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Shanna McCullough always seemed to be full of contradictions.
She was a golden age adult film actress, yet she was still in the industry until just a few years ago.
She’s an award-winning veteran of 100s of films, but she came from a Christian family and only had a couple of boyfriends before she found herself making her first film.
She’s a glamorous sex symbol and a successful feature dancer for many years across the country, but she’s also a tomboy who worked as an electrician and is happy hiking and studying.
She’s been in the adult film industry for longer than most actresses, but often takes breaks from the the business so that she can go back to school to study and gain additional academic qualifications.
She has always valued her privacy and anonymity – and remains an enigma to her fans, but in the late 1990s she was operating a website giving members 24 hour access to multiple webcams installed in her home.
So what’s the truth – will the real Shanna McCullough stand up?
Today we’re joined by Shanna, who looks back at a 30 year career, working with many of the greats from the industry, including Alex de Renzy, Henri Pachard, Anthony Spinelli, and her pet python, Monty.
This episode running time is 78 minutes.
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Shanna McCullough pictures:
Veronica Hart, Shanna, Candida Royalle
Marilyn Chambers, Shanna, Nina Hartley
Patti Petite, Sharon Mitchell, Nina Hartley, Shanna
Rick Savage, Shanna
Shanna, John Leslie
Jerry Butler, Shanna
Lili Marlene, Shanna
Shanna, Henri Pachard (Ron Sullivan)
How about Tracey Adams (Deborah Blaisdell) who starred in a bunch of movies with this lovely lady?
I met and interviewed Shanna at the New Century Theater in San Francisco in 1989 and again in 1994 for a book I was gonna write, but never did. I wrote out the interview and have had it for more than 20 years. I have written part of the book, but hope to finish it someday before I pass. Great lady, and everything everyone says is true. She was thoughtful, considerate, and never made me feel that she was anything special. I still hope to meet her again someday, though, as much as I liked her movies, I am so happy she came away from the industry on her feet, on her terms, and without losing that–dare I say innocence, or lack of cynicism that made her special. A part of me wants to see her make a comeback, for selfish reasons, of course, but, hey. Anyway, whatever she decides to do, I wish her all the luck she can handle.
Would love to read that book, as I’m sure a lot of other fans would. You can self publish digitally on Amazon these days for free and charge whatever you like. I would certainly buy a copy.
Yes.. I had the pleassure of meeting and working with Shana..Thru my old friend Jake back in the New York days.. I was in the video wholesale business in New York.. And opened up a small booking agency for a brief moment… We got a gig for Shana.. At a great price at Franks Chicken House in New Jersey.. I have to say Shana and the gig was quite incredible .. We sold over 50 movies that weekend.. I never dreamed of doing that.. She is quite the business woman.. Also the last night we drove all the way to Pure Platinum in New York.. To catch the new sensation everybody was doing in the early 90s..The upscale Stripclub/Dining experience.. That Micheal Peters and Peter Stringfellow.. Brought to 21st off Park ave in New York.. In closing I got to know Shana pretty good in the 6 hour drive both ways.. She is intelligent, charming and mint in her own way
That is an interesting story, thank you for sharing. I would of loved the opportunity to talk to Shanna on a 6 hour road trip. It would be nice if she had a twitter account for her fans to keep up on how she is doing in life. However, I’m sure she also likes the privacy. Again, thanks for sharing.
Thomas I lived in Manville NJ at the time Shanna was at Frank’s. The whole town was excited to have her visit (even the local bar girls). Everyone had a friggen’ blast at the shows. I think I still have my Polaroids of all the dancers in storage
Shanna is one of the true greats of the industry, who maybe was a victim of her own longevity, in that she outlasted Ginger Lynn, Amber Lynn et al, and then all the 90s girls like Ashlyn Gere… and still she continued. Always compelling, always convincing, always a cut above the other girls. This interview is a good tribute to her intelligence, humor, and esprit de corps.
Thanks Shanna – and good luck in the next chapter of your life!
Really enjoyed this. Shanna is such a breath of fresh air, smart and self-aware. Sadly the likes of her are rare nowadays. Long live the old days.
The diversity of content on The Rialto is truly impressive… from the dark days of the early loops to the greats of the industry like Seka and Georgina Spelvin, and now into the 80s and 90s with one of the most wholsesome/smoking gals the industry has seen: Shhhhhhannnnna!
She sounds like a kind, and smart person.
Her story about seeing the snake in such a small space, reminded me of all the times I’ve had similar feelings. Being in such a small space, is abuse, and it should be illegal. Sorry for going off-topic.
I’m going to find my Andy Sidaris collection, and watch MALIBU EXPRESS ( it’s listed on her IMDB page ). I hope being in that film was a pleasant experience.
I think she mentioned CINEMAX and horror movies. Is there any way to get a list of some of those films?… I don’t care how small her role was, I’d still like to see them. MALIBU EXPRESS seems to be the only non-adult title listed on her IMDB page ( there’s almost always omissions and errors on the IMDB ).
I remember watching Ashlyn Gere, Savannah, and a few other folks in thrillers and horror flicks.
P.S. – I think she has great legs, plus an incredible smile!
Another great podcast…..
Her mainstream films were:
BROKEN VESSELS
VIRTUAL DESIRE
HOUSEWIFE FROM HELL
TERRORGRAM
BLOOD SISTERS OF LESBIAN SIN
MALIBU EXPRESS
THE DEAD PIT (body double only)
Thank you VERY much Mr. Wood!
Wow. This really is one of the best podcasts thus far. She had a great head on her shoulders and a great attitude about the industry.
I actually met her at the VSDA convention in 1988. I was working then for a TV listings service (actually, my dream job that I unfortunately left less than a year later) and my lecherous lounge lizard of a co-movie editor and myself lobbied to be sent out there. I was in celebrity lalaland, playing blackjack with Ricki Lake (in the first flush of “Hairspray” stardom), trading pleasantries with Dee Wallace, Sally Kirkland, Traci Lords (representing her mainstream debut in “Not of This Earth) and the like, but one of the more amusing encounters was with Shanna. My co-editor was all over the porn stars and I was hoping to meet Veronica Hart (who wasn’t there but I was lucky enough to meet twice over 20 years later), but of the adult stars there, the only one who held any real interest was Shanna and she was very sweet. I told her I was a big fan and with a wink said “How big a fan are you?” I must have turned twelve shades of red.
Thanks, as always, Ashley, for these podcasts. For fans like myself, they are invaluable.
Really enjoyed listening to Shanna speak about her experiences working with the great director Henri Pachard and the details about making movies shot on film. Another great podcast for sure.
Another great podcast! Thanks!
What is up with that photo of Jerry Butler? with the bleached hair and guido shirt he looks like Ronnie from Jersey Shore
Jerry is from New York, the G word is offensive…and this site feedback can do without ethnic slurs.
Sorry Hank, I don’t buy your politically correct BS, I stand by my statement, he looks like a guido! Maybe you should ask wiki to remove the word from the internet since it is so offensive LOL!
Outstanding interview with a well grounded actress who I always had a soft spot for. I was glad to hear she’s still stretching her mind and pursuing yet another degree.
There is still one last role for Shanna to do (particularly in light of her Irish heritage) and that is to read select passages of Molly Bloom’s soliloquy from James Joyce’s Ulysses. I’m sitting staring at my computer screen thinking of how she would handle the final line, “…I thought well as well him as another and then I asked him with my eyes to ask again yes and then he asked me would I yes to say yes my mountain flower and first I put my arms around him yes and drew him down to me so he could feel my breasts all perfume yes and his heart was going like mad and yes I said yes I will Yes.”
I love me some Rialto on a Sunday evening – it’s become a ritual. And what better way to end the weekend with Shanna – a healthier and happier person, I couldn’t hope to hear about. This woman should have been the go-to industry spokesperson if it wasn’t for her desire to keep a low profile for family reasons. She’s well-spoken and wholesome (but volcanic on screen). I wish her all the luck in her new ‘life’ and hope that she escapes back to SF one day too!
Hark! Wh-what the hell was that?! Must be a gust of real
world! Yup! There must be life after smut…It says so right
there in this podcast! Such a shift in the paradigm can-
not go unheralded. A hearty (non-sweaty)fan’s hand shake
to all responsible here…..thanks to RR yet again and to
Shanna for this lovely,matter-of-fact ,window-opening
POV shot of the NOW. We see and hear so much of those
whose lives are ruled by the business,and then….we get
a tantalizing snippet of “real life”. What does it say about
“us” out here in the dark,that an interview such as this
feels…unusual?
Just love her!
Watching this redhead’s lust in action was always a treat. Her libido is timeless.
Thank you so much for this Podcast with Shanna McCullough. Shanna was my all time favorite performer and I am happy to hear she is doing well in in post adult performing life. Does anyone know if she has a website or twitter account that fans can follow? Thanks again.
She’s smoking hot still and obviously a very intelligent person who transcends porn. Keep them coming. Any word on whether we will ever be blessed with a CJ Laing podcast ?
Wanting to know the name of the Henri Pachard movie where she said she on camera as a maid in flippers and a coconut bra. Anyone?
Very cool.It goes without saying you’d like to have sex with her.But after listening to this I’d love to just hang with her.
Roberto, please don’t use ethnic slurs here. They are hurtful. It’s not a political issue, it’s a be nice to people issue.
What a pleasure her from Shanna. Went to junior high school with her and she was so shy and reserved. Had the biggest crush, but moved away. She wouldn’t remember me, but I remember her, and she is just as beautiful now as she was then.
Oops, “pleasure to hear from”. Damn she got my fingers excited, now that’s amazing!!
Ms. McCullough….
If you’re reading this, I think you’re awesome…. I hope you accomplish your goal and become a scientist….
Always stunning and such a great actress.Was great to hear how she wasn’t into the wild lifestyle outside of the business.Happy for her that she is furthering her education or has by now.Timeless Beauty and sounds like an amazing woman
She was a babe with the intellect as well as the body. Thanks for the interview, as it was a delight to listen to her.
I always loved Shanna. Undoubtedly she was sexy, but she also displayed intelligence, a sense of fun, a fantastic smile…plus she had the finest tush in the business. I remember one movie, which also starred Siobhan Hunter (now I would love to know what SHE is up to), and the primary male lead was Mike Horner. There was one scene where she was cowgirling I believe Horner and as she rode him, first, she did the ultimate turn-on and called him Daddy, and her butt just shook like jelly. Man, she’s awesome.
It was great listening to her here, and special for me. In the early 1990s, I was in love with Marcia (her real name), literally. We were a couple then, met by happenstance, and initially I didn’t even know she had previously been in “the business” (she was “retired” for about 2 years at that time). We dated for 2 weeks before she dropped the “bomb” on me about her past life. If you listen to this Podcast, I’m the one who “really wasn’t into it, however probably didn’t mind”. I didn’t mind. She was Marcia to me, and all was good.
We had an instant connection, and I was intrigued with her, how beautiful she was, so intelligent, and her eyes actually matched her hair color, amazing!
We fell hard and fast (speaking for her and myself), had a wonderful, seamless relationship, always on the same page it seemed, so much perfection. But after some time, although everything was going great, I couldn’t commit, not completely anyway. When we met, I had just broken up with someone I had been going with for many years, and I was torn. I told Marcia to hang in there – she did (I would call her “my little trooper”) – but she couldn’t hang on “forever”; eventually the ultimatum arrived, my resistance to that, and she walked out of my life and into the arms of someone else who immediately got her back into the business and down to L.A.
I cried, and I’ve mourned us some for all these years, because we were tight- she would have never gone back into porn (not criticizing, just a fact), our lives would have been different. But I’m very pleased that she seems to have had some peace and satisfaction along the way these past 20-something years. I think about her often, and in a way, will always love her, and hold our time together very dear in my heart. Thank you Marcia for showing me the real YOU, it was my pleasure having your love and faith for that unforgettable time together. You have my love and respect forever.
Matter of fact, I personally took a couple of the photos included on this page (feel free to guess which ones… Hint: she’s wearing the same dress in both). Nice to know she still has them, cause I do as well!
We were very much in love with each other; the right two people, at the wrong time, I suppose. Marcia, I would love to hear from you, for old times sake, know for myself how you’re actually doing, but perhaps you might think it best not to… It’s your call. Heck, always was, really.
Since others have already mentioned her name, “Marcia”and I are kinda family; I met her at The Show World Center in NYC back in the 80’s and from that I had her first interview published in Adam Film World. We have stayed connected since then and I can tell one and all that yes, she is and was a super hot redhead, yes, she is one of the most grounded women I ever met who was involved in adult and yes, she’s still the same. I was actually at her table at the 1992 AVN awards where she was wearing that embroidered white dress you see in the pictures. We had three winners at our table that year, nice!
Well then “Spirit”, I know you, as well. I too was there in ’92, at the table, I was her BF, took those pics of her in that gorgeous dress. Everyone at that table was great! Sorry name escapes me, but are you the writer, long hair, beard? If so, you were great, we hit it off well! If you talk with Marcia, please say “Hello” for me, thanks!
Just have to echo the comments about Shanna getting a twitter account. I absolutely adored her and would love to just say thank you. A lot of times I didn’t have a friend on the world but would stare at her beauty smile.
I wish her all the best. I pray she achieves her goals.
Shanna is very level headed and amazingly hot. Love her body in middle age – so natural and full figured. Magnificent podcast and such a gorgeously honest vibe. And, that voice of hers is mmmmmmmmmmm.
Fun to read this since I was the first person to have a printed interview with Shanna back in the 1980’s. It was in Adam Film World and was my first paid published piece…
What a wonderful memory – thank you for sharing it!
Big fan of Ms. Shanna!!. Still jackin off to her movies (I’m 60).