Dorothy Stratten.Photo:Bettmann/Getty
Bettmann/Getty
In an exclusive clip shared with PEOPLE,The Playboy Murdersexecutive producer and former PlaymateHolly Madisonand former Mansion hostessStella Tetenbaumdiscuss Stratten’s first time posing nude.
“There was a lot of pressure on her,” Tetenbaum says in the clip. “She wasn’t used to posing nude, she wasn’t really groomed yet for that and she had a shyness about her.”
Madison, who lived in the Mansion decades after Stratten, empathized with how the young Dorothy must have felt.
“It must have been scary for Dorothy taking those photos for the first time,” Madison says in the exclusive clip. “When it’s your body you feel like you’re going to be the one to mess it up. Like, if your photos never got published, that was just kind of terrifying.”
Paul Snider, left, and Dorothy Stratten.Bettmann/Getty
As Stratten’s profile continued to grow, so did Snider’s apparent jealousy. The abusive Snider, whom Stratten married in 1979, spent a lot of time around the Mansion, which irked many people, includingHugh Hefner.
When Stratten was cast in the movieThey All Laughed,she began an affair with Bogdanovich, and Snider hired a private investigator. She eventually filed for divorce.
The pair agreed to meet and talk things out on Aug. 14, 1980. That’s when Snider fatally shot her with a shotgun, which he then used to shoot himself in the head. Stratten was 20 years old.
Hugh Hefner, left, and Dorothy Stratten.Julian Wasser/Online USA Inc./Getty
Julian Wasser/Online USA Inc./Getty
“Dorothy was involved in a very controlling, abusive relationship,” Madison tells PEOPLE in an exclusive interview. “For the moment, she didn’t feel like she was in danger. She felt like it was one last meeting. She was going to give him a little bit of money, and that’s when he took her life.”The incident made headlines, and sparked scrutiny into the lifestyles surrounding thePlayboyempire. In response to the murder-suicide, Bogdanovich wrote a scathing book about Stratten’s death, blamingPlayboyand Hefner.
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The impact of Stratten’s murder has reverberated through the years, spawning multiple movies about the case.
The Dorothy Stratten episode, “Falling Star,” ofThe Playboy MurdersairsMonday, February 26 at 10/9c on ID.
If you are experiencing domestic violence, call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-7233, or go tothehotline.org. All calls are toll-free and confidential. The hotline is available 24/7 in more than 170 languages.
source: people.com
