Shannon Whirry
Encyclopedia
Shannon Whirry is an American
actress
who was raised in Green Lake, Wisconsin.
in the 1980s, appearing onstage in Butterflies Are Free
and Mrs Warren's Profession.
However, she began to work primarily in erotic B movie
s in the early 1990s along with other scream queen
s of that era, such as Tanya Roberts
, Maria Ford
, and Shannon Tweed
. Director Gregory Hippolyte
's productions of Animal Instincts I and II, Body of Influence, and Mirror Images II featured Whirry in various stages of undress in repeated scenes. Other films were
Private Obsession and Playback, a Playboy
production.
In the late 1990s, she moved from softcore
movies 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
.
In 2007 she appeared on a BBC
TV mini-series, Nuclear Secrets
, playing Kitty Oppenheimer, the wife of Robert Oppenheimer
.
She also had a small role in the Jim Carrey
film Me, Myself & Irene (2000).
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
actress
Actor
An actor is a person who acts in a dramatic production and who works in film, television, theatre, or radio in that capacity...
who was raised in Green Lake, Wisconsin.
Career
Shannon Whirry trained at the American Academy of Dramatic ArtsAmerican Academy of Dramatic Arts
The American Academy of Dramatic Arts is a fully accredited two-year conservatory with facilities located in Manhattan, New York City – at 120 Madison Avenue, in a landmark building designed by noted architect Stanford White as the original Colony Club – and in Hollywood, California...
in the 1980s, appearing onstage in Butterflies Are Free
Butterflies Are Free
Butterflies Are Free is a 1972 film based on a play by Leonard Gershe. The 1972 film was produced by M.J. Frankovich, released by Columbia Pictures, directed by Milton Katselas and adapted for the screen by Gershe. It was released on 6 July, 1972 in the USA.Goldie Hawn and Edward Albert starred...
and Mrs Warren's Profession.
However, she began to work primarily in erotic B movie
B movie
A B movie is a low-budget commercial motion picture that is not definitively an arthouse or pornographic film. In its original usage, during the Golden Age of Hollywood, the term more precisely identified a film intended for distribution as the less-publicized, bottom half of a double feature....
s in the early 1990s along with other scream queen
Scream queen
A scream queen is an actress who has become associated with horror films, either through an appearance in a notable entry in the genre as a frequent victim or through constant appearances as the female protagonist...
s of that era, such as Tanya Roberts
Tanya Roberts
Tanya Roberts is an American actress best known for her roles in Charlie's Angels, The Beastmaster, A View to a Kill, Sheena and That '70s Show. Roberts was groomed as a Hollywood sex symbol during the early 1980s.- Early life :Blum was born in The Bronx, New York City, of Irish and Jewish descent...
, Maria Ford
Maria Ford
- Career :Maria starred in films like The Haunting of Morella , Deathstalker: Match of Titans ; played the part of Dionara, " Ring of Fire" in 1991 along side Don "The Dragon" Wilson, as his girl friend, Necronomicon , Angel of Destruction , played Jo Alwood, Dillinger and Capone , Stripteaser ,The...
, and Shannon Tweed
Shannon Tweed
Shannon Lee Tweed is a Canadian actress and model. One of the most successful actresses of mainstream erotica, she is identified with the genre of the erotic thriller...
. Director Gregory Hippolyte
Gregory Dark
Gregory Dark is an American film director, film producer, music video director, and screenwriter. Dark is one of the few adult film-makers to successfully transition into mainstream Hollywood film-making...
's productions of Animal Instincts I and II, Body of Influence, and Mirror Images II featured Whirry in various stages of undress in repeated scenes. Other films were
Private Obsession and Playback, a Playboy
Playboy
Playboy is an American men's magazine that features photographs of nude women as well as journalism and fiction. It was founded in Chicago in 1953 by Hugh Hefner and his associates, and funded in part by a $1,000 loan from Hefner's mother. The magazine has grown into Playboy Enterprises, Inc., with...
production.
In the late 1990s, she moved from softcore
Softcore
Softcore pornography is a form of filmic or photographic pornography or erotica that is less sexually explicit than hardcore pornography. It is intended to tickle and arouse men and women. Softcore pornography depicts nude and semi-nude performers engaging in casual social nudity or non-graphic...
movies 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
Mike Hammer
Michael "Mike" Hammer is a fictional detective created by the American author Mickey Spillane in the 1947 book I, the Jury .-Description:...
's secretary Velda in the television series Mike Hammer, Private Eye
Mike Hammer, Private Eye
Mike Hammer, Private Eye is an American syndicated television program based on the adventures of the fictitious private detective Mike Hammer, created by novelist Mickey Spillane...
and made guest appearances on such shows as
ER
ER (TV series)
ER is an American medical drama television series created by novelist Michael Crichton that aired on NBC from September 19, 1994 to April 2, 2009. It was produced by Constant c Productions and Amblin Entertainment, in association with Warner Bros. Television...
, Felicity
Felicity
Felicity is an American prime-time television drama that was produced by Touchstone Television and Imagine Television for The WB Television Network...
, Seinfeld
Seinfeld
Seinfeld is an American television sitcom that originally aired on NBC from July 5, 1989, to May 14, 1998, lasting nine seasons, and is now in syndication. It was created by Larry David and Jerry Seinfeld, the latter starring as a fictionalized version of himself...
, V.I.P.
V.I.P. (TV series)
V.I.P. is an American action/comedy-drama series starring Pamela Anderson. Created by J. F...
, Murphy Brown
Murphy Brown
Murphy Brown is an American situation comedy which aired on CBS from November 14, 1988, to May 18, 1998, for a total of 247 episodes. The program starred Candice Bergen as the eponymous Murphy Brown, a famous investigative journalist and news anchor for FYI, a fictional CBS television...
, Malcolm in the Middle
Malcolm in the Middle
Malcolm in the Middle is an American television sitcom created by Linwood Boomer for the Fox Network. The series was first broadcast on January 9, 2000, and ended its six-and-a-half-year run on May 14, 2006, after seven seasons and 151 episodes...
and Nash Bridges
Nash Bridges
Nash Bridges is an American television police drama created by Carlton Cuse. The show starred Don Johnson and Cheech Marin as two Inspectors with the San Francisco Police Department's Special Investigations Unit. The show ran for six seasons on CBS from March 29, 1996 to May 4, 2001 with a total of...
.
In 2007 she appeared on a BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
TV mini-series, Nuclear Secrets
Nuclear Secrets
Nuclear Secrets, aka Spies, Lies and the Superbomb, is a 2007 BBC Television docudrama series which looks at the race for nuclear supremacy from the Manhattan Project through to the Pakistani nuclear weapons.-Production:...
, playing Kitty Oppenheimer, the wife of Robert Oppenheimer
Robert Oppenheimer
Julius Robert Oppenheimer was an American theoretical physicist and professor of physics at the University of California, Berkeley. Along with Enrico Fermi, he is often called the "father of the atomic bomb" for his role in the Manhattan Project, the World War II project that developed the first...
.
She also had a small role in the Jim Carrey
Jim Carrey
James Eugene "Jim" Carrey is a Canadian-American actor and comedian. He has received two Golden Globe Awards and has also been nominated on four occasions. Carrey began comedy in 1979, performing at Yuk Yuk's in Toronto, Ontario...
film Me, Myself & Irene (2000).
Filmography
- Out for JusticeOut for JusticeOut for Justice is a 1991 action film directed by John Flynn and starring Steven Seagal.- Plot :Gino Felino is an NYPD detective from Brooklyn who has strong ties within his neighborhood...
(1991), Terry Malloy - Animal Instincts (1992), Joanna Cole
- SliverSliver (film)Sliver is a 1993 film based on the Ira Levin novel of the same name about the mysterious occurrences in a privately owned New York highrise apartment building. Phillip Noyce directed the film, from a screenplay by Joe Eszterhas...
(1993), Woman Looking in Mirror (uncredited) - Body of Influence (1993) (V), Laura/Lana
- Mirror Images II (1994) (V), Carrie/Terrie
- Animal Instincts 2 (1994), Joanna Cole
- Lady in Waiting (1994), Lori
- Private Obsession (1995), Emmanuelle Griffith
- The GrannyThe GrannyThe Granny is a 1995 American horror comedy directed by Luca Bercovici and co-written by Bercovici and Sam Bernard. The film stars Stella Stevens as a grandmother who comes back from her grave to seek revenge on her greedy family. After a limited release at drive-in theaters, the film was printed...
(1995), Kelly Gargoli - Dangerous Prey (1995), Robin
- Ringer (1996), Kristin/Tracy
- Playback (1995), Karen Stone
- Exit (1996), Diane
- Retroactive (1997), Rayanne
- Omega DoomOmega DoomOmega Doom is a 1996 film by Albert Pyun, starring Rutger Hauer who plays a robot who, during a nuclear winter, plays both sides of a robot civil war against each other in a small town...
(1997), Zed - Fatal Pursuit (1998), Jill
- The Prophet's Game (1999), Barb
- Lying in Wait (2000), Lois
- Me, Myself & Irene (2000), Beautiful Mom
- Active Stealth (2000) (V), Gina Murphy
- Mach 2 (2001), Shannon Carpenter
- Mike Hammer: Song Bird (2003) (V), Velda (Mike HammerMike HammerMichael "Mike" Hammer is a fictional detective created by the American author Mickey Spillane in the 1947 book I, the Jury .-Description:...
's secretary) - Jolene (2008), Teacher
- Longshot (2008), Lydia
TV appearances
- Eden (1993), Lauren's Friend
- Silk StalkingsSilk StalkingsSilk Stalkings is a TV crime drama originally shown on CBS in 1991 as part of the network's late-night Crimetime After Primetime programming package, and rebroadcast on the USA Network. After CBS ended the Crimetime experiment in 1993, the series ran exclusively on USA until its finale in the...
, Karen Daniels - in the episode "Look the Other Way" (1993) - Murder OneMurder One (TV series)Murder One is an American legal drama series that first aired on the ABC network in the United States in 1995. The series was created by Steven Bochco, Charles H. Eglee, and Channing Gibson.-Premise:...
, Deborah Cummings - in the episode "Chapter Ten, Year Two" (1997) - Murphy BrownMurphy BrownMurphy Brown is an American situation comedy which aired on CBS from November 14, 1988, to May 18, 1998, for a total of 247 episodes. The program starred Candice Bergen as the eponymous Murphy Brown, a famous investigative journalist and news anchor for FYI, a fictional CBS television...
, Amber - in the episode "Blind Date" (1997) - Nash BridgesNash BridgesNash Bridges is an American television police drama created by Carlton Cuse. The show starred Don Johnson and Cheech Marin as two Inspectors with the San Francisco Police Department's Special Investigations Unit. The show ran for six seasons on CBS from March 29, 1996 to May 4, 2001 with a total of...
, Suzanne - in the episode "Moving Target" (1997) - Pacific BluePacific Blue (TV series)Pacific Blue is an American crime drama series about a team of police officers with the Santa Monica Police Department who patrolled its beaches on bicycles. The show ran for five seasons on the USA Network, from March 2, 1996 to April 9, 2000, with a total of one hundred and one episodes...
, Kay McNeil - in the episode "Ties That Bind" (1997) - SeinfeldSeinfeldSeinfeld is an American television sitcom that originally aired on NBC from July 5, 1989, to May 14, 1998, lasting nine seasons, and is now in syndication. It was created by Larry David and Jerry Seinfeld, the latter starring as a fictionalized version of himself...
, Cute Girl - in the episode "The Butter ShaveThe Butter Shave"The Butter Shave" is the 157th episode of the NBC sitcom Seinfeld. It is also the first episode of the ninth and final season. It aired on September 25, 1997.-Plot:...
" (1997) - Mike Hammer, Private EyeMike Hammer, Private EyeMike Hammer, Private Eye is an American syndicated television program based on the adventures of the fictitious private detective Mike Hammer, created by novelist Mickey Spillane...
(1997-1998), Velda (Mike HammerMike HammerMichael "Mike" Hammer is a fictional detective created by the American author Mickey Spillane in the 1947 book I, the Jury .-Description:...
's secretary) - Silk StalkingsSilk StalkingsSilk Stalkings is a TV crime drama originally shown on CBS in 1991 as part of the network's late-night Crimetime After Primetime programming package, and rebroadcast on the USA Network. After CBS ended the Crimetime experiment in 1993, the series ran exclusively on USA until its finale in the...
, Victoria Tremain aka Jenny Kravits - in the episode "Passion and the Palm Beach Detectives" (1998) - Air AmericaAir America (TV series)Air America is an American action/adventure television series starring Lorenzo Lamas, and premiering on October 4, 1998. The series is not based on the 1990 film Air America.-Plot:...
, Dr. Veronica Brady - in the episode "Fear of Flying" (1999) - Sons of ThunderSons of ThunderSons of Thunder is a television show that ran from March to April 1999 on CBS. It was a spin-off of Walker, Texas Ranger.-Pilot:The two-hour pilot, Sons of Thunder, was shown as episode 4.24 of Walker...
, Sabrina - in the episode "Daddy's Girl" (1999) - V.I.P.V.I.P. (TV series)V.I.P. is an American action/comedy-drama series starring Pamela Anderson. Created by J. F...
, Katherine Johnson - in the episode "Why 2 Kay" (1999) - City of Angels, Gina - in various episodes (2000)
- Malcolm in the MiddleMalcolm in the MiddleMalcolm in the Middle is an American television sitcom created by Linwood Boomer for the Fox Network. The series was first broadcast on January 9, 2000, and ended its six-and-a-half-year run on May 14, 2006, after seven seasons and 151 episodes...
, Beautiful Woman - in the episode "Evacuation" (2000) - Black ScorpionBlack Scorpion (TV series)Black Scorpion is an action-crime TV series that aired on the Sci-Fi Channel in 2001. The series is based on two Roger Corman movies, Black Scorpion, and the sequel Black Scorpion II: Aftershock. The show focuses on a female police officer, who, by night, takes to the streets and fights crime as...
, Vox Populi - in the episode "Face the Music" (2001) - FelicityFelicityFelicity is an American prime-time television drama that was produced by Touchstone Television and Imagine Television for The WB Television Network...
, Barb Jones - in the episode "Boooz" (2001) - ERER (TV series)ER is an American medical drama television series created by novelist Michael Crichton that aired on NBC from September 19, 1994 to April 2, 2009. It was produced by Constant c Productions and Amblin Entertainment, in association with Warner Bros. Television...
, Doreen Brant - in the episode "No Good Deed Goes Unpunished" (2003) - Nuclear SecretsNuclear SecretsNuclear Secrets, aka Spies, Lies and the Superbomb, is a 2007 BBC Television docudrama series which looks at the race for nuclear supremacy from the Manhattan Project through to the Pakistani nuclear weapons.-Production:...
(2007) (TV mini-series), Kitty Oppenheimer (Robert Oppenheimer's wife)