Mary Woronov
Mary Woronov (born December 8, 1943) is an American actress, published author and figurative painter. She is primarily known as a "cult star" because of her work with Andy Warhol and her roles in Roger Corman's cult films. Woronov has appeared in over 80 movies and on stage at Lincoln Center and off-Broadway productions as well as numerous times in mainstream American TV series, such as Charlie's Angels and Knight Rider. She frequently co-starred with friend Paul Bartel; the pair appeared in 17 films together, often playing a married couple.
Mary Woronov | |
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Woronov in February 2007 | |
Born | Palm Beach, Florida, U.S. | December 8, 1943
Other names | Mary Might, Mary Pfft, Mary Whitehead, Mary Gershunny, Mary Waronov, Mary Woronoff |
Occupation | Actress, writer, painter |
Years active | 1966–present |
Spouse(s) | Theodore Gershuny
(m. 1970; div. 1973)Fred Whitehead (m. 1976; div. 19??) |
Early life
Woronov was born to Carol Eschholz[1] in the Breakers Hotel in Palm Beach, Florida,[2] while it was temporarily operating as the Ream General Hospital during World War II.[3] Her mother married Victor D. Woronov, a cancer surgeon in Brooklyn Heights, in 1949, where they settled as a family and her step-father legally adopted her.[4] She attended Packer Collegiate Institute in Brooklyn Heights and Cornell University.
Career
Acting
She first made headlines in the early 1960s as a Warhol superstar. She danced with Exploding Plastic Inevitable, Warhol's multimedia presentation of the Velvet Underground. She played Hanoi Hannah in Chelsea Girls, the 1966 experimental underground film directed by Andy Warhol. The film was Warhol's first major commercial success after a long line of avant-garde art films (both feature-length and short). Of this time she has said,
Of all the girls at Andy Warhol's Factory, I was the butch one. [Warhol] put me in his Screen Test and I spent my nights at Max's Kansas City. ... I was the strong girl at the Factory.[5]
She became a fan of the L.A. punk music scene, and made an appearance with actor Jack Nance in the Suicidal Tendencies music video "Institutionalized" (1983).[6] She later appeared in the band's music video for the song "Possessed To Skate" (1987).
Woronov's notable appearances include the 1975 cult film Death Race 2000 and 1979's Rock 'n' Roll High School (and the 1991 sequel Rock 'n' Roll High School Forever), but her breakthrough role was in the 1982 cult film Eating Raoul. She has since had roles in numerous films including Blood Theatre (1984), Night of the Comet (1984), Chopping Mall and Nomads (1986), Scenes from the Class Struggle in Beverly Hills (1989), Dick Tracy (1990), Where Sleeping Dogs Lie (1991), Looney Tunes: Back in Action (2003)[7] and All About Evil (2010).[8]
She has also made guest appearances on TV shows such as Logan's Run, Buck Rogers in the 25th Century, Charlie's Angels, Mr. Belvedere, Murder, She Wrote, Amazing Stories, St. Elsewhere, Wings, Babylon 5, Family Matters, and Highlander: The Series.
Writing and other work
She has written such books as Snake; Blind Love; and Swimming Underground: My Years in the Warhol Factory. She appeared in Barneys New York fall 2014 advertising campaign, "L.A. Stories," shot by Bruce Weber.[5]
Personal life
Woronov married producer/director Ted Gershuny in 1970, completing three films with him – Kemek (1970), Sugar Cookies (1973) and Silent Night, Bloody Night (1972) – before their divorce in 1973. She then married producer Fred Whitehead in 1976, later divorcing.[4]
Filmography
Year | Title | Role | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
1966 | Chelsea Girls | Hanoi Hannah | |
1966 | Hedy | Policewoman | |
1966 | Kiss the Boot | ||
1966 | Milk | Short film | |
1966 | Shower | ||
1966 | Superboy | ||
1966 | The Beard | Jean Harlow | |
1966 | Since | John F. Kennedy | |
1967 | Four Stars | ||
1970 | Kemek | Mary Wonderly | |
1973 | Sugar Cookies | Camilla Stone | |
1974 | Seizure | Mikki Hughes | |
1974 | Silent Night, Bloody Night | Diane Adams | |
1975 | Death Race 2000 | Calamity Jane | |
1975 | Cover Girl Models | Diane | |
1976 | Hollywood Boulevard | Mary McQueen | |
1976 | Jackson County Jail | Pearl | |
1976 | Cannonball | Sandy Harris | |
1976 | Hollywood Man | Julie | |
1977 | Mr. Billion | Bit Part (uncredited) | |
1977 | Bad Georgia Road | Hackett | |
1978 | The One and Only | Arlene | |
1979 | The Lady in Red | Woman Bankrobber | |
1979 | Rock 'n' Roll High School | Miss Togar | |
1981 | Heartbeeps | Party House Owner | |
1982 | Eating Raoul | Mary Bland | |
1982 | National Lampoon's Movie Madness | Secretary | |
1983 | Angel of H.E.A.T. | Samantha Vitesse | |
1983 | Get Crazy | Violetta | |
1984 | Blood Theatre | Miss Blackwell | |
1984 | Young Lust | ||
1984 | Night of the Comet | Audrey | |
1985 | Get Out of My Room | ||
1985 | Hellhole | Dr. Fletcher | |
1986 | Nomads | Dancing Mary | |
1986 | TerrorVision | Raquel Putterman | |
1986 | Chopping Mall | Mary Bland | |
1987 | Kappa | Short film | |
1987 | Black Widow | Shelley | |
1988 | Mortuary Academy | Mary Purcell | |
1989 | Warlock | Channeler | |
1989 | Scenes from the Class Struggle in Beverly Hills | Lisabeth Hepburn-Saravian | |
1989 | Let It Ride | Quinella | |
1990 | Dick Tracy | Welfare Person | |
1990 | Club Fed | Jezebel | |
1990 | Watchers II | Dr. Glatman | |
1991 | Buster's Bedroom | Jane | |
1991 | Rock 'n' Roll High School Forever | Doctor Vadar | |
1991 | Motorama | Kidnapping Wife | |
1991 | Where Sleeping Dogs Lie | Woman Tourist | |
1992 | The Living End | Daisy | |
1993 | Good Girls Don't | Wilamena LaRue | |
1993 | Grief | Attorney | |
1995 | Number One Fan | Wedding Coordinator | |
1995 | Glory Daze | Joanie's Mom | |
1998 | Secrets of a Chambermaid | Felicity | |
1998 | Sweet Jane | Sales Lady | |
1998 | Mom, Can I Keep Her? | Dr. Klein | Video |
1999 | Zoo | Prunella | |
1999 | Invisible Mom II | Olivia | Video |
2000 | Straight Right | Dr. Wright | |
2001 | The Vampire Hunters Club | Receptionist | Video short |
2001 | The New Women | Lisa LaStrada | |
2001 | Perfect Fit | Mom | |
2003 | Prison A-Go-Go! | Dyanne She-Bitch Slutface | |
2003 | Looney Tunes: Back in Action | Acme VP, Bad Ideas | |
2004 | The Halfway House | Sister Cecelia | |
2004 | Frog-g-g! | Doctor | |
2004 | I Pass for Human | Dr. Larraz | |
2005 | The Devil's Rejects | Abbie | |
2009 | The House of the Devil | Mrs. Ulman | |
2009 | Heaven Wants Out | Kitty | |
2011 | Kitchenette: Part One | Jo | |
2012 | Attack of the 50 Foot Cheerleader | House Mother |
Year | Title | Role | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
1974 | Somerset | Stephanie Dillard | TV series |
1976 | Charlie's Angels | Maxine | Episode: "Angels in Chains" |
1977 | Logan's Run | Irene Borden | Episode: "Capture" |
1979 | Taxi | Fran Strickland | Episode: "Nardo Loses Her Marbles" |
1979 | Mrs. Columbo | Kate's fellow inmate | Episode: "Off the Record" |
1980 | Buck Rogers in the 25th Century | Nola | Episode: "A Dream of Jennifer" |
1980 | Phyl & Mikhy | Anya | Episode: "Mikhy's Visitor" |
1984 | Hart to Hart | Clavell | Episode: "The Dog Who Knew Too Much" |
1984 | The Princess Who Had Never Laughed | Governess | TV movie |
1985 | Challenge of a Lifetime | Mary Garritee | TV movie |
1985 | A Bunny's Tale | Miss Renfro | TV movie |
1985 | Knight Rider | Dr. Von Furst | Episode: "Knight of the Juggernaut: Part 1" |
1985 | Mr. Belvedere | Cheryl | Episode: "The Letter" |
1985 | Murder, She Wrote | Brady | Episode: "Jessica Behind Bars" |
1986 | Amazing Stories | Nurse | Episode: "Secret Cinema" |
1986 | Brothers | Sophia Santini | Episode: "The Seduction of Lou" |
1986 | St. Elsewhere | Episode: "Nothing Up My Sleeve" | |
1987 | You Again? | Dr. Quinn | Episode: "Where the Sun Don't Shine" |
1987 | Shell Game | Bean Sweeney | Episode: "The Upstairs Gardner" |
1987 | Sledge Hammer! | Jill Taylor | Episode: "The Spa Who Loved Me" |
1987 | Webster | Carol | Episode: "San Francisco: Part 2" Episode: "San Francisco: Part 3" |
1988 | Trial and Error | Officer Burdette | Episode: "Man's Best Friend" |
1988 | Monsters | Viki | Episode: "Pillow Talk" |
1992 | Parker Lewis Can't Lose | Officer Gwen | Episode: "Money Talks" |
1993 | Wings | Lydia Detmeir | Episode: "The Gift: Part 2" |
1993 | Flying Blind | Mona | 4 episodes |
1993 | Acting on Impulse | Receptionist | TV movie |
1994 | Babylon 5 | Ko'Dath | Episode: "Born to the Purple" |
1994 | Shake, Rattle and Rock! | E. Joyce Togar | TV movie |
1994 | My So-Called Life | Dr. Linda Shields | Episode: "Pressure" |
1995 | Highlander: The Series | Rita Luce | Episode: "They Also Serve" |
1995 | Here Come the Munsters | Mrs. Dimwitty | TV movie |
1996 | Family Matters | Mrs. Ramsay | Episode: "Swine Lake" |
1996 | The Munsters' Scary Little Christmas | Mrs. Dimwitty | TV movie |
1999 | Beyond Belief: Fact or Fiction | Motel Manager | Episode: "Get Your Kicks at Motel 66" |
2000 | Who's Watching Who? | Starring | TV movie |
References
- "Mary Woronov Biography (1946?-)". filmreference.com. Retrieved 2009-10-22.
- "Mary Woronov. The Warhol cine-star and born again punk looks back in bemusement". bizarremag.com. Archived from the original on May 21, 2010. Retrieved 2010-09-29.
- "U.S. Military in Palm Beach". pbchistoryonline.org. Retrieved 2010-09-29.
- Looseleaf, Victoria (2014-11-04). "Mary Woronov: Artist, Chelsea Girl, and B-Movie Queen". KCET. Retrieved 2020-04-03.
- "L.A. Stories," Barneys New York fall advertising mailer, 2014, p.7.
- Rose, Cynthia. "Mary Woronov Interview". Psychotronicvideo.com. Archived from the original on September 17, 2007.
- The Show Must Go On! 'All About Evil' Teaser Trailer Debut
- Final All About Evil One-Sheet and Info on the Special Los Angeles Screening
External links
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Mary Woronov. |