Dorothy Stratten

Dorothy Stratten
Dorothy Stratten
Dorothy Stratten 1979.jpg
Dorothy Stratten in 1979
Playboy centerfold appearance
August 1979
Preceded by Dorothy Mays
Succeeded by Vicki McCarty
Playmate of the Year
1980
Preceded by Monique St. Pierre
Succeeded by Terri Welles
Personal details
Born February 28, 1960(1960-02-28)
Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada[1]
Died August 14, 1980(1980-08-14) (aged 20)
Los Angeles, California, United States
Measurements Bust: 36"[1]
Waist: 24"
Hips: 36"
Height 5 ft 9 in (1.75 m)[1]
Weight 123 lb (56 kg; 8.8 st)

Dorothy Stratten (February 28, 1960 – August 14, 1980)[1] was a Canadian model and actress. Stratten was the Playboy Playmate of the Month for August 1979, Playmate of the Year in 1980[1] and was the second Playmate (after Lee Ann Michelle) born in the 1960s. Stratten appeared in three comedy films and at least two episodes of shows broadcast on US network television. She was murdered at age twenty by her estranged husband/manager Paul Snider, who committed suicide the same day. Her death inspired two motion pictures.[2]

Contents

Life and career

Stratten was born Dorothy Ruth Hoogstraten in a Salvation Army hospital in Vancouver, British Columbia to Simon and Nelly Hoogstraten, who were Dutch immigrants.[3] In 1961 her brother John Arthur was born. Her sister Louise Stratten followed in May 1968.

In 1977 she was attending Centennial High School in Coquitlam when, while working part-time at a local Dairy Queen she met twenty-six year old Vancouver-area club promoter and pimp Paul Snider, who romanced her. Snider later had professional nude photos taken of her which were sent to Playboy magazine. She was underage and when her mother refused to sign the model release, Nelly Hoogstraten's signature was forged.[3]

In 1979 the two moved to Los Angeles. With her surname shortened to Stratten, she became Playboy's Miss August and began working as a bunny at the Century City Playboy Club. Hugh Hefner had high hopes Stratten could have meaningful crossover success as an actress.[3] She guest starred in episodes of the television series Buck Rogers and Fantasy Island, along with a small role in the 1979 roller disco comedy Skatetown, U.S.A..

In 1980 she became Playboy's Playmate of the Year, with photography by Mario Casilli. Stratten also played the title role in the sci-fi parody Galaxina.

Hefner reportedly encouraged Stratten to sever ties with Snider, calling him a "hustler and a pimp."[3] Rosanne Katon and other friends warned Stratten about Snider's behavior. Stratten began an affair with Peter Bogdanovich while he was directing They All Laughed, her first and only major film.[3] Snider hired a private detective to follow Stratten. They separated and Stratten moved in with Bogdanovich, planning to file for a divorce from Snider. By August 1980 Snider most likely believed he had lost Stratten and what he had called his "rocket to the moon."[3]

Murder

Shortly after noon on August 14, 1980 Snider and Stratten met at Snider's house, where the two had once lived as a couple and which Snider was by then sharing with its owner, their mutual friend Dr. Stephen Cushner, along with two women. Stratten had come to talk about an amicable divorce and brought along $1,000 to give Snider.[3]

At about 11:00 PM Snider's private investigator called Cushner on his private line, saying he had been trying to telephone Snider for several hours, but Snider would not answer his phone. Cushner broke into Snider's room and found them dead from shotgun blasts, both bodies nude and swarmed by ants.[3][4]

Aftermath, popular culture

In 1983 film critic Vincent Canby wrote, "Miss Stratten possessed a charming screen presence and might possibly have become a first-rate comedienne with time and work."[2]

Stratten's murder was depicted in two films. In Death of a Centerfold: The Dorothy Stratten Story (1981) Jamie Lee Curtis portrayed Stratten and Bruce Weitz played Paul Snider. Bob Fosse's Star 80 (1983) starred Mariel Hemingway[2] as Stratten and Eric Roberts as Snider, whose performance was praised by many critics. Scenes of Star 80 were filmed in the same house and room where the murder/suicide happened.

Peter Bogdanovich wrote a book about Stratten titled The Killing of the Unicorn (1984). Four years later at age forty-nine he married Stratten's sister Louise, who was twenty. Bogdanovich had paid for Louise's private school and modeling classes following Stratten's death.[5] They divorced in 2001 after thirteen years of marriage.

Bryan Adams co-wrote two songs about Stratten. "Cover Girl" became a hit for the band Prism in 1980 and "The Best Was Yet to Come", written with Jim Vallance, was on Adams' album Cuts Like a Knife (1983) and later covered by Laura Branigan. A similar song was on his 2008 album 11."Flowers Grown Wild" The song was about the price of fame in Hollywood.

Bongwater mention Dorothy Stratten in their song "Nick Cave Dolls". She is also referred to in "Californication" by the Red Hot Chili Peppers as the "first born unicorn".

See also

Notes

  1. ^ a b c d e "Playmate data". http://wekinglypigs.com/cgi-bin/nand/search/pmstat?browse=%3A%3ACONFIG%3A%3Amodelbrowse&key=stratten%2C+dorothy&limit=0. Retrieved January 29, 2010. 
  2. ^ a b c Vincent Canby (1983-11-10). "SCREEN: 'STAR 80,' A SEX-SYMBOL'S LIFE AND DEATH". The New York Times. http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9F00E1DD1539F933A25752C1A965948260&sec=&spon=&pagewanted=all. Retrieved 2008-07-22. 
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h Theresa Carpenter (1980-11-05). "Death of a Playmate". The Village Voice. http://books.google.com/books?id=W2x4AjHQdWMC&pg=PA35&dq=dorothy+stratten+%22death+of+a+playmate%22+carpenter. Retrieved 2008-07-22. 
  4. ^ Biskind, Peter (1998). Easy Riders Raging Bulls: How the Sex-Drugs-and Rock 'N Roll Generation Saved Hollywood. Simon & Schuster. pp. 388, 389. ISBN 0-684-80996-6. 
  5. ^ The Centerfold Murder

Further reading

  • Yule, Andrew. Picture Shows: the Life and Films of Peter Bogdanovich - Has extensive coverage of Stratten's relationships with Paul Snider and Peter Bogdonovich.

External links


Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Поможем написать курсовую

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Dorothy Stratten — (* 28. Februar 1960 in Vancouver, British Columbia; † 14. August 1980 in Los Angeles, Kalifornien; eigentlich Dorothy Ruth Hoogstraten) war ein kanadisches Playmate, das sich auch als Schauspielerin betätigte. Leben Sie wurde als Dorothy Ruth… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Dorothy Stratten — Dorothy Stratten, de son vrai nom Dorothy Ruth Hoogstraten (28 février 1960 14 août 1980), était une actrice et modèle originaire de Vancouver en Colombie Britannique où elle est née dans un hôpital de l Armée du Salut. Elle y …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Dorothy Stratten — Saltar a navegación, búsqueda Archivo:Http://www.dorothystratten.com/ultimate86/IMAG001.JPGArchivo:0000434927 40018L Dorothy Stratten Nombre real Dorothy Ruth Hoogstraten Nacimiento 28 de febrero de 1960 Vancouver, C …   Wikipedia Español

  • Death of a Centerfold: The Dorothy Stratten Story — Directed by Gabrielle Beaumont Written by …   Wikipedia

  • Stratten — ist der Name von: Dorothy Stratten (* 1960; † 1980), kanadisches Playmate und eine Schauspielerin Louise Stratten (* 1968), kanadische Schauspielerin Siehe auch: Stratton Diese Seite ist eine Beg …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Dorothy — Cette page d’homonymie répertorie les différents sujets et articles partageant un même nom. Dorothy est la version anglophone du prénom féminin Dorothée. Cinéma et télévision Dorothy est un film américain réalisé par Van Dyke Brooke en 1915.… …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Dorothy C. Stratton — Are you looking for Dorothy Stratten, the Canadian model and actress? Dorothy Constance Stratton Capt. Dorothy Stratton during WWII …   Wikipedia

  • Dorothy Mays — Infobox Playboy Playmate imagesize = 150px caption = name = Dorothy Mays issue = July 1979 birthname = birthdate = birth date and age|1957|7|24 deathdate = deathplace = bust = 35.5 waist = 24.5 hips = 34 height = height|ft=5|in=7 weight =… …   Wikipedia

  • Louise Stratten — Infobox actor imagesize = 220px birthname = Louise Beatrice Stratten birthdate = birth date and age|1968|05|09 birthplace = Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada occupation = actress yearsactive = 1988 present spouse = Peter Bogdanovich, 1988 2001… …   Wikipedia

  • Louise Stratten — (* 8. Mai 1968 in Vancouver; gebürtig Louise Hoogstraten) ist eine kanadische Schauspielerin. Inhaltsverzeichnis 1 Leben und Leistungen 2 Filmografie (Auswahl) 3 Weblinks …   Deutsch Wikipedia

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”