Mary Woronov

Mary Woronov
Woronov in February 2007
Born	(1943-12-08) December 8, 1943 Palm Beach, Florida, U.S.
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. 1970–73)

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, on stage at Lincoln Center and off-Broadway productions, as well as numerous appearances 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.

Early life

Woronov was born to Carol Eschholz^[1] in the Breakers Hotel in Palm Beach, Florida,^[2] when it served as the Ream General Hospital during World War II.^[3] Her stepfather, who adopted her, Victor D. Woronov (1907-1975), was a cancer surgeon in Brooklyn. She attended Packer Collegiate Institute in Brooklyn Heights.

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.^[4]

Woronov's notable appearances include in 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)^[5] and All About Evil (2010).^[6]

She has also made guest appearances on TV shows such as 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.

She became a fan of the L.A. punk music scene and made a cameo appearance with actors Jack Nance and John Hullette in 1983's Suicidal Tendencies' "Institutionalized" video.^[7]

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.^[4]

Filmography

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Mary Woronov.

• Mary Woronov at the Internet Movie Database
• Mary Woronov at AllMovie