Mary Woronov

Mary Woronov
Woronov in February 2007
Born	(1943-12-08) December 8, 1943 (age 77) 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; div. 1973)​ Fred Whitehead (m. 1976; div. 19??)

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.

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.^{[citation needed]}

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); the two portrayed the protagonist's parents in the video.^[6] She later reprised this character 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[]

References[]

External links[]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Mary Woronov.

• Official website
• Mary Woronov at IMDb 
• Mary Woronov at AllMovie
• Mary Woronov at the TCM Movie Database
• Mary Woronov at the Internet Broadway Database
• Mary Woronov at the Internet Off-Broadway Database