Shanna Reed

Last updated
Shanna Reed
Born
Shanna Herron [1]
Occupations
  • Actress
  • dancer
  • singer
Years active1980–1999

Shanna Reed is an American retired actress and dancer. She is best-known for playing Polly Cooper McGillis on the sitcom Major Dad .

Contents

Early years

Kansas City, Kansas-born Shanna Herron was seven years old when her father, Carl Herron, an engineer, died in a car accident in 1962, leaving her mother, Mary Lou ( née Thompson; 1928–2014) with five children and pregnant. [1] Within two years she married ex-Marine Tommy Reed (1913–2012), a jazz saxophonist and leader of the Tommy Reed Orchestra. [2] [3] Mary Lou and Tommy Reed had a child, creating a blended family of seven children. [4] Mary Lou Reed taught dancing for Arthur Murray dance studios. After the marriage, the family moved to Phoenix, where Reed grew up. Her mother and stepfather operated a talent-booking agency there, and her mother had another child. Reed attended Arizona State University for a year. [2]

Career

After she left Arizona State, Reed danced at the Tropicana Hotel in Las Vegas, and in 1975 she was one of 12 dancers who, along with a singer, entertained in the Middle East and Europe. After they returned to the United States, she joined the national touring company of A Chorus Line . [2] She also had a replacement role in A Chorus Line on Broadway, and she performed on Broadway in Dancin' (1978). [5]

Reed's additional television credits include roles in Promised Land , Beverly Hills, 90210 , Touched by an Angel , Cheers , Magnum, P.I. , The Colbys , Simon & Simon , Hotel , I Had Three Wives , Knight Rider , T.J. Hooker , Fantasy Island , Texas , and Newhart .

Filmography

Television and film roles
YearTitleRoleNotes
1980 Texas Terry Decker1980–1981 (TV series)
1982 Gavilan Episode: "Best Friend Money Can Buy"
1983 Legs LisaTV movie
Casablanca Episode: "Jenny"
The Dukes of Hazzard Anna LisaEpisode: "Lulu's Gone Away"
Newhart Iris BeechamEpisode: "The Looks of Love"
For Love and HonorPhyllis Wiecek1983–1984 (12 episodes)
1984 The Master Kelly PattersonEpisode: "Out-of-Time Step"
T.J. Hooker Angie QuinnEpisode: "Hooker's Run"
Fantasy Island Laura MartinEpisode: "Mermaid and the Matchmaker/The Obsolete Man"
Knight Rider Barbara BellinghamEpisode: "Let It Be Me"
Simon & Simon Valerie BartlettEpisode: "The Dark Side of the Street"
Mike Hammer AnaEpisode: "Warpath"
1985 Braker Dede DrummondTV movies
Midas ValleyLillian Hammond
MirrorsDiane
Hotel Joanna KorsakEpisode: "Anniversary"
I Had Three Wives Liz5 episodes
1986 The Colbys Adrienne Cassidy1986–1987 (14 episodes)
1988 Magnum, P.I. Sarah AmlinEpisode: "The Great Hawaiian Adventure Company"
Throb SheriEpisode: "Men Without Lips"
Houston Knights Episode: "Cajun Spice"
Heartbeat Caroline PetrieEpisode: "Where's Solomon When You Need Him?"
Episode: "Cory's Loss"
Episode: "To Heal a Doctor"
Desert RatsTV movie
1st & Ten Episode: "The Bulls Own Up"
Cheers Suzanne PorterEpisode: "Swear to God"
1989The BankerSharon
Major Dad Polly Cooper McGillis1989–1993 (96 episodes)
1990The Love Boat: A Valentine VoyageNina MorganTV movies
Coins in the Fountain Bonnie
1993 The Trouble with Larry Sally Easden Burton Flatt7 episodes
ShadowhunterWaitressTV movies
Moment of Truth: Stalking BackLinda Anello
1994 The Babymaker: The Dr. Cecil Jacobson Story Sue Castellano
Don't Talk to Strangers Jane
1995The Sister-in-LawMadeleine Richards Warner
Remember MeElaine Archer
1996 Stand Against Fear Anne Wilson
Alien AvengersRhonda
RattledKrista Donohue
Touched by an Angel Morgan BellEpisode: "Statute of Limitations"
1998 Beverly Hills, 90210 Patricia MyersEpisode: "All That Glitters"
The Night Caller Dr. Lindsay Roland
1999 Promised Land Helen SaundersEpisode: "In the Money"

References

  1. 1 2 Biodata, sitcomsonline.com. Accessed April 22, 2025.
  2. 1 2 3 Brennan, Patricia (November 20, 1989). "Shanna Reed having fun playing Mrs. Major Dad". The Toronto Star. p. B 4. Retrieved February 15, 2025– via Newspapers.com.
  3. ↑ "Tommy Reed Obituary". Whitney & Murphy Funeral Home | Phoenix AZ. February 14, 2012. Retrieved October 6, 2021.
  4. ↑ Obituary: Mary Reed, legacy.com. Accessed April 22, 2025.
  5. ↑ "Shanna Reed". Internet Broadway Database. The Broadway League. Archived from the original on February 7, 2021. Retrieved February 15, 2025.


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