10/04/04)

Janet Leigh's most famous scene was so terrifying it put her off showers for the rest of her life.

Leigh, who died Sunday, insisted she always took baths after seeing the finished cut of Alfred Hitchcock's ``Psycho,'' in which her character was slashed to death in a motel shower in what may be the silver screen's most memorable murder.

"I know she used to get very scared about that scene,'' said the director's daughter, Pat Hitchcock, who had a small part in ``Psycho'' as a co-worker of Leigh's.

Leigh died at her Beverly Hills home, with husband Robert Brandt and her daughters, actresses Jamie Lee Curtis and Kelly Curtis, at her side. She was 77.

"She died peacefully,'' Heidi Schaeffer, a spokeswoman for Jamie Lee Curtis, said Monday.

We lose not only one of the Top 10 Babes of all-time but the best damn pilot you ever saw. NASA Mourns Loss of Original Mercury 7 Astronaut Gordon Cooper (NASA, 10/04/04)

Leroy Gordon Cooper, Jr., (Colonel, USAF, Ret.) an original Mercury 7 astronaut, died earlier today at his home in Ventura, Calif. He was 77 years old. Cooper piloted the sixth and last flight of the Mercury program and later commanded Gemini V.

"As one of the original seven Mercury astronauts, Gordon Cooper was one of the faces of America's fledgling space program. He truly portrayed the right stuff, and he helped gain the backing and enthusiasm of the American public, so critical for the spirit of exploration. My thoughts and prayers are with Gordon's family during this difficult time," said NASA Administrator Sean O'Keefe.

"Cooper's efforts and those of his fellow Mercury astronauts, Alan Shepard, Gus Grissom, John Glenn, Scott Carpenter, Wally Schirra and Deke Slayton, serve as reminders of what drives us to explore. They also remind us that to succeed any vision for exploration needs the support of the American people," Administrator O'Keefe said.

The youngest of the original seven astronauts, Cooper's flight in his Faith 7 spacecraft stretched the capabilities of the Mercury capsule to the limits. The mission, May 15 and 16, 1963, lasted more than 34 hours and 22 orbits. That was more than three times the longest U.S. human space flight until that time, and far exceeded the initial design capability of the capsule. During his flight, Cooper became the first astronaut to sleep in space.

"But on that glorious day in May 1963, Gordo Cooper went higher, faster, and farther than any other American--22 complete orbits around the world. He was the last American ever to go into space alone. For a brief moment, Gordo Cooper became the greatest pilot anyone had ever seen."

Posted by Orrin Judd at October 4, 2004 8:17 PM