American pornographic actress and nude model (1963–1984)
Colleen Marie Applegate (May 30, 1963 – March 23, 1984), known professionally as Shauna Grant, was an American pornographic actress and nude model. During her two-year career, she appeared in over 30 pornographic films, earning up to $100,000. Grant died by suicide after the arrest of her partner in March, 1984. She was inducted into the XRCO Hall of Fame in 1999.
Early life.
Colleen Applegate was born in Bellflower, California. Her family moved to the small town of Farmington, Minnesota in 1973 when her father, Philip Applegate, took a managerial position with the Central Telephone Company of Minnesota. Colleen was a cheerleader at her school, Farmington High School. After graduating in 1981, she worked locally as a cashier and then as a repair clerk with the phone company.
Applegate attempted suicide in December, 1981 by overdosing on prescription sinus pills. Her father later said he never discussed the attempt with his daughter; he and his wife at the time (Colleen's mother, Karen Lee Applegate) believed their daughter was merely seeking attention. According to a PBS "Frontline" documentary, the entire Applegate family had at least one group session at a counseling center during which no one really talked about the situation. After news spread around Farmington about her suicide attempt, Applegate left town with her boyfriend, Mike Marcell, moving to California in March, 1982.
Adult film career.
After arriving in Los Angeles, Applegate and Marcell unsuccessfully pursued several employment leads. Marcell then saw an ad for the World Modeling Agency in Van Nuys, which sought recruits for "figure modeling". Accompanied by Marcell, Applegate visited the agency's owner, Jim South, who set up a photo session with legendary soft-core photographer J. Stephen Hicks. (Hicks' work was frequently featured in "Penthouse".)
Her first pictorial's theme featured a mock camping set and was published by "Club". Hicks reflected on Applegate's appearance and personality, saying: "I deal with a lot of girls who are new in the business, a lot of young girls and a lot of girls from out of town. Colleen was so incredibly young and naive. She was completely un-hip and non-L.A."
Her wholesome, "girl next door" looks soon landed her work posing for other magazines such as "Chic", "Hustler", "Swank", and "Penthouse". But Hicks advised Applegate to get out of nude modeling quickly, because when all of the magazines had used her, the only thing left for her would be hardcore movies. "You know, you take a typical girl that's used to working at McDonald's or at a shoe store, where she's used to making a minimum wage, and suddenly she's given the opportunity to get made up, and be in front of people who tell her she's beautiful, and make as much money in a day as she was making in three weeks and, um, they change. They change. And that's sad."
Almost immediately, Applegate progressed to filming hardcore photo sessions for well-known photographer Suze Randall.
Applegate's relationship with her boyfriend ended within their first two months in California; Marcell left her to return to Farmington, Minnesota and ultimately joined the U.S. Army. Before his induction, he informed some residents of her small town that Applegate was involved with pornography, which caused her family much embarrassment. In the "Frontline" documentary, Marcell refused to speak about his relationship with Applegate, except to say that he no longer cared about her.
Ignoring Hicks' advice, Applegate continued working with World Modeling Agency, where she met veteran porn producer Bobby Hollander. Hollander launched her adult film career, suggesting what he felt was a "classy" stage name, Shauna Grant.
As a fast-rising adult entertainment personality, she was featured in "Virginia", "Suzie Superstar", and "Flesh and Laces 1 &amp; 2", among many other films. Her pay rose from $300 a day to around $1,500. As Shauna Grant, she made dozens of popular adult movies, usually plot-oriented. In "Suzie Superstar", she played the lead singer of a rock band.
Grant was provided with her own make-up artist, 27-year-old Laurie Smith (who was also an adult star). Smith, who co-starred with Grant in several movies (including "Suzie Superstar", "The Young Like It Hot", and "Bad Girls IV"), also became Grant's best friend and fellow cocaine user during that period. She quit the adult film business for a short time following Grant's suicide.
Grant's popularity earned her three acting nominations at the Erotic Film Awards in March, 1984. However, despite these accolades and her beauty, Grant had some difficulty getting work due to her cocaine addiction and lack of "enthusiasm" during sex scenes. In some circles she acquired the nickname "Applecoke" and gained a reputation for being flaky.
Retirement.
In 1983, Grant met Jake Ehrlich, a cocaine dealer who had wanted to meet Grant after seeing modeling photos of her. Grant met Ehrlich at his home in Palm Springs and simply never left. Embracing an image of a domesticated life, Grant retired from the adult film industry. Her career lasted less than a year, appearing in over 30 films and videos. During that time, she had sex on screen with 37 men, contracted herpes, and had an abortion.
On March 14, 1984, despite not making any films for the previous 10 months, she was a multiple nominee and presenter (with John Leslie) at the 8th Annual Adult Film Association Awards show at the Coconut Grove Ambassador Hotel. While her desire to act in mainstream films had generated no offers, she was so prestigious at the time that famed director Francis Ford Coppola was seated at her table.
At the awards show, Grant accepted a role in the upcoming adult film "Matinee Idol". The film was due to begin filming in eight days in San Francisco, California. A few days after the awards show, a boyfriend she met during a trip to Minnesota flew to Los Angeles to visit her. However, in the days following the awards show, Grant and Smith had partied and then slept for two whole days causing them to lose track of time. So when the day of her boyfriend's arrival came, Grant had no means to get to the airport to pick him up and spent the day trying, unsuccessfully, to find transportation. It was at this time that Ehrlich telephoned from prison informing her that their relationship was over and that Grant had to move out of his home.
Grant persuaded her friend, veteran porn performer Kelly Nichols, to take over the role Grant had been offered in "Matinee Idol". Grant also had the option of returning to Minnesota. Her parents offered to pay for her college expenses, but she believed she would no longer be comfortable at home in Minnesota.
Death.
On March 20, 1984, Grant called her friend Brenda and asked her to keep her company while she packed to leave Ehrlich's Palm Springs home.
The next night on March 21, Grant shot herself with a .223 caliber AR-15 style rifle. Her friend Brenda arrived only to find Grant's body wedged between two mattresses that had been made into a single bed. Grant was taken to a Palm Springs hospital where she was taken off life support and declared dead two days later.
Grant's funeral was held on March 28, 1984, at St. Michael's Church, a Catholic parish in Farmington. She was buried in the church's cemetery.
References.
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