Suzee Slater

Suzanne M. Slater, also credited as Suzee Slater, is an American former actress and model best known as Leslie Todd in the horror film Chopping Mall. She had several minor roles in movies and television in the late 1980s and early 1990s before abruptly leaving the acting industry.

Suzanne M. Slater
BornJune 13
Goodland, Kansas, USA
NationalityAmerican
Other namesSuzee Slater, Sue Slater
OccupationActress, model
Years active1984-1994
Known forChopping Mall, Mind Twister

Early life and career

Suzee Slater was born on June 13 in Goodland, Kansas and was raised in Omaha, Nebraska. She attended the University of Nebraska for one year, then worked as a flight attendant for MGM Grand Air, specializing in short-run celebrity flights. Slater eventually met a talent agent at an airline party. After landing a role on an episode of the television series Mickey Spillane's Mike Hammer, Slater joined the Screen Actors Guild and moved to Los Angeles.[1] She quickly earned brief appearances in the 1984 films Savage Streets and Summer Fantasy.[2]

Slater's most well-known acting credit came as she played the ill-fated Leslie Todd in the 1986 horror movie Chopping Mall, directed by Jim Wynorski and co-produced by Roger and Julie Corman. One of Roger Corman's few requirements was a certain amount of gratuitous nudity, a staple of his production company's releases. Wynorski cast Slater based on her statuesque, buxom figure.[3] Her character's exploding-head death sequence is cited as one the now-cult film's most memorable scenes among horror aficionados.[4][5][6] In a 1993 interview with the magazine Femme Fatales, Slater admitted a certain amount of regret for doing the movie, claiming it "falsely linked [her] to a damned 'scream queen' title."[1] Slater appeared on the poster for the 1986 slasher Sorority House Massacre despite not appearing in the film itself.[7]

After Chopping Mall, she continued to gain minor bit parts in movies and some short-lived television shows through the end of the decade,[1] as well as modeling work for the likes of glamour photographer Peter Gowland.[8] Many of her film roles involved nudity, which she stated she did not mind. However, she wished to avoid being typecast as a "topless bimbo" character, even turning down a role in Jeff Broadstreet's Sexbomb despite her need for work.[1] Slater mentioned in a 1989 Playboy article that she desired "a part in a really steamy movie, like 9½ Weeks.[9] Her last major role in the movie industry as she played Heather Black in the 1994 erotic thriller Mind Twister, directed by Fred Olen Ray and for which Slater received top-billing. She was suggested by Wynorski after lead actress Tanya Roberts dropped out of the project. The part called for lengthy softcore sex scenes with her co-stars Erica Nann and Nels Van Patten, a first for Slater.[1]

Shortly after the release of Mind Twister, Slater suddenly retired from acting and disappeared from the public eye. Fellow Chopping Mall actress Barbara Crampton explained in 2016 that the two failed to keep in contact in the years following that film's release. The movie's staff had been unable to locate Slater, making her one of the few surviving cast members to not attend the 30th anniversary screening of Chopping Mall.[10]

Personal life

Suzee Slater had a mother and brother, both of whom moved out to California to be closer to her. Slater once dated screenwriter Stanley Weiser.[1]

Filmography

Film
Year Title Role Notes
1994 Mind Twister Heather Black
1990 Cartel Nancy
1989 The Big Picture Stewardess
1988 Take Two Sherrie
1987 Real Men Woman in Bed
1986 Las Vegas Serial Killer Photographer's Model
1986 Chopping Mall Leslie Todd
1984 Savage Streets[2] Fadden's girlfriend Uncredited
1984 Summer Fantasy[2] Extra Uncredited

Television
Year Title Role Notes
1993 Hearts Afire Woman #2 1 episode ("First Edition")
1989 Nearly Departed[1] Woman at bar 1 episode ("Grandpa's Date")
1988 Trial and Error[1] Unaired
1987 Second Chance Becky Sue 1 episode ("The End")
1984 Mickey Spillane's Mike Hammer[1] Beverly 1 episode ("A Death in the Family")

References
  1. Newsom, Ted (Spring 1993). "Surviving Killer Robots, Stalkers, and Stereotypes". Femme Fatales. Vol. 1 no. 4. Clark, Frederick S. pp. 18–23, 40. ISSN 1062-3906.
  2. Leivdal, Mark (January 1986). "Grapevine: If You Knew Suzee". Playboy. Vol. 33 no. 1. Playboy Enterprises. p. 249. ISSN 0032-1478.
  3. Robinson, Tasha (August 20, 2012). "Chopping Mall focuses on a lot of mall, but no chopping". The A.V. Club. Retrieved 2017-08-11.
  4. Briggs, Joe Bob (March 6, 1988). "And The Nominees Are..." Orlando Sentinel. Tronc, Inc. ISSN 0744-6055.
  5. Condit, Jon (October 11, 2004). "Mitchell, Steve (Chopping Mall)". Dread Central. Retrieved 2017-08-11.
  6. Abley, Sean (June 27, 2014). "13 Awesome Horror Head Traumas". Chiller. Retrieved 2017-08-11.
  7. Lott, Rodd (September 16, 2013). "Sorority House Massacre (1986)". Archived from the original on January 19, 2020. Retrieved September 28, 2020.
  8. Gowland, Peter and Alice (November 16, 1988). Peter Gowland's New Handbook of Glamour Photography. New York, NY: Crown Publishing Group. pp. 31, 91, 150, 152. ISBN 0-517-56898-5.
  9. Briggs, Joe Bob (July 1989). ""B-Movie Bimbos"". Playboy. Vol. 36 no. 7. Playboy Enterprises. p. 137. ISSN 0032-1478.
  10. Topel, Fred (September 27, 2016). "Chopping Mall Blu-Ray: Barbara Crampton Interview". We Live Entertainment. Retrieved 2017-08-08.
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