George Shannon (born c. 1940) is an American professor of

gerontology Gerontology ( ) is the study of the social, cultural, psychological, cognitive, and biological aspects of aging. The word was coined by Ilya Ilyich Mechnikov in 1903, from the Greek , ''geron'', "old man" and , ''-logia'', "study of". The fie ...

at the

USC Leonard Davis School of Gerontology The USC Leonard Davis School of Gerontology is one of the seventeen academic divisions of the University of Southern California in Los Angeles, focusing in undergraduate and graduate programs in gerontology, History Founded in 1975, the Leona ...

, inaugural holder of the Kevin Xu Chair in Gerontology, and director of the Rongxiang Xu Regenerative Life Science Laboratory. He is also a former television and film actor, particularly known for his appearances in soap operas, including ''

How to Survive a Marriage ''How to Survive a Marriage'' is an American soap opera which aired on the NBC television network from January 7, 1974 to April 18, 1975. The serial was created by Anne Howard Bailey, with much input from then-NBC Vice President Lin Bolen. The sh ...

'', ''

Search for Tomorrow ''Search for Tomorrow'' is an American television soap opera. It began its run on CBS on September 3, 1951, and concluded on NBC, 35 years later, on December 26, 1986. Set in the fictional town of Henderson in an unspecified state, the show focu ...

'', ''

Generations A generation is "all of the people born and living at about the same time, regarded collectively." Generation or generations may also refer to: Science and technology * Generation (particle physics), a division of the elementary particles * Gen ...

'', and ''

General Hospital ''General Hospital'' (often abbreviated as ''GH'') is an American daytime television soap opera. It is listed in ''Guinness World Records'' as the list of longest-running television shows by category, longest-running American soap opera in pro ...

.'' He played a leading role in the 1973 French

surreal Surreal may refer to: *Anything related to or characteristic of Surrealism, a movement in philosophy and art * "Surreal" (song), a 2000 song by Ayumi Hamasaki * ''Surreal'' (album), an album by Man Raze *Surreal humour, a common aspect of humor ...

drama film ''

I Will Walk Like a Crazy Horse ''I Will Walk Like a Crazy Horse'' ( French: ''J'irai comme un cheval fou'', also known as ''I Will Go Like a Wild Horse'') is a 1973 French surreal drama film directed by Fernando Arrabal. The movie first released on November 22, 1973 in France a ...

''. In 1995, Shannon returned to college to pursue a

Bachelor's A bachelor's degree (from Middle Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate academic degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six ye ...

Master's A master's degree (from Latin ) is an academic degree awarded by universities or colleges upon completion of a course of study demonstrating mastery or a high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional practice.

, and

PhD PHD or PhD may refer to: * Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), an academic qualification Entertainment * '' PhD: Phantasy Degree'', a Korean comic series * ''Piled Higher and Deeper'', a web comic * Ph.D. (band), a 1980s British group ** Ph.D. (Ph.D. albu ...

in gerontology after a nearly 30-year career in acting.

Career

Actor

Shannon studied improvisational acting for two years at

The Second City The Second City is an improvisational comedy enterprise and is the oldest ongoing improvisational theater troupe to be continually based in Chicago, with training programs and live theatres in Toronto and Los Angeles. The Second City Theatre op ...

in Chicago and studied with

Lee Strasberg Lee Strasberg (born Israel Strassberg; November 17, 1901 – February 17, 1982) was an American theatre director, actor and acting teacher. He co-founded, with theatre directors Harold Clurman and Cheryl Crawford, the Group Theatre in 1931 ...

in his private classes and at the Actors Studio for seven years. He has performed in over 50 plays, six films, and has had contract roles on five daytime series. He also served as a teacher of

improvisation Improvisation is the activity of making or doing something not planned beforehand, using whatever can be found. Improvisation in the performing arts is a very spontaneous performance without specific or scripted preparation. The skills of impr ...

and theatre director in Los Angeles.

Professor

Shannon currently teaches courses in Program Evaluation, Social Policy and Aging, and Society and Adult Development. His current research work is focused on Multicultural Aging and Creative Arts. He has authored or co-authored seven peer-reviewed articles professional journals. He is an active member of

Phi Kappa Phi The Honor Society of Phi Kappa Phi (or simply Phi Kappa Phi or ) is an honor society established in 1897 to recognize and encourage superior scholarship without restriction as to area of study, and to promote the "unity and democracy of education ...

and the Sigma Phi Omega Gerontology Honor Society.

References

External links

Official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Shannon, George Living people American male actors American gerontologists University of Southern California faculty Year of birth missing (living people)