Savannah

Shannon Michelle Wilsey Longoria (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 as well as her off-screen life.

Savannah reportedly took her stage name from Savannah Smiles, a 1982 movie she enjoyed. Her nickname among friends and costars was "Savvy".

Early life

When Savannah'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 thirteen, she learned that Joe Longoria, the man who had raised her, was not her biological father. Soon afterward, Savannah began to transform into a "wild child" and became a groupie.

She lived with musician Gregg Allman for nearly two years (before the age of seventeen), 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, she had posed nude near tanks and fighter jets which she claimed was an effort to boost morale of deployed US military forces. Savannah had also said that she hoped this would help jump start her career in a manner similar to Betty Grable.

Career and relationships

She signed an exclusive contract with Vivid Entertainment in 1991 and gained fame rapidly. Savannah fell into the porn industry's stereotypical traps of drug use and excessive spending, and reportedly had severe financial troubles despite her substantial income. She also garnered a reputation for being difficult to work with and egotistical, leading Vivid to sever its ties with the actress in 1992.

Her fondness for rock stars led her to become involved with several other well-known musicians including Vince Neil, Billy Idol, Slash and Axl Rose. However, on more than one occasion she tended to desire a serious relationship, while her partners wanted only a "fling". This led her to heartbreak on more than one occasion.

Savannah became involved in a long term lesbian relationship with fellow porn actress Jeanna Fine, and she later claimed to have fallen deeply in love with Fine. 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 Pauly Shore from that circle would be in attendance at her funeral.

She 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.

Savannah frequently mentioned well endowed porn actors Peter North, T.T. Boy, and Buck Adams as her favorites to work with.

Death

On July 11 1994, at about two in the morning, Savannah drove herself and a male friend, Jason Swing, home from a night of partying. According to reports, both were intoxicated. One block from Savannah's home, she drove her Corvette into a fence, suffering lacerations to her face and breaking her nose. When she and Jason got to her house, she sent him out to walk her Rottweiler, Daisy.

Savannah called her friend and manager Nancy Pera and hysterically begged her to come help her. When Pera arrived, she found Savannah lying in a pool of blood but still breathing. She had apparently shot herself with a 9mm handgun she kept in her home. After almost 11 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, her 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

• rec.arts.movies.erotica FAQ [1]

External links

• Template:Find A Grave

This article is based on a GNU FDL LGBT Wikia article: (actress) Savannah (actress)

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