The Hollywood Reporter broke the unfortunate news this week that actress Virginia Leith, known in the horror community for her starring role in The Brain That Wouldn’t Die, has passed away at the age of 94.
In the 1962 film, Leith played Jan Compton, a woman who's killed in a car accident. Her fiancée of Bill Cortner (Jason Evers), a demented scientist experimenting with human transplants, retrieves her severed head and connects it to life-replenishing equipment with the intentions of finding her a new body.
Leith's first starring role was in Fear and Desire, which was also the first feature directed by Stanley Kubrick. She also appeared in the films Violent Saturday, A Kiss Before Dying, Black Widow, White Feather, On the Threshold of Space and Toward the Unknown. Her television credits include "One Step Beyond", "Moment of Fear", "Great Ghost Tales", "Starsky and Hutch" and "The White Shadow."
Leith died November 4th at her home in Palm Springs, family spokesperson Jane Chalmers announced. Survivors include stepdaughter Mary Harron, director of American Psycho.
