Dorothy Stratten came into the world as Dorothy Hoogstratten in Vancouver. At the tender young age of 17, Dorothy was spotted in a Canadian Dairy Queen scooping up a double serving of ice cream to one primo sleaze bag, Paul Snider. Nine years her elder, Snider spotted the beautiful service girl's face and figure and believed he could make a fortune off of her. He was right.

Snider began an intense courting relationship with Dorothy, and they soon became a pair. He convinced her that she was perfect Playboy material and that she could become famous if only she would shed her clothes. At first, the inhibited girl-next-door declined, but Snider was the ultimate huckster. She complied and Paul snapped away. He then shipped off the nudes to Playboy in Los Angeles, the home of Hugh Hefner. Hef took an immediate liking to young Ms. Hoogstratten. He sent for her only two days after seeing her pinups.

In no time, Dorothy, rechristened Stratten, became the celebrity du jour around the mansion and Hef's right hand girl. Snider decided he wanted in on the action, since he was, after all, the one with the bright idea to submit Dorothy's photos. He introduced himself to everyone as Dorothy's manager, including Hef. Hefner despised the loathsome, oily character and let young Dorothy know.

Dorothy would become the October '79 Playmate and was being bandied about as the Playmate of the Year and even the Playmate of the Quarter-Century. She was on top of the T&A heap in no time at all.

Snider was left behind.

As Dorothy's star grew brighter, Hefner decided to introduce her to some of the upper echelon of Hollywood society. At one party at the mansion, he made sure to introduce her to filmmaker Peter Bogdanovich. Bogdanovich, once a huge director of such movies as Paper Moon, What's Up, Doc?, and The Last Picture Show, had recently ended a relationship with another young, blond model/aspiring actress, Cybill Shepherd.

Stratten and Bogdanovich hit it off in a big way. He was ready to help her bust into Hollywood moviemaking with a serious role. She had already taken a bit role in the Barbarellaish Galaxina as a sexy robot. Not a huge stretch for her. Peter wanted the world to see that his new girlfriend had more than just a pretty face and an amazing body.

Meanwhile, Snider was losing his mind with jealousy. He believed that he was responsible for Dorothy's success and that he was being ignored. Dorothy was ready to get away from Snider and everyone was telling her to do so. She felt horrible though, because she had actually married Snider earlier just to get him off of her back. Nice logic.

On August 14, 1980, Dorothy decided to meet Snider one last time, so she could sever their relationship for good. They met at Paul's apartment where the two had once lived together. Dorothy came all the way from New York, where she was in the middle of filming They All Laughed, directed by Bogdanovich.

One day later, Snider's apartment-mates had not heard a word from either one. Finally, one neighbor decided to peek in on the couple.

Lying face down on the bed was the body of Dorothy Stratten. She was nude and had blood smears over her entire body, including two bloody handprints on her buttocks. Her left pinkie finger was missing. So was her entire face.

Lying next to her on the floor was what was left of Paul Snider. He had a hole between his eyes, and his left eye was dangling from its socket. He was also nude.

Both were covered in ants.

Next to Dorothy was a strange apparatus. The coroner's office surmised that it was some kind of "love contraption," or sex bench. It was later discovered that Snider had created this workout bench/sex toy and hoped to market it to the porn industry. It, of course, was a failure.

Though not confirmed by the coroner's office, many speculate that Snider killed Stratten and then strapped her corpse to the bench. He then proceeded to have sex with her dead body for the next half hour. Once he was done with her, he blew out his own brains.

Dorothy Stratten was dead at the age of 20.

In a sick twist, Peter Bogdanovich married Dorothy's younger sister, Louise. They separated in 2001.

More Dorothy Stuff:

List of Dorothy's movies:
1 They All Laughed (1981)
2 Galaxina (1980)
3 Buck Rogers in the 25th Century - Cruise Ship to the Stars - TV (1979)
4 "Fantasy Island" - The Victim/The Mermaid - TV(1979)
5 Skatetown, U.S.A. (1979)
6 Americathon (1979)
7 Autumn Born (1979)

Dorothy's Offical Measurements:
36-26-36 (Source: Celebrity Sleuth magazine)

The house at 10881 W. Clarkson Rd. Los Angeles, CA, where Dorothy Stratten was killed.

Dorothy Stratton's gravesite at Westwood Memorial Park in Los Angeles CA. - Photo courtesy of A.J. Marik from findagrave.com.

Mossberg 12-gauge shotgun. Possibly like the one to kill Dorothy.

Movie poster for Star 80 starring Mariel Hemingway.

Aerial photograph of Centennial High School where Dorothy attended high school near Vancouver, British Columbia.

More Dorothy Stratten Sites:
Tribute site to Dorothy Stratten - Go here
Dorothy Stratten Fansite - Go here
More on Dorothy Stratten's death - Go here