WIKIPEDIA: SAVANNAH

Savannah (pornographic actress)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
For a similarly named porn actress, see Savanna Samson.
Savannah (pornographic actress)
Birthdate October 9, 1970(1970-10-09)
Birth location Mission Viejo, California, U.S.
Birth name Shannon Michelle Wilsey
Date of death July 11, 1994 (aged 23)
Measurements 34D-24-34
Height 5 ft 6 in (1.68 m)
Weight 105 lb (48 kg; 7.5 st)
Eye colour Blue
Hair colour Blonde
EthnicityCaucasian
Alias(es) Silver Cane, Silver Kane, Savanah, Silver
Savannah (pornographic actress) at IMDb
Savannah (pornographic actress) at IAFD
Savannah (pornographic actress) at AFDB

------
Shannon Michelle Wilsey (October 9, 1970 – July 11, 1994), commonly known by her stage name of Savannah, was an American pornographic actress, starring in more than 100 pornographic films during her career. One of the most high-profile porn stars of her time, she achieved notoriety within her short (1990–1994) career due to her on-screen presence and personal life. Savannah committed suicide in 1994 after an auto accident.[1][2][3]
Wilsey reportedly took her stage name from Savannah Smiles, a 1982 movie she enjoyed.
Contents
1 Early life
2 Career and relationships
3 Death
4 References
5 External links

Early life
When Wilsey's parents divorced in 1972, she moved to Texas to live with her mother. When she grew older, she lived briefly with her father in Oxnard, California and then with her grandparents in her hometown of Mission Viejo, California. At the age of 13, she learned that Joe Longoria, the man who had raised her, was not her biological father. Soon afterward, she began to rebel against her parents and became a groupie. She became a cheerleader in high school.
She lived with musician Gregg Allman for nearly two years (before the age of 17), became pregnant and miscarried. After breaking up with Allman, she moved in with Billy Sheehan, bassist for rock group Mr. Big. When she began working as a nude model and porn actress around 1990, she and Sheehan parted ways.
During the time of the Gulf War, Wilsey had posed nude near tanks and fighter jets, which she claimed was an effort to boost morale of deployed US military forces. She had also said that she hoped this would help jump start her career in a manner similar to Betty Grable.

Career and relationships

at the beginning of her film career
Wilsey signed an exclusive contract with Vivid Entertainment in 1991 and quickly became famous. She began using drugs and spending huge amounts of money, and reportedly had severe financial troubles despite her substantial income. She also garnered a reputation for being difficult to work with, leading Vivid to sever its ties with her in 1992.
Her fondness for rock stars led her to become involved with several other well-known musicians including Gregg Allman, Vince Neil, Billy Idol, Slash and Axl Rose.
Wilsey became involved in a long term lesbian relationship with fellow porn actress Jeanna Fine, with whom she later claimed to have fallen deeply in love.[4] This relationship reportedly ended badly, and afterward she had a long relationship with comedian Pauly Shore. Although she frequently came in contact with mainstream Hollywood, only Shore from that circle would be in attendance at her funeral.[citation needed]
Wilsey had a few roles in mainstream movies in the late-1980s, but never managed to break into a starring role in the non-adult entertainment industry.[citation needed]

Death
Around 2 a.m. on July 11, 1994, Wilsey drove herself and a friend, Jason Swing, home from a night of partying. According to reports, both were intoxicated. One block from her home, she drove her Corvette into a fence, suffering lacerations to her face and breaking her nose. When she and Swing got to her house, she sent him out to walk her Rottweiler, Daisy.
She was found in a pool of blood, but still breathing, by her friend, Nancy Pera. She had shot herself in the head with a 9 mm handgun she kept in her home. After almost 9 hours in a coma, she died at 11:20 a.m. on July 11, 1994, at St. Joseph's Medical Center in Burbank, California.
After her death, Wilsey's family swapped angry public statements of blame with her friends in the porn industry. Police investigators concluded that she was deeply depressed due to several factors, including her drug use, financial difficulties, and failed relationships. The accident in which she sustained injuries that might have seriously hurt her career, police theorized, was the final factor that led her to take her own life.

References
^ "Suicide of Young Superstar Weighs on Porn Industry Tragedy: Pampered, wild Shannon Wilsey, known as Savannah, was the third actress to take her life.", by John Johnson, July 16, 1994, Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2007-10-02.
^ "'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", by John Johnson, July 16, 1994, Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2007-10-02.
^ "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.", by James Grant, August 9, 1994, Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2007-10-02.
^ Sager, Mike (2003), Scary Monsters and Super Freaks: Stories of Sex, Drugs, Rock 'N' Roll and Murder, Thunder's Mouth Press, p. 45, ISBN 1560255633

External links
Savannah (pornographic actress) at Find a Grave
Savannah (pornographic actress) at the Internet Movie Database
Persondata
NAME
Wilsey, Shannon Michelle
ALTERNATIVE NAMES
Silver Cane, Silver Kane, Savanah, Silver (stage names)
SHORT DESCRIPTION
American pornographic actress
DATE OF BIRTH
October 9, 1970
PLACE OF BIRTH
Laguna Beach, California
DATE OF DEATH
July 11, 1994
PLACE OF DEATH
California
Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Savannah_(pornographic_actress)"