Victoria Shechter Catlin, 71, of Merriam, Kansas, passed away on Feb. 28, 2024.
Victoria was born in Moline, Illinois; the family ultimately moved to Kansas City, Missouri, in 1956.
Victoria had always been an artist and poet interested in writing, drawing, music and, most of all, acting.
During high school, she spent a year in Mexico, learning and living the culture, then traveling to the Yucatan Peninsula and Guatemala.
Victoria began her acting career at an early age, joining The Kansas City Repertory Experimental Theater Company and then the Chicago Free Street Theater. Her love for her art only grew more. After college, Victoria moved to San Francisco, California, to study with Leonard Pitt. Here she had the unique opportunity to study with one of the most famous mime artists in the world, Marcel Marceau. Soon after, she moved to Los Angeles, where she pursued stage, television and movies.
Victoria played numerous important roles in television productions such as Blackie O’Reilly in the original Twin Peaks, Amazing Stories, Soap and many more. Her movie credits include “Ghoulies,” “Maid to Order” and “Howling V: The Rebirth,” and “Slow Burn.”
Victoria did not only perform in television and movies, but loved performing on stage. She was involved for two years with the Odyssey Theater Ensemble in Los Angeles. In 1978, Victoria was fortunate to play Guera in the internationally acclaimed production of “Zoot Suit” at the Los Angeles Mark Taper Forum. As a result of this play, Victoria and the other three primary cast were featured on the cover of The New York Times Magazine.
Victoria was involved with local and national politics as well as numerous nonprofit organizations such as City of Hope, American Cancer Society, Glendale Boys Home and Ranch, to name a few. She also worked as photo editor for the Disney Channel and for various companies as script consultant, co-producer, etc. For the past 20 years, she has reviewed movies for the Academy Awards.
Victoria is survived by her brothers, Gerald and David; sister, Judith; sisters-in-law Jennifer Logan and Gayle Shechter; nieces and nephews, Eric Shechter and his wife Carrie, Rikki Duncan, Jessica Thomas and her husband Brad, Tobin Lankford and his wife Sabrina, and Sarah Lankford and her partner Robbie McIlvaine; and great-nieces and nephews, Zoie, Hunter, Cole, Fletcher, Jordan and her spouse Kenny Hogge, Ashton and her spouse Shannon, Peyton, Taiyo, Taijah, Corbyn, Decker, Graicyn, Emersyn, Hayden and Cameryn.
Services will be held at 2 p.m. on March 28 at Louis Memorial Chapel (6830 Troost Ave, Kansas City, MO 64131). For information, go to louismemorialchapel.com. Celebration of life to follow.
In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations to Rose Brooks Center for battered women of Kansas City, World Central Kitchen, or Planned Parenthood.