She gets the attention of Paul Snider, a local pimp with aspirations of finding fame and fortune in Hollywood. Stratten was tied up and shot in Sniders West Los Angeles apartment, where they once lived together. Create a free profile to get unlimited access to exclusive videos, breaking news, sweepstakes, and more! As Playboy founder Hugh Hefner later reflected, There is still a great tendency for this thing to fall into the classic clich of small-town girl comes to Playboy, comes to Hollywood, life in the fast lane. That is not what really happened. But he also had a grim connection to the murder of Stratten, a beloved Canadian Playboy model and actor played by actress Nicola Peltz in "Welcome to Chippendales.". Snider then died by suicide. He was determined to make her a star on the silver screen. Two years later, Eric Roberts played him in the film Star 80.And, of course, now you can add Dan Stevens to the list with his portrayal in Welcome to Chippendales. After the blast, her body was moved and there were what appeared to be bloody handprints on her buttocks and left leg. He even took the blue-eyed, feathered-hair blonde to her high school senior prom just a short spell later, all the while essentially grooming her into the model as well as the lover of his dreams. Oxygen further wrote that Paul raped the model before shooting her with a newly-purchased shotgun. If you buy through our links, we may earn a commission. According to the police report, Paul Snider had shot Dorothy Stratten in the eye with a 12-gauge shotgun, leaving nothing but a pulp of shattered bones and blood in her eye socket. He used a 12-gauge Mossberg shotgun in the murder-suicide. On August 13, 1980, Paul Sniders' jealousy reached its peak when he purchased a 12-gauge shotgun from a private seller he found in a classified ad. Los Angeles, CA, where Dorothy Stratten was killed. Murderpedia has thousands of hours of work behind it. Hemingways granddaughter Mariel Hemingway portrayed Stratten inStar 80, a film about Strattens life and death. Marik from findagrave.com. Stratten was killed on the afternoon of Thursday, August 14, when she visited her shared home with Snider to discuss the financial implications of their official separation. Oxygen Insider is your all-access pass to never-before-seen content, free digital evidence kits, and much more. Despite that alleged incident, Dorothy Stratten reportedly treated Hefners actions that night as a forgivable lapse of judgment. Snider and Stratten had a brief marriage that started immediately after her success with Playboy magazine. Although Snider seemed to be caught up in Strattens success, she was unfazed by the limelight, her business manager, Robert Houston, told the Los Angeles Times in an article published August 16, 1980. The year is 1978, and Snider saw something in young Dorothy Stratten. According to ABC News, the estranged couple was found in Stratten's Los Angeles home, where Snider had raped the then-20-year-old before shooting her in the face with a shotgun. Star 80 is his most despairing film, critic Roger Ebert wrote of the film. As the entertainment and news editorial assistant for Good Housekeeping, Adrianna (she/her) writes about everything TV, movies, music and pop culture.
Dorothy Stratten
She graduated from Yeshiva University with a B.A. Autopsy results officially ruled the cause of death for both Snider and Stratten, saying they both died from gunshot wounds to the head, according to a Los Angeles Times article published August 17, 1980. The truth is Playboy had launched its Great Playmate Hunt that same year, so he wanted to submit Dorothys photos in the hope it would land her a proper gig at the then-esteemed establishment. Please review our privacy policy here: https://heavy.com/privacy-policy/, Copyright 2023 Heavy, Inc. All rights reserved. He bought a 12-gauge shotgun, took a few shooting lessons, and started slipping into conversations that Playboy had a policy not to print nude pictures of a girl if she got murdered. Now, new details and stunning new interviews. She had everything going for her, Houston said, but she was living a cautious financial life. Playboy wanted to keep the marriage a secret. Paul Leslie Snider and Dorothy Stratten Peter Bogdanovich speaking to girlfriend, former Playboy Playmate and actress Dorothy Stratten. The film was being directed by Peter Bogdanovich, and the pair allegedly began an affair during production. The couple was separated around that time in May 1980, less than one year after they were married, according to an article published in the Los Angeles Times August 15, 1980. It said, The death of Dorothy Stratten comes as a shock to us allAs Playboys Playmate of the Year with a film and television career of increasing importance, her professional future was a bright one.
Dorothy Stratten and Hugh Hefner in 1980.
It was later reported that Snider had sexually assaulted Stratten before shooting her in the face with the shotgun. RELATED:Hulu's 'Welcome to Chippendales' Trailer Drops New Details About Kumail Nanjiani's Male Stripper King. She played the most perfect robot in the galaxy., The Last Playmate: Her name was Dorothy Stratten and she was just 20 years old when she was shot to death by her estranged husband last month, the 1980 article said. If you are none of these you can be sure that it will kill you too but there will be no special hurry, her headstone says, according to Find a Grave. On August 14, 1980, Dorothy Stratten was shot and killed in the West Los Angeles house she had shared with Snider, whose body was found next to hers. And it was that that made him kill her.. Police believed Snider raped and murdered Stratten, and then killed himself with the same shotgun. Dorothy Stratten celebrating her 20th birthday with her husband, Paul Snider, at their West Los Angeles home. He gave the film four out of four stars. The following day his estranged wife came over to the home they once gladly shared to negotiate the intricate terms of their settlement, just for him to attack her in one of the worst ways imaginable. She couldnt help but get caught up in the excitement of being courted by a wealthy man, even though he was nine years older than her. In 1980, Stratten became Playboy's Playmate credited for coming up with the idea for the male strippers to wear the iconic Chippendales collar and cuffs. Playboy Magazine's 1980 Playmate of the Year, Dorothy Stratten, 20, is shown in file photo with her husband, Paul Sneider, as they celebrated her 20th birthday. Though Snider spent some time in Los Angeles before meeting Stratten, in 1978, he was back in his Vancouver hometown. Stratten began an affair with Director Peter Bogdanovich while filming They All Laughed, which could have been Strattens big break into the film industry. It was a tragic end to what couldve been an incredible success story. He was preoccupied with guns.. That year, Stratten met her future husband and murderer. Snider hired a private investigator, Marc Goldstein, to follow Stratten. Dorothy Strattens story was brief, glorious and tragic, her IMDB profile says. The fact Dorothy was having a love affair with renowned director Peter Bogdanovich, whom she worked with for They All Laughed (released posthumously in 1981), also played a role in this. According to ABC News, the estranged couple was found in Stratten's Los Angeles home, where Snider had raped the then-20-year-old before shooting her in the face with a shotgun. When Los Angeles Police officially ruled the case a murder-suicide, investigators also determined Snider had raped Stratten, according to The Washington Post. Dorothy Stratten and Paul Snider. Banerjee had previously worked with Stratten and her then-husband Paul Snider, a Canadian nightclub promoter, pimp and hustler, portrayed in "Welcomes to Chippendales" by "Downton Abbey" star Dan Stevens. He must have been staring at the horrific scene when he finally worked up the nerve to put the shotgun inside of his own mouth and pull the trigger.
Perhaps thats part of the reason why no matter how many of Dorothy Strattens friends tried to convince her to leave Paul Snider, she never listened. The Los Angeles Times quotes Goldstein in its August 15, 1980 article as as a friend of the couple. He told the newspaper he was the last person who ever spoke to Stratten, during a phone call. Everything came to a head on August 14, 1980. Snider was not only Stratten's husband he was also the one who "discovered" the then-17-year-old Stratten while she was working behind the counter of a Dairy Queen in Vancouver. He told the newspaper he was friendly with both and said he had been hired by Snider to investigate Stratten, her personal life and possible relationships.. He then worked her photos into the December issue, which called her one of the Sex Stars of the 1980s.. Nearly four decades after Playmate of the Year Dorothy Stratten was murdered by her jealous, estranged husband, her memory lives on. Welcome to Chippendales shows us how Snider first became involved with Chippendales owner Somen 'Steve' Banerjee (Kumail Nanjiani) as the legendary male stripping club first evolved in late-70s Los Angeles, but it also reshapes and glosses over the grim true story of Snider and Stratten's relationship, and uses a brief and shocking moment . Friends said Snider was despondent after the collapse of his marriage. Hugh Hefner saw as much money in Stratten as Snider did.