Not to mention, the late actress is adored and well-known for Dallas and The Karate Kid. At the age of 80, character actor Shannon Wilcox passed away. The Hollywood actor reportedly passed away in Los Angeles on September 2, according to Legacy.com. Her son, writer-producer Sean Doyle, and daughter, actress Kelli Williams, both perform, survive her.
Shannon started her career with tiny appearances on Starsky and Hutch (1976–77), Hawaii Five–O (1978), and Mrs. Columbo (1979) before showcasing her skills on the big screen. She has accumulated over 75 credits in 46 years. The actress was chosen to play Ali Mills’ mother, Mrs. Mills, in the 1984 film The Karate Kid, starring Elizabeth Shue.
A frequent collaborator with the late Gary Marshall, Shannon had a number of minor parts in the director’s movies, including Runaway Bride (1999), The Princess Diaries (2001) and The Princess Diaries 2 (2004).
Among her best known roles, Shannon went on to land a 19 episode arc on Buck James (1987-88), which had her starring alongside Dennis Weaver, before being cast as Anita in Dallas (1990).
Fans of the NCIS franchise will also recognize Shannon for her performance as Mrs Roach in season eight of the original NCIS (2011), fronted by Mark Harmon, as well as its spin-off show, NCIS: Los Angeles (2016), in which she played the character of Summer.
Among her final TV appearances, Shannon had joined the cast of Grey’s Anatomy as Irene Sholman, for the 2020 episode, ‘Save the Last Dance for Me’.
The late celebrity was well-known in Hollywood and was often photographed at movie premieres and red carpet events. Character actor Alex Rocco, her second husband, was frequently by her side. They were wed in 2004 and remained so till his passing in 2015.
As the villain Moe Green in The Godfather (1972), Thorny in A Bug’s Life (1998), and John Exstead Sr. in The Division (2001–2004), Alex has gained recognition on a global scale. Shannon was married to plastic surgeon John Williams from 1965 until 1984, the year she met Alex.
Following the news of Shannon’s passing, fans have taken to X, formerly known as Twitter, in tribute. “R.I.P., Shannon Wilcox, Alex Rocco’s widow. She and Rocco kindly invited me to their home when he and I were talking about my helping him with his memoir that never happened. She seemed like a nice lady, and I know Rocco loved her very much,” wrote one.