Its been almost 20 years since Shannon committed suicide back in 1994. Its difficult to believe. I only met her once. She was dancing at a club, shortly before her death, and a group of friends and myself went to see her. Even though her star was somewhat waning, she was till the biggest and most recognizable act in porn. Her success had spawned a plethora of “Savannah” imitators, just as the later rise of Jenna Jameson heralded a flood of female porn stars with some disambiguation of the first name Jenna. Even I, usually went by the screen moniker “Joey” in a sick homage to the wildly popular gay porn actor Joey Stefano. Porn cannibalizes itself. Those involved feed upon each other in their ruthless quest for fame. As for the first Savannah, she was the prototype that the porn-pushers were now disregarding. The mean-spirited and greedy Steven Hirsch (head of Vivid Video) once dismissively said, that at 23, Savannah was getting older. When she did appear on stage: It was a rather tragic spectacle, her routine was like trying to watch someone walk underwater. The men hollered, and didn’t really care. She seemed to exist in slow-motion. Although I was soul-sick at the time, my heart went out to her. When she briefly met with some of her fans, she was undeniably physically beautiful. But, it was as if you were talking to a little girl. I don't think it was an act; she was truly someone lost. Thinking back, watching Savannah on screen was tantamount to looking at kiddie porn; for you were seeing a hurt child (in the form of a young woman) trying to find love and acceptance – anywhere. God bless you Shannon.