Dorothy Stratten a star extinguished.
Remembering the shocking death of the former Playboy model and rising movie star. Murdered at 20.
Who would blow this pretty woman away with a 12-gauge shotgun?
He would ⬇️ — and did.
Dorothy Stratten went from being Playboy’s Playmate of the year in 1980 to her first staring role in the sci-fi flick Galaxina. She was on the verge of writing her own ticket to Hollywood stardom.
Five months before her death she began work on what became her last film and the fifth movie in a career that had only begun the year before , a 1981 romantic comedy with John Ritter and directed by Peter Bogdanovich. The movie would have been her first substantial role in a big-budget picture.
DATE WITH DEATH
On August 13, 1980, Dorothy Stratten and her estranged husband, nightclub promoter and pimp Paul Snider, had arranged to meet at his rented West L.A. house to discuss their settlement plans.
Dorothy arrived at the house at noon on Thursday, August 14. The matter could have been handled by her lawyers, but against her manager’s advice Dorothy wanted to deal with it personally, saying, “i’d like to remain his friend.”
What Dorothy didn’t know was that Snider had bought a 12-gauge, pump-action shotgun a few days earlier.
Snider shared the house with two roommates but they had left in the morning, so the couple was alone when Dorothy arrived.
When Snyder’s roommates returned to the house at 8 p.m. they saw his bedroom door was closed and assumed the couple had reconciled and wanted their privacy. They watched television in the living room until 11 p.m. Finally, they decided to check in Snider’s bedroom.
NUDE BODIES
The nude bodies of Dorothy Stratten and Snider were found in the bedroom. Two blasts from Snider’s shotgun had ended her life and his in a murder suicide.
According to cops, Snider shot Dorothy that afternoon an hour after she arrived at his house and then killed himself and hour later.
Bogdonavich collapsed when he heard the news of her murder.
AFTERMATH
Eight years later when he was 49, Bogdanovich married Dorothy’s sister, Louise, who was 20. Bogdanovich had paid for Louise’s private schooling and modeling classes following her sister’s death. They were married for 13 years, divorcing in 2001. Bogdonavich died in 2022 at the age of 82.