Savannah (actress)

Shannon Michelle Wilsey (October 9, 1970 – July 11, 1994), better known by her stage name Savannah, was an American pornographic film actress who starred in over 100 videos during her career. One of the most prominent adult industry models of her time, she achieved notoriety within her career due to her onscreen presence and personal life.<ref name=LATimes1/> In January 2002, AVN ranked her at #19 on its list of the top 50 porn stars of all time.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Wilsey reportedly took her stage name from Savannah Smiles (1982), a movie she enjoyed.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Following a car crash that broke her nose, she attempted suicide by firearm and died at the hospital after being removed from life support.

Early life

Wilsey’s parents divorced when she was 2 years old. She grew up in Texas with her mother and then, after a brief stay with her father in Oxnard, California lived with her grandparents in Mission Viejo, California, where she attended high school and was a cheerleader. Wilsey told her manager, Nancy Pera, that she was sexually abused as a child.

Career

Wilsey was introduced to the adult film industry by actor and director Rex Cabo.<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref> She started at first in photo spreads for Cheri, Hustler, Swank, and Penthouse, and then she signed an exclusive contract with Vivid Entertainment in 1991 and became one of the early Vivid Girls. Wilsey began using drugs and spending large amounts of money, and she reportedly had severe financial troubles despite her substantial income. She also garnered a reputation for arriving late to film shoots, being temperamental and acting like a diva, and sometimes getting drunk or abusing drugs during the film/video shoots.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> These antics eventually led to Vivid severing its association with her in 1993. She ended her career by mainly freelancing for lower-budget porn companies by capitalizing on her still big but clearly fading name in the industry. Wilsey also appeared in a variety of minor roles in B movies (mostly comedy, horror and/or sci-fi) in which she was credited with her real name. These roles included The Invisible Maniac (1990) and Camp Fear (1991). She also had a credit for her performance on a soundtrack in the video The Spectacle (1991). After her death, Wilsey continued to appear via archival footage. She appeared as Santana on Joe Bob's Drive-In Theater when the show aired Sorority House Massacre II (October 1994).

Personal life

In a video interview for Vivid, Wilsey stated that the first time she saw "erotic material" was when she was "snooping through her parents' things" and found some magazines when she was 11 years old. She later stated that she used to watch porn videos with her boyfriend on his tour bus.<ref name=LaDoS>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Wilsey became involved in a long-term relationship with fellow pornographic actress Jeanna Fine, with whom she later claimed to have fallen deeply in love.<ref name=yesbut>Template:Citation</ref> In a 1999 interview, following the airing of the E! True Hollywood Story about Wilsey's life and death, Fine commented: "We had an ongoing, on-again, off-again, volatile, loving relationship. At that time, I was having a lot of problems myself. Between [male porn actor] Sikki Nixx and Savannah pushing and pulling, I pretty much at one point ran away from them both. I couldn't take it any longer. But I feel I left her behind when she needed me most. It's very sad."<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Savannah also had relationships with singer Billy Idol, Mötley Crüe member Vince Neil, Van Halen frontman David Lee Roth, bassist Billy Sheehan who was in Roth's solo band, comedian Pauly Shore,<ref name=LATimes3 /> Guns N' Roses guitarist Slash,<ref name=LATimes3/> and actor Mark Wahlberg.<ref name=LaDoS/><ref>Template:Citation</ref> According to an interview with Adult Video News, Wilsey stated: "I love sex, and I love sex with rockers more than anything else."<ref name=LATimes1 />

Death

Wilsey died by suicide in 1994 by shooting herself after a car accident.<ref name=LATimes1 /><ref name=LATimes3>"Getting Mellow: The Evolution of Pauly Shore Acting: The death of his ex-girlfriend, a porn film actress, may be the turning point in the comedian's life. He wants to shed his party-boy persona" Template:Webarchive, by James Grant, August 9, 1994, Los Angeles Times, Retrieved 2007-10-02</ref><ref name=LATimes2>"'I don't blame the industry for mistreating her. If anything, they spoiled her rotten.' Porn Star Puts an End to Her Life in the Fast Lane" Template:Webarchive, by John Johnson, July 16, 1994, Los Angeles Times, Retrieved 2007-10-02</ref> On the evening of July 11, Wilsey was involved in an auto accident with her Corvette in which she reportedly broke her nose and injured her face. Upset over the accident and worried that she would suffer permanent scarring on her face, she went home to Universal City, California, asked a friend to walk her dog, and then called her manager Nancy Pera. Shortly after, Wilsey shot herself. It was Pera who later discovered Wilsey in the garage of Wilsey's home.<ref name=LATimes1 /> Wilsey did not die immediately; she died hours later in the hospital after her father decided to shut down her life support systems once it became obvious that she would not survive her injury.<ref name=LATimes1 /> Wilsey's ex-boyfriend, comedian Pauly Shore, stated that he was with her when she died in St. Joseph's Hospital.<ref name=LATShore>Template:Cite news</ref>

Wilsey's funeral, two days later, was attended by friends, family, and limited numbers of adult industry associates. Shore was the only one of her ex-boyfriends to attend the service.<ref name=LATimes1 /> Of Wilsey, Shore said "She was the nicest, most beautiful girl I ever met...[her death] was a very dramatic thing for me." When asked why she killed herself, he said "She became Savannah. She became her character, who was into drugs, and needed reassurance all the time. She forgot who Shannon was...I knew she wanted out [of the porn business]."<ref name=LATShore/> At the time, Wilsey's death was considered the third high-profile suicide in the adult industry, after fellow performers Shauna Grant and Megan Leigh.<ref name=LATimes1 /> After her death, Bill Margold founded Protecting Adult Welfare (P.A.W.), a non-profit organization that provides counseling for adult performers in need.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Her body was cremated and the ashes given to family and friends.

Template:AnchorLegacy

Film

After her death, Wilsey was profiled in two documentaries:

• The Playboy Entertainment Group produced Playboy: The Story of X (1998), which featured archival footage of her.<ref name=1998PlayboyDoc>Template:Cite web</ref>
• The E! True Hollywood Story: "Savannah" (October 31, 1999) is dedicated to Wilsey's early life, family, career, and unexpected death.

Music

Songs that pay homage to Wilsey include:

• "Savannah Smiles" and "Starry Stairs" by Okkervil River
• "Savannah" by Zao
• "Savannah: Flights of Ecstasy" by Sheavy<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref>

Publications

• OC Weekly (February 2014) featured Wilsey, remembering her as not only a resident of Orange County, California, but as well as "Arguably the first superstar porn goddess of the 1990s".<ref name=2013OCWPornParadise>Template:Cite news</ref>
• In 2015, actress Amber Tamblyn published her third book of poetry, Dark Sparkler, which features elegies and poems dedicated to numerous deceased actors. Wilsey is the subject of one such poem along with child actress Bridgette Andersen (1975–1997) who played the part of "Savannah" in Wilsey's favorite film, Savannah Smiles. Wilsey's poem is written as "a meta-poem, where she's writing for Bridgette Andersen, and telling her how they're the same."

Awards

• 1992 AVN Award – Best New Starlet<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
• 1996 AVN Hall of Fame inductee<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Mainstream filmography

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1990	The Invisible Maniac	Vicky	Credited as Shannon Wilsey
	Sorority House Massacre II	Satana
1991	Camp Fear	Dorm Girl
	Legal Tender	Mal's Gals
1999	E! True Hollywood Story	Herself (archive footage)	Episode: "Savannah"

See also

• List of pornographic actors who appeared in mainstream films

External links

• Template:IMDb name
• Template:Iafd name
• Template:Afdb name
• Savannah: Fallen Angel