At 20, Dorothy Ruth Hoogstraten was murdered by her estranged husband and manager, Paul Snider, who then killed himself.
Life can be ruined if you chose wrong people in your life, everything earned can be destroyed with one single mistake. Today we will talk about once such actress who was on the top of her career when he husband murdered her.
Dorothy Ruth Hoogstraten (February 28, 1960 – August 14, 1980), known as Dorothy Stratten, was a Canadian model and actress best known as a Playboy Playmate. She appeared in several TV shows and films, including They All Laughed. At 20, she was murdered by her estranged husband and manager, Paul Snider, who then killed himself. Her tragic death inspired the TV movie Death of a Centerfold: The Dorothy Stratten Story (1981), the film Star 80 (1983), the book The Killing of the Unicorn, and songs like Bryan Adams The Best Was Yet to Come and Prism’s Cover Girl.
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Love life, how she met Paul
In 1977, while attending Centennial High School in Coquitlam and working part-time at Dairy Queen, Stratten met 26-year-old club promoter Paul Snider. Snider convinced her to pose for nude photos, which he sent to Playboy in 1978. Since she was under 19, the legal age of majority in British Columbia, her mother had to sign the model release form.
In August 1978, Dorothy Stratten moved to Los Angeles, California, where she became a finalist for Playboy’s 25th Anniversary Great Playmate Hunt. Paul Snider joined her in October, and they married in June 1979. Stratten, with her surname shortened, became Playboy’s Miss August 1979 and worked as a bunny at the Playboy Club in Century City, Los Angeles. Hugh Hefner believed Stratten could achieve significant success as an actress. In 1979, she appeared in TV shows Buck Rogers and Fantasy Island and had roles in the films Americathon, Skatetown, U.S.A., and a lead in Autumn Born.
Playboy employees and friends, including Rosanne Katon, warned Stratten about Snider’s controlling behavior. Hefner himself tried to caution her, but he found himself in a difficult position.
When their marriage broke
In March 1980, Dorothy Stratten began filming They All Laughed in New York, directed by Peter Bogdanovich, with whom she began an affair. She returned briefly to California to be introduced as Playmate of the Year on April 30 and appeared on The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson. After a promotional tour in Canada, Stratten and Snider’s marriage deteriorated.
Stratten moved in with Bogdanovich after completing the film in mid-July. Snider, financially dependent on Stratten and increasingly desperate, hired a private detective and sold her Playmate prizes for cash. Stratten’s separation letter to Snider intensified his instability.
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Feud
On July 31, 1980, Paul Snider, aware that Dorothy Stratten was living with Peter Bogdanovich, hid outside the director’s estate with a borrowed handgun but left after hours of waiting.
On August 8, Stratten met Snider at their former home. Stratten, in love with Bogdanovich, wanted to finalise their separation. Snider reluctantly agreed to discuss a settlement the following week. On August 9, Snider tried to buy a gun but was refused due to his Canadian citizenship. Over the next few days, he became obsessed with acquiring a firearm, even asking his private detective to purchase one for him.
Murder
On August 13, 1980, Paul Snider bought a shotgun. On August 14, Dorothy Stratten went to meet him to discuss their separation settlement. By evening, both were found dead in Snider’s bedroom. He murdered Stratten before dying by suicide. The news devastated Peter Bogdanovich, Stratten’s mother, and Hugh Hefner. Stratten was cremated and buried in Los Angeles.
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