Shannon Whirry

Last updated
Shannon Whirry
Born
Shannon Meta Whirry

1964or1965(age 59–60) [1]
OccupationActress
Years active1991–present

Shannon Meta Whirry (born 1964/1965) [1] is an American actress.

Contents

Early life

Shannon Meta Whirry [1] was born in Green Lake, Wisconsin, United States, the daughter of Sherril Jean "Sherry" ( née  Kemnitz; [2] 1944–2016) [3] and Russell Clyde Whirry [4] (1943–1988). [5]

Career

A native of Green Lake, Wisconsin, where she was the salutatorian of her 1983 high school graduating class, [6] in 1985 Whirry was accepted to study at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts, one of only 365 accepted out of 3,000 applicants and one of only 65 to graduate the 2-year program. [7] While attempting to establish her career in New York, Whirry worked as a bartender, took a number of small bit roles and appeared in a commercial for FedEx; the latter work finally allowed her to join the Screen Actors Guild. [4] Her first film role was in the action film Out for Justice starring Steven Seagal. [7]

She thereafter began to work in a number of direct-to-video erotic B-movies and unrated thrillers, [4] concurrent with Tanya Roberts, Maria Ford, and Shannon Tweed who appeared in the same kinds of films at the time. She starred in Gregory Hippolyte's productions of Animal Instincts I and II, Body of Influence, and Mirror Images II. [4] Entertainment Weekly referred to Whirry and Hippolyte as "the Dietrich and Von Sternberg of the soft-core set" [8] Other films at the time included Private Obsession and Playback, a Playboy production.

In the late-1990s, she transitioned from erotic thrillers into a series of roles on mainstream network television and films, including action, sci-fi and horror genres. She had a recurring role as Mike Hammer's secretary Velda in the television series Mike Hammer, Private Eye and made guest appearances on such shows as ER , Felicity , Seinfeld , V.I.P. , Murphy Brown , Malcolm in the Middle and Nash Bridges . She also had a small role in the Jim Carrey film Me, Myself & Irene (2000).

In 2007, she appeared on a BBC TV miniseries, Nuclear Secrets , playing Kitty Oppenheimer, the wife of Robert Oppenheimer.

She occasionally performs with theater companies in Arizona, where she lives [9] and has continued appearing in small roles in films, including independent film Raising Buchanan in 2019.

Filmography

Film

YearTitleRoleNotes
1991 Out for Justice Terry Malloy
1992 Animal Instincts Joanna ColeVideo
1993 Body of Influence Laura/LanaVideo
Sliver Woman Looking In Mirror
Mirror Images 2 Carrie/TerrieVideo
1994Animal Instincts 2Joanna ColeVideo
The Gift Sitting WomanTV movie
Lady in WaitingLori
1995Texas JusticeRebeccaTV movie
Private Obsession Emmanuelle GriffithVideo
The Granny Kelly GargoliVideo
Dangerous PreyRobin
Fatal PursuitJill
1996PlaybackKaren
ExitDianeVideo
Omega Doom Zed, Droid LeaderVideo
RingerKristin / Tracy
1997 Retroactive Rayanne Lloyd
1999 Active Stealth Gina MurphyVideo
2000The Prophet's GameBarbara "Barb"
Me, Myself & Irene Beautiful Mom
2001 Mach 2 Shannon Carpenter
Lying in WaitLori
OutlawLiz
2008 Jolene Teacher
2009IngeniousLydia
Middle MenScreaming Mother
2010 Everything Must Go Nurse
Dead WestSarah Dust
2012Out of FocusDetective Jessie JohnstonShort
2019 Raising Buchanan Parnella Monroe

Television

YearTitleRoleNotes
1992 Santa Barbara LolaEpisode: "Episode #1.2094"
1993 Down the Shore SueEpisode: "The Last Temptation of Eddie: Part 1 & 2"
EdenLauren's FriendEpisode: "Eden 6"
Silk Stalkings Karen DanielsEpisode: "Look the Other Way"
1997 Murder One Deborah CummingsEpisode: "Chapter Ten, Year Two"
Murphy Brown AmberEpisode: "Blind Date"
Nash Bridges SuzanneEpisode: "Moving Target"
Pacific Blue Kay McNeilEpisode: "Ties That Bind"
Seinfeld Cute GirlEpisode: "The Butter Shave"
1997-1998 Mike Hammer, Private Eye VeldaMain Cast
1998 Silk Stalkings Victoria TremainEpisode: "Passion and the Palm Beach Detectives"
1999 Air America Dr. Veronica BradyEpisode: "Fear of Flying"
Sons of Thunder SabrinaEpisode: "Daddy's Girl"
V.I.P. Katherine JohnsonEpisode: "Why 2 Kay"
2000 City of Angels GinaRecurring Cast: Season 2
2001 Malcolm in the Middle Beautiful WomanEpisode: "Evacuation"
Black Scorpion Vox PopuliEpisode: "Face the Music"
Felicity Barbara "Barb" JonesEpisode: "Boooz"
2002FlatlandGinaEpisode: "Aurora" & "Triptych"
2003 ER Doreen BrantEpisode: "No Good Deed Goes Unpunished"
2007 Nuclear Secrets Kitty Oppenheimer Episode: "Superspy" & "Superbomb"

Related Research Articles

<i>Morocco</i> (film) 1930 film by Josef von Sternberg

Morocco is a 1930 American pre-Code romantic drama film directed by Josef von Sternberg and starring Gary Cooper, Marlene Dietrich, and Adolphe Menjou. Based on the 1927 novel Amy Jolly by Benno Vigny and adapted by Jules Furthman, the film is about a cabaret singer and a Legionnaire who fall in love during the Rif War, and whose relationship is complicated by his womanizing and the appearance of a rich man who is also in love with her. The film is famous for a scene in which Dietrich performs a song dressed in a man's tailcoat and kisses another woman, both of which were considered scandalous for the period.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Marlene Dietrich</span> German-American actress and singer (1901–1992)

Marie Magdalene "Marlene" Dietrich was a German-born American actress and singer whose career spanned from the 1910s to the 1980s.

<i>Basic Instinct</i> 1992 film by Paul Verhoeven

Basic Instinct is a 1992 neo-noir erotic thriller film directed by Paul Verhoeven and written by Joe Eszterhas. Starring Michael Douglas, Sharon Stone, George Dzundza, Jeanne Tripplehorn, and Wayne Knight, the film follows San Francisco police detective Nick Curran (Douglas) as he investigates the brutal murder of a wealthy rock star. During the course of the investigation, Curran becomes entangled in a passionate and intense relationship with Catherine Tramell (Stone), an enigmatic writer and the prime suspect.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Josef von Sternberg</span> Austrian-American film director (1894–1969)

Josef von Sternberg was an Austrian-born filmmaker whose career successfully spanned the transition from the silent to the sound era, during which he worked with most of the major Hollywood studios. He is best known for his film collaboration with actress Marlene Dietrich in the 1930s, including the highly regarded Paramount/UFA production The Blue Angel (1930).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Shannon Tweed</span> Canadian model and actress (born 1957)

Shannon Lee Tweed Simmons is a Canadian model and actress. One of the most successful actresses of mainstream erotica, she is identified with the genre of the erotic thriller cinema. Tweed has appeared in more than 60 films and several television series. She was named Playboy's Playmate of the Year in 1982.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jeanne Tripplehorn</span> American actress

Jeanne Marie Tripplehorn is an American actress. She began her career on stage, acting in several plays throughout the early 1990s, including Anton Chekhov's Three Sisters on Broadway. Her film career began with the role of a police psychologist in the erotic thriller Basic Instinct (1992). Her other film roles include The Firm (1993), Waterworld (1995) and Sliding Doors (1998). On television, she starred as Barbara Henrickson on the HBO drama series Big Love (2006–2011) and as Dr. Alex Blake on the CBS police drama Criminal Minds (2012–2014), and she received a Primetime Emmy Award nomination for her performance as Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis in the 2009 HBO movie Grey Gardens.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Marie Windsor</span> American actress (1919–2000)

Marie Windsor was an American actress known for her femme fatale characters in the classic film noir features Force of Evil, The Narrow Margin and The Killing. Windsor's height created problems for her in scenes with all but the tallest actors. She was the female lead in so many B movies that she became dubbed the "Queen" of the genre.

<i>The Blue Angel</i> 1930 German musical comedy-drama film

The Blue Angel is a 1930 German musical comedy-drama film directed by Josef von Sternberg and starring Marlene Dietrich, Emil Jannings and Kurt Gerron. Written by Carl Zuckmayer, Karl Vollmöller and Robert Liebmann, with uncredited contributions by Sternberg, it is based on Heinrich Mann's 1905 novel Professor Unrat and set in an unspecified northern German port city. The Blue Angel presents the tragic transformation of a respectable professor into a cabaret clown and his descent into madness. The film was the first feature-length German sound film and brought Dietrich international fame. It also introduced her signature song, Friedrich Hollaender and Robert Liebmann's "Falling in Love Again ". The film is considered a classic of German cinema.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jane Badler</span> American actress and singer

Jane Badler is an American-Australian actress and singer. She is known for her role as Diana, the main antagonist in NBC's science fiction series V between 1983 and 1985. Following this she had roles in the primetime soap opera Falcon Crest and the 1988 revival of Mission: Impossible, the latter of which was filmed in Australia which has since become Badler's home. She has also become an established nightclub singer in Australia, where she still resides, and has released three albums.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Evelyn Preer</span> American actress and singer (1896–1932)

Evelyn Preer, was an African American pioneering screen and stage actress, and jazz and blues singer in Hollywood during the late-1910s through the early 1930s. Preer was known within the Black community as "The First Lady of the Screen."

Gregory Dark is an American film director, film producer, music video director, and screenwriter. Dark is an adult filmmaker who transitioned into directing Hollywood movies. He has also been credited as Alexander Hippolyte, Gregory Hippolyte, Gregory Brown, and as The Dark Brothers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sharon Acker</span> Canadian actress and model (1935–2023)

Sharon Eileen Acker was a Canadian film, stage, and television actress and model. She appeared mostly on television in Canada and the United States from 1956 to 1992. She played Della Street, Perry Mason's loyal secretary, in The New Perry Mason opposite Monte Markham. Her film roles include Lucky Jim, Point Blank and Don't Let the Angels Fall.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Erotic thriller</span> Film and literary sub-genre

The erotic thriller or sexual thriller is a film subgenre defined as a thriller with a thematic basis in illicit romance or sexual fantasy. Though exact definitions of the erotic thriller can vary, it is generally agreed "bodily danger and pleasure must remain in close proximity and equally important to the plot." Most erotic thrillers contain scenes of softcore sex and nudity, though the frequency and explicitness of those scenes can differ from film to film.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Richard W. Guenther</span> 19th century American politician

Richard William Guenther was a German American immigrant, pharmacist, and Republican politician from Oshkosh, Wisconsin. He served eight years in the U.S. House of Representatives, representing central Wisconsin from 1881 to 1889. Before that, he served as the 8th State Treasurer of Wisconsin. Later in life, he served as an American consul general in Mexico City, Frankfurt, Germany, and Cape Town, South Africa.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">James H. Davidson</span> American politician (1858–1918)

James Henry Davidson was an American lawyer and Republican politician from Oshkosh, Wisconsin. He represented eastern Wisconsin for nine terms in the U.S. House of Representatives, serving from 1897 to 1913, and from 1917 until his death in 1918. He was chairman of the House Committee on Railways and Canals from 1901 to 1911. Earlier in his career, he was district attorney of Green Lake County, Wisconsin, and city attorney of Oshkosh.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Diana Gibson</span> American actress

Diana Gibson was an American film actress.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Olympe Bradna</span> French actress (1920–2012)

Antoinette Olympe Bradna was a French dancer and actress, who emigrated to the United States where she lived for the rest of her life.

Hotel Imperial is a 1939 American dramatic film directed by Robert Florey. It stars Isa Miranda and Ray Milland.

Mirror Images 2 is a 1993 American erotic thriller drama film directed by Gregory Dark and produced by Andrew W. Garroni. The film stars Shannon Whirry, Luca Bercovici, Tom Reilly, Eva LaRue and Ken Steadman in the lead roles. The film's music score was composed by Ashley Irwin.

<i>Animal Instincts</i> (film) 1992 American film

Animal Instincts is a 1992 American erotic thriller drama film directed by Gregory Dark and starring Maxwell Caulfield, Shannon Whirry, Jan-Michael Vincent and David Carradine. This film spawned two sequels: Animal Instincts 2 (1994) and Animal Instincts 3.

References

  1. 1 2 3 "One will become Miss Oshkosh 1983". Oshkosh Northwestern . February 27, 1983. Retrieved July 24, 2023 via Newspapers.com.
  2. "Obituary for Henrietta Elaine "Henri" Giese". Oshkosh Northwestern . November 4, 2002. Retrieved July 25, 2024 via Newspapers.com.
  3. "Obituary for Sherril Jean "Sherry" Chier". Oshkosh Northwestern . May 12, 2016. Retrieved July 25, 2024 via Newspapers.com.
  4. 1 2 3 4 Wolff, Patricia (February 9, 1995). "Former Green Lake Woman Has Role in TV Miniseries". Oshkosh Northwestern . Retrieved July 23, 2023 via newspapers.com.
  5. "Obituary for Russell Clyde Whirry". The Fox Lake Representative. December 22, 1988. Retrieved July 23, 2023 via Newspapers.com.
  6. "Green Lake Top Graduates Named". Oshkosh Northwestern . May 23, 1983. Retrieved July 23, 2023 via newspapers.com.
  7. 1 2 Madden, Amy T. (April 11, 1991). "From Green Lake to Hollywood: Actress debuts in first film". Oshkosh Northwestern . p. 15.
  8. Kenny, Glenn (1994-08-19). "Shannon Whirry: Video's reigning vixen". Entertainment Weekly . Retrieved 2017-03-26. Whirry and Hippolyte are fast becoming the Dietrich and Von Sternberg of the soft-core set, with four titles — Animal Instincts, Body of Influence, Mirror Images II, and the latest, Animal Instincts II, due out next week — under their belts.
  9. Lengel, Kerry (2008-01-20). "Valley actress never bored on the boards". The Arizona Republic . Retrieved 2017-03-26.